Last year’s commentary on what is now called the Dynastar Menace Proto F-Team was based on its behavior in spring slop, hardly its favorite venue. Finally last February at Mammoth during a storm that gradually morphed to mist, rain and wind, I got to experience it in conditions more in line with its design, about 10 to 16 inches of fairly heavy snow.

It was, in a word, dreamy. They float so high they don’t encounter much resistance no matter how you choose to turn them. The Menace Proto’s ability to levitate despite its heft – an inevitable consequence of so much width – makes it particularly easy to swivel around trees and old tracks. Because it’s so easy to rotate, you can charge the fall line, knowing you can toss them sideways in a heartbeat. Once all the powder has been plundered you can ride the edge almost as if it were a carving ski. It even has a lively kick off the bottom of its preferred long arc, which makes it feel lighter through the turn transition.

While the Menace Proto F-Team has the same shape as the Proto Factory of last season, it’s not exactly the same ski. The core is now poplar instead of Paulownia, and new ski no longer made in the race room. For whatever reason, the Menace Proto feels peppier than most skis of its width. It has the surface area of a battleship and the maneuverability of a kayak.

Its combination of energy and perceived ease make the Proto Menace F-Team as good for a geezer as it is for a young gun. It is by no means just for greybeards, but it’s so simple to ski I have to award it a Silver Skier Selection.