Like sister brand Blizzard, Nordica has been fiddling with the ideal formula for a women’s all-mountain ski over the course of several product cycles.  Four years ago, Nordica solved the riddle of how much metal a wide women’s ski needs to assist stability without smothering agility.  Dubbed Terrain-Specific Metal, the construction drops the bottom Ti laminate and trims the top layer down to match the likely terrain each Santa Ana was most likely to encounter. As the second-widest ski in the series, the SA 97 scallops out a larger chunk of Ti in the forebody so the ski feels more lively than lugubrious.

For 2025, all the Santa Anas were scrupulously modified to optimize each length in each model, tweaking sidecut and sizing options on the outside and remodeling the core on the inside. The new Pulse core sandwiches a layer of elastomer between two wood cores, creating an easy-to-flex midsection that delivers a smooth ride in rough terrain. In conjunction with TSM, the new core allows the lighter-weight skier to bend a ski with the gripping power of Titanal, simultaneously elevating both the Power and Finesse properties of the Santa Ana 97, particularly in the ratty off-trail conditions a 97 is meant to subdue.  The new design exhibits the rare ability to open up the top of the ski’s performance range but still be so easy to steer that the less skilled skier can confidently make her first forays far off-trail.

For the talented women who already knows how to attack a crud field, the Santa Ana 97 delivers on every front. It has to hold a strong edge on densely packed groomers or no one would trust to stay on course off-trail. The Santa Ana 97 wasn’t created to ski powder at the expense of competence when slicing up groomers; it’s meant to live comfortably on the border of both worlds.  Its skill set is biased in favor of the expert skier, but in a shorter size – there are six to choose from – it can be an everyday ski for an athletic woman intent on sharpening her off-trail talents. Sarah Edlin, a certified instructor who is kind enough to evaluate a ski or two for Realskiers, called the Santa Ana 97, “a very fun and very forgiving ski that liked an aggressive carve, but also was so fun to make playful and skidded turns.”

Thanks Sarah, that captures the open-minded attitude of the Santa Ana 97 perfectly. For its ability to take the intimidation factor out of off-trail skiing, we confer upon the Santa Ana 97 a Silver Skier Selection.