The foundational ski that launched Black Crows 11 years ago, the Corvus, remains relevant today for precisely the same properties that made it a sufficient sensation to serve as the petri dish for a holistic Chamonix ski culture brand. Black Crows’ founders, Camille Jaccoux and Bruno Compagnet, wanted a ski wider and more open to turn shape variation than conventional carving skis; the Corvus was their answer to the status quo.

Today there are dozens of models from small batch manufacturers with waists wider than the Corvus’ 109mm, but only a handful want to charge a powder field with the aggression of a cage fighter, and among this committed coterie only a couple can also shut it down with an emergency sideward swivel. The ability to summon either behavior on command may seem inconsequential, until you have to navigate a succession of 15-foot pillow drops with a forest just ahead.

The Corvus earns its off-trail chops with a gradual sidecut and a long camber pocket that provides an energy boost at the bottom of the turn in bottomless snow. A stiff flex from underfoot through the tail provides support on steeps when that may be the only part of the ski in the snow.