Rocking it on Rossignol

Another ski brand that I had the chance to test the other week during my demo day was Rossignol. I found two skis that I think some might enjoy.

The first ski I want to tell you about is the Rossignol Temptation 88. This ski was in my top three from the day. Let me give you the specifics before I get into what I loved. I skied a long ski, 170cm, and still had a great ride. The dimensions of this ski are 135 tip, 88 underfoot, and 124 tail. Take a look at my blog on these numbers if you need a refresher on what they mean.

The Temptation 88 is a current ski in the Rossi lineup that they have slightly updated the look of for the 2014/15 ski year. It still has a black background with a beige graphic. So super basic, but it works. Especially when you consider how well this ski performs. The biggest update is the addition of Air Tip. This is a technology that uses hexagonal hollow pockets in the tip of the ski that reduces weight without compromising strength. The bonus of this is that it helps lighten the swing weight of the ski; very helpful in trees or tight turn situations.

What I loved about this ski... pretty much everything. It was a super responsive ski. It was easy to ski, but far from being boring. It had a lot of pep, so that when I went to turn it it really popped. All this while I was skiing a long ski. The longer the ski the harder it can be to get it to respond, and I found it responsive at the long length. So I can imagine how much better the ski would be in a size I would more likely buy, (162cm).

I would really like to get this ski out into choppier terrain, because as I mentioned, I only skied groomers the day of the demo. While I think this ski has strength in groomers, it's always fun to get a ski onto variable terrain where it belongs to push its limits.

So, if you are an intermediate to advanced skier, and looking for a ski that's great on groomers, but can be taken off into choppier terrain, consider this ski. The Temptation 88 is a great option that you'll have lots of fun on.

The Goods:
Responsive
Easy to ski - yeah for saving the legs for lots of runs
Light weight
Fun on groomers - a good groomer day can be so fun
Simple Graphics
Good ski to grow into ability wise

The "Not-So-Goods":
Stronger skiers should only apply
Simple graphics - I'm a girl that likes a little colour

The other Rossignol ski that I had the chance to ride on demo day was the new Saffron 7. This is a ski that was added to the Rossi line up for the 2013/14 ski season. While it's a newer ski, they have still updated the look for the 2014/15 season, and for the better in my opinion. I really like the new colouring with pink details. But it's not an overpowering amount of colour, just enough to make the ski visually enjoyable. This ski also gets the Air Tip treatment for 2014/15 model.  Bonus.

I had the chance to ski the 162 cm length ski, that had the dimensions of 128 tip, 98 underfoot, 118 tail. The Saffron 7 was a good, solid ski. It made good turns that were very smooth. I found the ski to be responsive and it edged well when I went to make my turns. I have to admit I wasn't overwhelmed by this ski, but that can also be a really good thing for some. I think the word that comes to mind is predictable. What I mean by this is that the ski did exactly what I asked of it. I knew what it was going to give me and it didn't surprise me. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. This quality in a ski can make it the perfect ski for many and I can see that there are many that will love this ski. I can even think of a friend that I would recommend this ski for. I think she would fully love it.

So if you are an intermediate/ advanced skier looking for a solid all mountain ski, give the Saffron 7 a test drive. It could be exactly the ski for you that will allow you to make great turns, while building your technique.

The Goods: 
Predictable - this is good and bad all at the same time.                                            
Easy to turn                                                

All mountain

Intermediate/ advanced ski

Graphics

The "Not-So-Goods":

Predictable   

I just didn't love this ski...

Atomic Affection

We got out for a little demo action this week. Best part, many of the skis were the 2014/15 models! I got to try out a number of skis and look forward to giving you my insights into them.

One of the skis that I had the chance to ride and loved was the Atomic Affinity Pure. What a great ski! First a few of the specifics – I rode the 154cm ski, with the dimensions of 122 tip, 79 underfoot, and 101 tail. While this ski is in the Atomic lineup currently, they have updated the graphics of the ski for the 2014/15 ski year. I really enjoy the new colouring and details. I like the multiple colours, they were bright without being overwhelming.

