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The End of an Era
A Retrospective Look at Tua Skis
by Ray Thomas
The 1987 Great Pacific Catalog, the first time Tua skis were offered in the US.
For many backcountry skiers August 7th marked the end of an
era. On that day Gestione Sport Alpini s.r.l., the parent
company of Tua skis, announced that it had filed papers for the
Italian version of Chapter 11. Tua has had a long and intimate
relationship with the backcountry skiing world. Tua’s ski history dates back
to just after World War II when Nanni Tua’s father converted the family
machine shop business into a ski factory. Nanni’s father died quite young
and as a result Nanni took over the factory at an early age. They sold Alpine
skis but it was tough to compete with the big guys, so they became better
known as a specialty ski manufacturer focused on Alpine Touring and more
recently telemark skis. Tua was well known in Europe in the mid-80s for AT
skis, specifically the Excalibur. It was right around that time that Chouinard
Equipment brought them into the United States.
In North America, Tua skis helped to fuel the rebirth of telemark skiing. For
many long-time freeheelers, the name Tua is synonymous with the
backcountry and sweet flex. While the brand had some difficult times over
the years, they were coming back strong and had experienced several
seasons of successful models and had designed some big hits for the
2003/4 season. Thus the news of bankruptcy was a shock to most of the ski
community. Tua may yet reorganize and provide their brand of skis to the
backcountry market, the future is uncertain. While we wait to know what
happens next, lets look back and remember the fine rides that Tua Ski has
brought us.
Tua skis first appeared in the third Great Pacific Catalog, winter’87. Great
Pacific was a retail mail-order enterprise, a division of Chouinard Equipment,
which focused solely on the
backcountry skiing market; it was
the first of its kind. Paul Parker, who
would later go on to write one of
the definitive telemark books
‘Freeheel Skiing’ and help design
Tua skis, was at the time a
Chouinard Equipment employee
who spearheaded the GPC
enterprise. He personally selected
and tested all the gear that would
be available in the catalog and
wrote the copy as well. Parker was
also instrumental in getting those
first Tuas into the catalog and right
from the start they were a hit. The
legendary Tout Neige (74/60/64)
made its appearance as a very solid
and stable ski that was confidence
inspiring in difficult snow
conditions. Tua also introduced
The Expresso and Toute Neige circa 1987
two skis that were some of the first
‘fat and wide’, the Excalibur (90/70/79) and Excalibur Magnum. The alpine
touring market in the US was very small and these skis were quite popular
with this crowd as well as tele folks in places like the Sierras and Cascades.
The backcountry and telemark ski community was in a formative stage in
the late ‘80’s. Steve Hardesty, president of Cima Sports, the North American
distributor of Tua Skis for many years, explained it this way, “The tele market
was pretty laid back. Mostly renegade backcountry tourers looking to dial it
up a notch and a few disenchanted ex-alpine hotshots looking for a new
scene. The gear was improving but still pretty primitive – a garage workshop
was practically a prerequisite to participate in the sport.”
Asolo’s Extreme Plus and later Scarpa’s Boot Sauvage and Boot Expresso
defined the performance telemark boot. Bindings were mostly three-pin and
basic cable. Tua skis were introduced into a market dominated by Rossignol
and Karhu. From the very beginning Tua focused on quality construction
and technological innovation. Every ski, from those first few in the Great
Pacific catalog to last season’s skis, used solid wood cores. Skiers will also
remember Tua’s ‘Driving Effect’, the variable angle sidewall that helped the
skis deliver their excellent deep snow performance.
In the winter of ‘88 Tua again introduced a definitive telemark ski - the Tele
Sauvage. It was a radically designed ski for its day with 20mm of side cut.
With dimensions of 80/60/70 it was also as wide as some alpine slalom skis.
Though some people in the backcountry ski community thought it was too
much like an alpine ski, many skiers loved them and the Tele Sauvage
became THE ski to have and remained that way for several seasons. Parker
had this to say about the Tele Sauvage. “In developing subsequent skis, I
always used it as my benchmark. It was hard to develop something that
skied better.”
Telemark ski design took another radical departure from the status quo
when Tua introduced the Montet MX in 1993. It was the first monocoque
telemark ski and a very wide ride for the day at 84/64/74. Over the next year
Tua switched all their models over to monocoque construction. This gave
them skis that were light and quick turning with great torsional rigidity. What
helped bring about this new level of ski performance was another radical
departure from the norm – Scarpa’s introduction of the all-plastic Terminator
tele boot in the early ‘90s. This boot made it possible to control wider more
side cut skis.
With the advent of plastic boots and wider more easily turned skis, telemark
skiing began a new renaissance. No longer was telemark skiing simply a
backcountry pursuit, it became more common at the ski areas too.
Telemarkers were no longer ‘hope turning’ their way down steep lines, but
ripping it with the best of their fixed heel siblings. As freeheel skiing’s
popularity rose, the larger alpine ski companies began to join the game. As
a result, the smaller backcountry rooted companies lost market share.
Manufactures like K2 and Atomic adapted their alpine ski molds to telemark
needs and created skis at lower cost. Tua responded to this competition
with new technologies and a series of increasingly wide and shaped ski still
known for their sweet flex.
The Original TeleSavage circa 1988
The Big Easy (100/72/90) introduced in ’99 and the Sumo (110/76/100) of ’01
were very successful for Tua. Both skis excelled in the backcountry and at
the ski area. The Sumo was especially noteworthy as it pushed the concept
of what a ‘wide’ tele ski looked like. Tua was also very aware that many of
the new freeheel skiers who were pushing the boundaries of the sport came
from alpine backgrounds and demanded alpine style performance from their
skis. So in response, Tua introduced the Cross-Ride series of skis in 2001.
The 110, 112 and 105 were stiff and stable at speed and appropriate for both
fixed and free heel mountings. The Cross-Ride 110 (110/76/100) was an
instant classic garnering top ski reviews and editor’s choice awards for
several seasons. Tua didn’t forget about the backcountry purist either with
the creation of the Cross-Light series. Started in ’00 with the Helium (100/72/
90 and narrow for the day) the line soon expanded with wider offerings, the
Hydrogen (103/73/93) and the Nitrogen (107/75/100).
What was the ‘03/’04 season going to bring from Tua? The line would have
seen the introduction of several new models and all new graphics. Three
skis would have been especially important The Bubba(126/93/113) , The
Tsunami (121/83/104), and the Titan. The Titan replaced the Cross-Ride 112,
with the same dimensions but with Titanal construction. The Tsunami and
Bubba would have been the widest skis ever produced by Tua as well as the
first telemark skis with ‘Cross-Cap Construction’ (technology, found in
some alpine skis that combines sandwich construction under foot with the
torsional rigidity of monocoque at the tip and tail.
Before the snow flies, we may yet know if Tua Ski will live again. Until then,
hold onto those Tuas you might have. Enjoy the sweet flex and remember the
role that Tua played in helping to shape the telemark world as we know it.
Special Thanks goes to Paul Parker and Steve Hardesty for the help in making
this article possible.
Issue Issue XVIII XVIII Off-Piste 17