What a proud papa the Völkl Deacon 76 must be. When it slipped quietly into Völkl’s line last year to replace the creaky Code collection, all the ballyhoo was rightfully concentrated on the M5 Mantra. There was no hint at the time of the little Deacons in utero in R&D, gearing up to replace the redoubtable RTM 84 and RTM 81, veteran Frontside carvers that had come to the end of their dual-track lines. The new kids turned out to be real firecrackers, fulfilling every father’s dream of out-performing his expectations.
But as often seems to be the case with kids, they don’t want to do things Dad’s way. Where the Deacon 76 is quiet and unhurried, the new Deacon 84 and 80 are bundles of energy. The Deacon 76 likes to luxuriate in a long turn that never loses snow contact; the kinder prefer a catch-and-release approach that involves pouncing across the fall line. The junior Deacons exude the tireless will to play of a Jack Russell terrier, while the Deacon 76 prides itself on energy conservation.
The Völkl Yumi is what we in the retail trade refer to a “step-up” ski. It isn’t a top-of-the-line charger but neither is it as frail as fettuccine, like so many entry-level package skis. It’s called a step-up ski because it’s bound to be an improvement over whatever is serving this skier at the moment, be a rental ski, a hand-me-down, a buying mistake or something fished out of a bargain bin at a ski swap.
As for where this first-new-ski buyer is stepping to, the Yumi leaves that entirely up to her. Equipped with an all-wood core and partial topsheet of Titanal, the Yumi has the intestinal fortitude to cope with life on groomers, where its gift for short-radius turns encourages intermediates to get their act together. At 84mm underfoot, the Yumi is fat for a Frontside ski, so it can manage its business in a foot of fluff without becoming verklemmt.
The new Blizzard Firebird HRC isn’t really a race ski – its dimensions run afoul of FIS regulations – but don’t tell it that. Despite its 76mm waist, the HRC thinks it belongs right between the Firebird WRC and Firebird SRC, Blizzard’s non-FIS GS and SL models, respectively. It may not be exactly what a meld of the WRC and SRC would look like, but it mimics their race-room construction and does its best to match their capabilities.
Please don’t get defensive, but if you don’t care for the HRC’s comportment, you may not be good enough for it. It uses bi-directional carbon weave both horizontally underfoot, for power at the top of the turn, and in vertical struts that keep it plastered to the snow through turn exit. The combination makes a ski that Corty Lawrence describes as feeling like a “quintessential GS. It needs to be stood on, no complacency allowed, don’t get lazy.
“When you stand on the edge at operating speed,” Corty continues, “the HRC is exceedingly rewarding. Super confident underfoot, it enters turns with enthusiasm (better be on the front of your boots!) and comes off the turn with ample energy (better be where you¹re supposed to be here, too!) Turn shape can be modulated with authoritative subtlety, which isn’t the contradiction it sounds like. Shorter turns can be accomplished at speed, but at pedestrian velocities it must be muscled,” Corty concludes.
You can tell a lot about a ski by its immediate family. Rossi’s Hero Elite Plus Ti is closely related to the Hero Elite LT Ti and ST Ti, both legit non-FIS Race models, even though the Plus Ti’s plus-sized shape (78mm) is many mm’s more ample than the 71mm waist of the LT Ti and 68mm midriff on the SL Ti. The Hero Elite Plus Ti not only uses the same construction as its gate-bashing sibs, its sidecut radius is the same as the ST’s in the167cm size preferred by slalom specialists.
Last year Rossi converted all of the Hero Elite clan to a new damping system, Line Control Technology. (LCT). Instead of using horizontal sheets of Titanal, as has been the case for decades among race models, LCT uses a vertical Ti laminate down the center of the ski so the forebody is more resistant to deflection. Torsional rigidity is softened a tad to allow the deep sidecut to engage gradually and progressively as the ski is tipped and pressured. “Stable and forgiving into the turn,” assures Scott Sahr from Aspen Ski and Board, “without compromising edge contact.”
Did you ever have a ski dream where everything was perfect? You can’t tell if your skis are an extension of your being or visa versa. You flow from turn to turn expending all the energy of a passenger lounging on a high-speed train. The scenery blurs as your speed climbs steadily until you reach a zone where time warps, aging is reversed, and still you’re totally connected to the snow by forces that feel at once magnetic, emotional and gravitational.
I can’t guarantee that you’ll arrive at this transcendental state the first time you step into a Kästle MX84, but you will if you keep trying. For if you’re not a beautiful skier before you encounter an MX84, in time it will make you one. This claim probably sounds optimistic, if not delusional, yet several testers claim that the MX84 essentially coached them into making better turns. Rather than dismiss it as New Age hogwash, I suggest you reconsider the hypothesis that a great ski invites great skiing.
