The Blizzard Cheyenne stands out for 3 traits that don’t normally inhabit a Frontside ski. First, it’s a flat ski, meaning it has no interface to elevate the skier or suck up shocks, nor does it come with its own matching binding. Second, both its baseline and sidecut are meant to deal with off-piste vagaries in snow consistency and depth, not the ho-hum homogeneity of groomers. And third, it’s been put on a diet that’s made it Olson-twin light.

So how does this little pixie hold its own in a rugged crowd like the women’s Frontside genre? To begin with the baseline, yes, its Carbon Flip Core is substantially rockered, but it takes almost no load to tip and press it into a continuous arc. The Cheyenne fits in among our Finesse Favorites because it’s unapologetically easy to ski whether the snow is groomed or classified under “Other.” Women who are intimidated by bumps yet can’t resist the challenge of confronting them will find the Cheyenne in their court.

The Cheyenne was already a light ski before it went through Blizzard’s Women’s Specific Design (WSD) gauntlet of changes, instituted across the Freeride collection that includes the wildly popular Black Pearl. A full-length carbon frame increases strength and torsionally rigidity to such a degree that Blizzard could switch to a wood core and still slash weight by 15% to 20%.

If there’s a downside to the Cheyenne’s upgrade, it’s that more aggressive gals can overpower the lighter model. But Power skiers can always find a haven among the world of unisex models, while Finesse ladies can better benefit from another option that enhances their ability to advance with confidence.