The Technical category is devoted to classic carving skis, a genre that remains robust in central Europe and is all but moribund in America. If you keep up with events in this obscure corner of our market, then you’re already aware that the mainstream European brands still take pride in their carving creations. No brand is more wedded to the concept of dual-track, continuous carving than Elan, and it shows in models like the Insomnia.

Elan’s signature – and singular – carving feature is called Amphibio, an asymmetrical baseline that’s fully cambered on the inside edge and modestly rockered on the outside so that the two skis will remain in perfect parallel as they pirouette down the piste. Short-radius turns are a particular specialty, as it’s always easier to coax a long turn out of short-radius sidecut (by reducing the edge angle), than it is to short turn out of long-radius shape without resorting to a partial drift.

Trueline is Elan’s term of art for an asymmetric topsheet that directs more force to the all-important inside edge, essentially amplifying Amphibio’s effect. What separates one souped-up Amphibio carver from another is its shape, and Insomnia takes its sidecut profile from the best Technical ski we tested last season, the Amphibio Black. It won’t automatically make an intermediate an elite carver, but it will sure put her on the right path. Any advanced woman will be instantly seduced by its calm assurance on edge.

For its sublime facility at rolling on and off a seemingly endless edge, we award the Elan Insomnia a Silver Skier Selection.