The Montero AX has only been in the Stöckli line for two years, but in a sense, it’s been around forever, for it was built on the bones of the Laser AX, a legendary Frontside powerhouse with legions of fans. The Laser AX, and its stablemate, the Laser AR, were re-anointed two years ago as Montero models, in part to signal that the pair weren’t really Lasers, as the Laser label was reserved for race skis and the Monteros are definitely for free-skiing. To reinforce the differentiation of the Montero spin-offs, the Montero AX was plumped up by roughly 2mm everywhere, but it retained all of the traits that made the Laser AX an icon of Frontside performance.
A carving savant, the Montero AX can execute any turn shape on demand, but it brings a special flair to short, snappy, slalom turns. Because the Montero AX has the delightful tendency to fire the skier into the next turn, its capacity to set and maintain a staccato turn pace is unparalleled in a genre dedicated to short-turn accuracy.
Stöckli is always tinkering with its designs, whether there’s a notable need for improvement or not. This year, Stöckli modified how the tip behaved by introducing a second squiggle of its Turtleshell technology to the shovel. (Turtleshell tech puts a serpentine split in the topsheet of Titanal and fills the gap with an elastomer that stiffens with the introduction shock and speed.) When riding flat, the looser tip is free to adapt to uneven terrain; twisting the shovel on edge tightens the Turtleshell link and improves edging accuracy at the top of the turn. It’s this sort of dedication to details that has helped make Stöckli the fastest growing ski brand in the U.S.
Most carvers with a short-turn bias don’t cope well in sloppy conditions, but the Montero AX maintains its cool, calm and collected edge even after the groomed terrain it prefers evolves into a morass of moguls and slush piles. But it doesn’t miraculously transform into a Stormrider 95 just because it’s aimed off-piste. It’s not going to ride on top of any consequential layer of new snow, period. An 80mm waist is a sinker in soft snow, even if its tip is 124mm wide, as the Montero AX’s is. And the double rocker on the Montero AX is modest to say the least. Remember, until two years ago the AX lived in the Laser family, which in Stöckli’s lexicon means “race.” The Montero AX apple did not fall far from this tree.
Because of its race-room genealogy, the Montero AX has a lust for speed that begs to be indulged. “The AX loves speed,” observes Peter Glenn’s Mark Rafferty. “Seems to settle in the more speed you bring it. Although it is helpful and manageable at 15 mph, it’s odd to think of an intermediate skier on this ski, and yet that skier would have no issues with it being too much. Not an exaggeration to say that this is on-piste perfection in a ski. An absolute carving machine.”
In a head-to-head ski-off between the Montero AR and AX, the AR would prevail due to due to its greater facility in off-road conditions. But the Montero AX has the advantage when it comes to responsiveness in short-radius turns and quickness edge-to-edge, and is therefore probably a mite more proficient in moguls than the wider AR. In an era when two-track carvers are bred to retain snow contact at all times, the exuberance of the AX off the edge is a breath of fresh air. As the name of his store, Start Haus, suggests, Jim Schaffner has racing blood in his veins, so he can easily detect – and revel in – its race-caliber performance. “This is hands-down the best 80mm-waisted ski on the market. Worth every penny or shekel.”
Lest the point be lost in the dither of details, the Montero AX’s mastery of short turns on hard snow elevates it into the elite company of the best non-race skis in the history of the sport. Yet it is so simple to ski, it nonetheless merits a Silver Skier Selection.