Rossignol believes it has identified a new skier type, and I’m afraid Rossi may be right.
The new skier is unequivocally a visitor, but one cut from different cloth from those minted in the misty past. He (and she) approach the entire resort, not just the ski area, treating it like a theme park. Don’t just ski – what a quaint notion! – but drink deep from the well of resort life. Ride a dog sled. Feed an elk. Go fishing. Take a balloon ride. Get out there and experience all of it, and don’t forget to log it all on your resort app and Instagram, or you won’t really believe it ever happened.
Sorry, I can’t suppress my tone of amazement. You see, ski resorts have been pitching this multi-verse vacation for at least three decades, and for most of that time the message hasn’t resonated with the longtime skiers and boarders who were their mainstream visitors.
I suppose this evolution in ski resort visitor behavior isn’t high on the list of recent culture shifts, but it’s starting to show up in how skis are made and marketed. If you only have two weeks of vacation a year and consecrate five precious days to a ski trip (seven, including travel), this sort of postcard visit that mixes in as many different photo ops as possible begins to make some sort of sense.
So, where does skiing fit into this busy agenda? You may limit your skiing to a couple of days, preferably sunny days. There’s no time to waste on lessons, but this omission won’t matter as you’ll stick to groomers unless you get a wild hair to ski the side of the trail. You want ease and security more than adventure and risk, although a hint of the latter makes more pungent memories.
The primary evidence that Rossignol has embraced this vision is the re-dedication of its core, Experience series to fit this new skier’s lifestyle. The top model in the EXP series is no longer aimed at an all-mountain expert, but someone who wants to savor a bouquet of experiences of which skiing is only one scent.
The Experience 82 Ti will make the new, all-resort skier feel like a world-beater. It eases into the turn along a gently rockered forebody, finding the edge underfoot and holding securely on any groomed condition shy of glassy boilerplate. It releases the turn like it was a wounded dove, letting go without fanfare. Its baseline is easy to foot steer, so even the technique-free can navigate intermediate slopes in control.
An expert would notice that the platform underfoot has some give at both ends, but for an intermediate this looseness is more blessing than curse. There’s no question a so-so skier can develop advanced skills while in its care, for it can make linked, fall-line-following, short turns all day long.
In a category loaded to the gills with high-octane chargers, the kinder, gentler EXP 82 Ti stands out for its forgiveness and ease, earning it our second-highest aggregate Finesse score and a Silver Skier Selection.