2025 Women’s Big Mountain Skis
There’s only one good reason for a woman to own a Big Mountain ski, and that’s flotation. It takes at least 8 inches of uncut snow to float someone on a ski, which should give you some idea how often you might need one yourself. Point being, a women’s Big Mountain model will be perforce a second pair of skis for a person of at least advanced skills, which shrinks the range of potential buyers. Since they’re unlikely to get a lot of use, they’ll stay in a skier’s locker for over a decade, further shrinking the turnover rate.
Since demand is small, the ski supplier has little incentive to present more than one option in the genre, and less incentive still to make it a unique, feminized construction. Moving the center mark 1cm forward, or providing multiple indicated mounting options, is by far the most common of the gender-driven modifications in the Big Mountain category.
Because all Women’s Big Mountain models are a riff on a Big Mountain ski meant for larger humans of at least advanced ability to rip around on, they don’t work so well as a set of training wheels for those uninitiated in the mysteries of skiing powder and its evil twin, a tattered, former powder field. If you’re being thrown in the deep end of the pool by a well-meaning friend/guide, get the shortest size offered, avoid models with metal in their make-up and be prepared for the occasional face-plant.
The 2025 Women’s Big Mountain Field
Because the women’s market for skis over 100mm underfoot remains relatively tiny compared to the Big Mountain market for men, the need to renew old models or introduce new ones is less urgent. Nonetheless, there are three fresh faces in the Women’s Big Mountain collective in 2025, all parts of a larger family make-over: Nordica’s Santa Ana 102, Völkl’s Blaze 104 W and Atomic’s Maven 103 CTi.
The Santa Ana and Blaze both underwent significant re-design: the new Santa Ana 102 is a softer, surfier version of its old self without shedding its Power properties, while the Blaze 104 W has upped its quotient of edging power and rebound, but at heart remains a mellow Finesse ski that can serve both the in-resort skier and the backcountry adventurer. The Atomic Maven 103 CTi extends the Maven clan into the Big Mountain category, part of a movement among all the Mavens to lessen the negative environmental impact of ski manufacturing.
Power Picks: Ripping the Gnar
As we never tire of pointing out, the only rationale for acquiring a ski that measures more than 100mm’s underfoot is to improve flotation in powder. Lower skill skiers need the extra buoyancy just to stay upright in the soft stuff, but the women considering one of our Power Picks aren’t looking for help; they’re looking for a ski as good as they are.
The dirty little secret about skiing crud – which is as close as one gets to powder, even on a good day – is that you have to put the pedal to the metal. Our Power Picks live to be driven hard and fast, the better to shred the choppy conditions that often prevail off-piste.
Finesse Favorites: Easy Access to Off-Trail Adventure
The skier who benefits the most from a fat, Big Mountain model is someone who longs to master powder technique and can use all the help she can get. A wider ski is easier to balance on and, as long as it’s short enough, can still be swiveled sideways to execute short turns and control speed. The qualities that make a great fat ski are an identical match with the needs of a woman moving up the ability ladder. Getting on a Finesse fat ski won’t turn you into an overnight expert, but it sure makes learning the ropes infinitely easier.
If you already are an all-terrain expert, but just want to help prolong your ski day, all our Recommended Finesse Favorites have an elevated performance ceiling. They can comfortably travel any in-resort terrain, which is important because freshies only last for an hour, if that. Their collective ability to stay calm in the choppy crud that prevails thereafter, delays the inevitable onset of fatigue, which is the fat ski’s biggest single contribution to the ski world.