This ski was great in so many ways. The first word the comes to mind in describing this ski as that it was “fun”. I fully enjoyed riding this ski. It was super responsive, I only had to put minimal effort into the turn to have it quickly respond and carve a wonderful turn. I was skiing mainly groomers that day and the ski held its edge really well on all snow - corduroy, ice, hard pack. I never hesitated for a moment on this ski. A great endorsement.

While I didn't have the chance to take the ski into choppier snow, I would have loved the opportunity to see how it responded. But based on its light weight and it's overall abilities I'm sure it would stand up well.

I would fully recommend this ski to anyone looking for a good all mountain ski. The Pure is a ski that could easily be skied by an intermediate skier, but an advanced skier would also enjoy it. Check it out for sure if you are looking for something new at the start of next season.

I also took the Atomic Elysian out for a spin even if the conditions were not optimal for this ski. The details: 159cm length; 126tip, 95 underfoot, 115 tail. The graphics are good, colourful with all the basic colours to make it work well with most bindings, boots, jackets, etc.

The Elysian was a light weight ski that handled well considering the snow conditions – as I said I was on groomers that day. This ski is really meant to be skied in more fluffier areas. The Elysian handled well on the run considering where its strength lie - powder. It was responsive if I took it for long wide turns, allowing the ski to do nice gentle turns. The Elysian has a turn radius of 17.1m, so its meant to do nice sweeping turns. I would love to get this ski out into a wide open bowl or onto a run with fresh powder. I can only imagine how much fun this ski would be when taken into its optimal terrain. Something I plan to do if Mother Nature agrees and I can get my hands on this ski again.

You should consider this ski if you already have a good all mountain ski and are looking to add a all-mountain powder ski to your options. It would be a very fun ski to have as an option.

Demo day!!

Demo day at the ski hill. All the major brands are here and I've tested a lot of next year's skis. Stay tuned for my thoughts and feedback. Awesome day so far!

Ski books for little people

As well as loving skiing I have a few other life loves. One of these is reading. The Kraken is coming to an age where we are reading to him more and more everyday. With that I wondered if there were kids books available that had skiing as a focus, kind of as a way to introduce and build an interest in skiing. With these thoughts in mind, I started my search for ski focused kids books. It's with pleasure that I can say I found one or two, but not very many. Check out the titles I found and my thoughts in these books.

Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee, by Chris Van Dusen

I really liked this book. Perfect for preschoolers and early readers. While each page has quite a few words, they are pretty basic. And better yet, they rhyme well. This makes it have a great flow as you read it aloud. The general plot of the story is of Mr. Magee heading out to learn to ski on a hill in his back yard. But having never skied before, trouble ensues, with the help of his dog Dee and a moose he meets along the way.  All ends well with Mr. Magee realizing the importance of taking a few lessons. Another highlight of this book is the pictures. Great details and colours. Enough to capture a kids attention and imagination, but also not overwhelming. I would definitely give this book a buy, I will for sure be adding it to our library.

Leo's Skiing Surprise, by Louise Leblanc, Illustrated by Jules Prud'homme

This is a book for a slightly older reader. More for kids that are reading independently and starting to get into longer chapter books. This books focuses around Leo and his friend Julio, a vampire. Leo wants to give Julio a Christmas surprise of a ski trip, so he can feel like a real boy. There are other characters that we meet along they way that play an important roll in making Julio's treat come true. I tried to read this with my 10 year old brain engaged.  I have to say that even with my adult brain off and trying to read it for the audience it was written for, I had a hard time with this book. The general concept of it was there. But I felt like it tried to cover a too many ideas in too few pages. I had to reread paragraphs as the story jumped from one theme to another with no warning and little transition. This made it hard to follow at times. And as a skiing book... not so much. Skiing was a part of the story, but I would not call it the main focus of the book.

I'm not sure that I would make this a first buy for someone, but I can see that for the right kid this could be a good introduction to chapter books. If you’ve read this book and have a different perspective I would love to hear it.

