Remember those inflatable punching bags made so kids can work out their juvenile aggressions? They had a round, weighted bottom that allowed Mr. Binky to take the most vicious blow and bound right back up, ready to roll with the next haymaker. That’s sort of how it feels to descend on the Blizzard Firebird WRC, a slippery yet solid foundation that seems impossible to fall off of.

The Firebird WRC is a beast of s GS ski that is easily tamed, as long as you meet a couple of prerequisites. First, stop asking it to turn at slow speeds, a total waste of its talents. The WRC solves this problem for you by continuing to accelerate until it feels inspired to take the top off its first turn at around 30mph. Second, keep it on trail. If you take it into soft snow it will burrow into it until it finds the bottom, where it will stay until you get a crane to extract it.

Third, don’t ski it passively. Presumably you’re contemplating a race ski because you already know how to drive one, so get after it, for therein lies the reward. Once it’s up to speed, everything is suddenly easier. “Ya gotta work this one, but once you put it through its paces, you’ll get cramps in your cheeks from grinning!” exclaims Corty Lawrence. ‘Ya need power in order to finesse this ski,” he cautions.

But within its comfort zone, it’s easy-peasy to roll from turn to turn with the security of riding a Disney rollercoaster. Like Mr. Binky, it feels impossible to be knocked over, even when you’re nearly on your side. “What a ripping rocket!” exulted Jim Schaffner. “Beautiful fore/aft balance and magnificent blending of power and finesse.” Just remember Lawrence’s proviso: it takes power input to extract its finesse output.