The Burton Fish
People say everything works in powder but that definitely is not the case anymore. Now
that there are boards like the Fish and The Malolo available that make riding powder easier
than ever. It will change your life. Last year we had people who were
having a terrible time on their own non-powder specific boards and we put them onto a Fish. They
went from the worst day ever to the best day ever in 100 feet. By the end of the day they
were going to Showcase Snowboards to buy one as soon as they got out of the van.
The board is that good. It will change your life.
The Burton Malolo
If you have ridden powder and already have some skills or you already flat out rip, snag
a Malolo, with slightly less taper than the Fish. Ken the owner rides a black 166 cm
prototype with baseless EST bindings straight from JG the head board developer at
Burton. Ken's been riding since 1980 so he has ridden a few powder boards in that time. He
says this about it:
"You can load the board hard powering turns and it won't
let you down. It knows where it wants to go, it doesn't get the 'Indecisive Nose'
feeling some boards have at speed in powder, the feeling where the board can't
decide whether to go straight or start a turn. You can point it with confidence.
The board has awesome pop and you can stomp landings on it and the flex won't
buck you over the nose. You can load the tail hard in slashes and it won't buckle.
It rips everything. Best powder board I've ever had.
Here's the lowdown from the K2, Fischer and Volkl's websites on the skis that we recommend you rent for your day with us. Our guest's favorite last year was the Coomba's and the Pontoons. Doug and Shane McConkey designed the best powder skis ever.
Doug Coombs worked for years developing powder skis built for adventure
and K2 named this ski in his honor. The Coomba features a tip shape and
progressive sidecut that are predictable and forgiving in powder and
variable snow. Serious alpinists and aspiring backcountry skiers alike
will appreciate the Coomba's balanced flex pattern and 102mm waist
width that provide excellent flotation and easy handling.
A percentage of all Coomba ski sales will be donated to the Coombs
family. K2 will also donate a portion of the proceeds to the American
Mountain Guide Association's Chad Vanderham Endownment, which is
focused on improving guide education and safety.
Shane McConkey was a good friend to everyone here at Powder Mountain. His pow skis changed skiing. Here's what the K2 website has to say about the Pontoons. Like Shane, this McConkey inspired design is in a class by itself. The extra wide shovel and pin tail conspire with full rocker to make it virtually impossible to submerge the tips. Add reverse sidecut in the shovel and tail for unsurpassed predictability, normal sidecut underfoot to get you across the groomers, and you get a ski that provides the confidence to ski as fast as your nerves will allow, and the nimbleness to ski trees so tight that they were previously off limits.Read the Powder Magazine Tribute here
If you look at the photos on the site, you will see a big fat K2 on a lot of the tips. Everyone who rented them last year was really stoked.
With a jaw dropping 102mm waist, the Phat Luv is the queen of the
powder hill. The triaxially braided core enables the ski to be agile
and lightweight while the progressive sidecut provides versatility on
hard snow after the endless powder run. You don't have to worry about the last line... We don't have hard snow.
Untouched slopes. Leaving your own tracks on virgin slopes with
masterly powder turns and sprays. Making full use of a construction
that also stands up to the toughest of rides. Just like the longest
downhill in the world on Mt. St. Elias in Alaska. A technology that
creates the ideal conditions for individual performance. Sandwich
construction with I-Beam Technology. For people who want to go all out
and their own way – especially off-piste. Ahhh... ski company speak. So many words, so little said. Here's what on of our top guides, Nic Butler say. You'll really like these skis. Nice swing weight, good flex, great skis. Man of few words. He said more in french, but my french is limited to ordering beer.
The Fischer go-to model that has been impressing powder lovers for years. With 3 sizes the Porohete is accommodating for any build and skiing ability. This ski is a confidence builder in the soft stuff.
The Gotama represents the newest in twin-tip powder ski technology. Developed to blend big mountain, deep-powder skiing with new-school style, the Gotama is the cornerstone of Volkl's freeskiing collection. Gotama's serious waist platform and twin-tip design has found favour with all manner of big-mountain riders.
For powder skiers who also want to ski the front side of the mountain, the Mantra hit the mark squarely. SKI magazine called it Ski of the Year and POWDER magazine did a full page article on it in their buyers guide. The Mantra manages to be snappy and energetic in short turns and stick to ice like no other. A ski that does everything!
Renting
We recommend Affinity Sport in the Blackcomb Lodge for all your ski rental needs. Just tell them that you are going to Powder Mountain
Catskiing and they will set you up with the perfect ski for the deep powder that
we are famous for.
Click on the "Skis to Rent" page and check out the skis we reccommend. Best of all you can rent them all Affinity.
Burton makes our guide uniforms.
The coolest thing is their clothing is so great that Burton doesn't do
anything special for the clothes they ship us for the guides. They just pull the clothes from the regular stock. You can buy the exact same clothes our guides wear at your favorite shop. Our guides wear their clothes for 110 days
straight and it looks like new at the end of the season. Schwarty's and Ken's don't smell new though...
The AK clothing line really amazes us. In 5 years of rocking AK
clothing we haven't had one let us down. We haven't even had a pulled
stitch. We've ripped a few but that was the wearers fault, hooking a
sharp metal corner when they were wrenching on a cat. In Ken's case, it was hooking his butt on a stump while we were exploring Brew Ridge. The clothes are amazing.
If you are thinking of getting new outerwear, drop the coin on AK,
you'll get years and years out of it. You'll be sick of looking at it
before it wears out. It will be like the season pass photo on Whistler
Blackcomb where they just recycle your photo from the previous year.
You get older and the photo just stays the same... You won't know what year your photo is from as you will always be wearing the same stuff, looking the same. Just your airs and powder
sprays will be bigger.