Pee Wee's On Skis, by Judy Delton

This is a beginner reader chapter book and part of the Pee Wee Scout series. I quiet enjoyed this book. There was a good story line with enough background details to get the characters since the book is part of a series. The general idea of the book is that the scouts are off for a trip to the local ski hill in the hopes of obtaining a ski badge. There is a good give a take between the characters, including some good natured teasing and peer support. They even have a bit of skiing details in the book. Although you can tell the book is a little older as they talk about making the skis into a “V”, no mention of “pizza". One complaint I would have is that the instructor shows up in a hat and all the drawings show the kids in just hats. No helmets... A bit disappointing when you consider the audience reading the book and trying to encourage safe skiing and helmet wearing.  Outside of this concern, I really enjoyed reading the book, so I can only imagine how it will appeal to the audience it was written for. And then there is a whole series if your young reader gets into the book. I would give this book a buy for sure.   

Squirrels on Skis, by J. Hamilton Ray
I've yet to get my hands on this book, but I'm super excited to do so.  I'll update this posting as soon as I get the book and have given it a read.  If you have this book, send me an email with your thoughts on it.  

Let's try skiing, by Susa Hammerle
I got my hands on this book today.  And it's a great little book. Perfect for putting a young mind at ease as you introduce them to skiing.  Simon is heading on a ski trip with his family and learning to ski.  He spends a few days in lessons, with some ups and downs, but does better every day and by the end of the trip is having a great time and can ski the big hill.  A great added feature of this book is the ski elf.  He pops up on many pages, offering encouragement or helpful tips.  And the last page is little tips to help your new skier.  A perfect book for getting a little one excited to try skiing.  Oh, and the illustrations are great.  Plus you can have your child spot the ski elf as you read it to them.  I will be adding this book to out library for sure.  

So while there are limited kids books out there focused on skiing, there are a few that are quiet good and well worth adding to your home library when your kids hit the appropriate age.  Enjoy and let me know of any books you have for kids with a ski theme.  

Ahhhh, Hawaii

While I love winter, snow and skiing, there is something to be said for sun and sand in the middle of winter. So we jetted off to the Big Island of Hawaii for 10 days of paradise, getting back just yesterday. What a great vacation. While the flights were tough, the Kraken was a trooper and slept for most of them, both ways. Yep, we're lucky!

The island was amazing. We were walking distance to a great beach that had a little inlet that we could let the boy play in. And when we needed to dip ourselves we tossed a life jacket on him and took him into the deeper water. We had taken swim lessons with the Kraken before so I knew he was comfortable with the lifejacket and he seemed to really enjoy the warm ocean waters. Much cooing, chatting and water slapping made his feelings very clear. The great part of the beach was the amazing snorkelling. Chris said it was some of the best snorkelling he had ever done. There were times that I could see 15 or more species of fish in my field of view. Amazing! Not to mention all of the sea turtles snacking on the nearby rocks...

We had the chance to get a few drives in around the island, all timed around naps of course. And we saw some incredible areas. One major destination for us was Mauna Kea. We lucked out in that the mountain had snow while we were there. But this also meant that the upper part of the mountain was closed. This made little difference to us as we couldn't go to the top. It turns out going from sea level to the top of Mauna Kea is not a good idea for a number of people, one group being anyone under 12. So we stopped at the visitor centre and had a good look around. Chris was sad that we didn’t get to touch snow. But we got a great insider tip that the Mauna Loa access road was just a short drive away and from there we might be able to find snow. Adventure ensued, including a crazy narrow, rolling road that got us to snow. But we made it and felt snow on our flip flop covered feet while on a tropical vacation.

If you look closely you can see snow
capped Mauna Kea in the background.

Another wonderful day was taking to the road to find some beaches that we had been told about. We listened to some new friends and took off for Beach 69. Words can't express how amazing this beach was. We walked through a stand of trees to find paradise! We are talking salt and pepper sand, aqua blue waters, rolling surf and limited people. There were many little coves to pick from and we found a sunny spot near some gentle waves. Again the Kraken had a wonderful time. He really enjoyed the waters here and the sand was a joy for him and us. Part way through the day we left Beach 69 to find another great beach we had heard of that was not too far away – A Bay. Another wonderful beach. Super friendly beach for little people. The shore was gentle lapping waves with a slow slop into the water. Perfect for letting a kid play at the waters edge.

There are so many other adventures that we undertook and so many that we missed (swimming with manta rays), but we had a beyond amazing time. We've already started plotting our next trip. Maybe even with some grandparents in tow so we can go on some solo adventures.