The Blizzard Black Pearl and Völkl Kenja have company at the top tier of women’s models, the new Santa Ana 93 from Nordica. The springboard that launched the Santa Ana 93 into this elite company is a new construction built around a poplar/beech/ balsa core with a center channel of foam. Sandwiching the new wood core are laminates of prepreg carbon, a significant weight savings over glass, and .4mm sheets of tip-to-tail Titanal, in essence re-investing the weight savings in a power account. As the core, carbon and Titanal all work to keep the cambered Santa Ana 93 calm on edge, the ski feels easier to control in unruly crud conditions.

All that metal helps the Santa Ana 93 maintain its composure on firm groomers, but its heart belongs to the untamed conditions that prevail off-piste. Its blunt, tapered tip and rockered baseline make it easier to maneuver through rough terrain and a 13.5m sidecut radius allows it to cut tight corners in trees and chutes.

“Feels like a very stable ski, one that’s very forgiving on uneven terrain and ice,” comments one of Willi’s Divas. “Skis fast, turns well, has some weight to it underfoot. I would purchase this ski.” For its brilliant balance of Power and Finesse properties, we award the Santa Ana 93 a Silver Skier Selection.

If you have your moves down on-trail and are looking to expand your repertoire to include everything else, the Santa Ana 93 knows how to take the travail out of skiing off-trail. If you seek a powder-only ski, the Santa Ana 100 and Santa Ana 110 are built from the same recipe as the 93. Unfortunately, neither is reviewed here, as we were unable to collect any data on what are very likely exceptional skis.