Jonathan S

Gender

Male

Height

5' 8"

Weight

145 lbs

Shoe Size

US 9.00

Skier Type

Type III+ - Expert

Ski Frequency:

100+ days / year

Website

nerandorace.blogspot.com/

My Skiing

I grew up skiing at a small local NY hill (where Max Taam also first skied!) and eventually was an NCAA alpine race coach for (too) many years, although my SL & GS skis now get almost no use, and I even sold my SG & DH skis.
Since 1999, I've become increasingly into self-propelled skiing, and for fourteen years now I've been averaging over half a million vertical feet for earned turns each season, with 600,000 over the most recent six years.
Given the fickle NE natural snowpack for backcountry powder, I often train at local ski areas and organize a multiple-venue skimo race series.
But my favorite time of year is when the wx and avy danger clears up for long 10k+ multiple-ravine tours in our Presidentials range, plus of course late spring and summer PNW volcano trips.
The best ski tours though are out our back door for xc w/ my wife & our daughter!

My Gear

Boots, sz27.0 Stratos V, sz42 Alien 3.0, sz26 PG/RC1, reviewed @ www.tinyurl.com/StratosV
Ski, all w/ race bindings (Plum, Dynafit, rebranded ATK, incl. some ISMF-banned Dynafit toes + Plum heels combos):
La Sportiva Nano 172 (deep unconsolidated snow)
Dynafit Denali 168 (winter powder, more versatile than Nano)
Volkl VTA 88 Lite 170 (winter ski mountaineering)
Dynafit Cho Oyu 166 (mixed days of compacted ski trails & glades-- impulse buy!)
Trab Magico 164 (spring ski mountaineering)
Dynastar Mythic Vertical 162 (could be used for almost anything, 87mm + crazy lightness -- even tho was an impulse buy!)
Movement Big Fish-X 160 (late-spring & summer ski mountaineering)
Hagan Ultra 65 (fixed mount for V & 3.0), X-Race (ditto), pre-rocker X-Race (setting courses & loaners)
Fischer Verticalp (fixed mount for V & 3.0, crit-style races, or anything else where skiing performance doesn't matter)
Movement Logic-X 169 (rock skis, still light, but no rocker)

Recent Posts

I think this ski should be renamed The Missing Link since I've always experienced a big gap in performance between my race skis vs "real" skis, even those in the mid 70s for waist width. I have my 160cm pair mounted with ATK Revolution WC bindings and driven by La Sportiva Stratos V boots. So far I’ve used them only three times: twice on a snowfield with a consistent ~32-degree pitch and once in a couloir that starts in the low 40s. (For fellow Easterners, these outings were laps from the Mt W summit ro...

Since my initial review, I remounted further forward, since I had noticed that the original mounting position was more aft-biased than any of my other skis (race or otherwise) of the same length. Definitely easier to grab my skin tips now, and the skis are no longer as reluctant to turn. However, once turning, they still turn rather poorly given the straight sidecut, and still not very stable once turning – or going straight either! Overall, fun to have a pair of these for training, racing, or tours th...

I have the 2021-22 closeout version, mounted with ATK Revolution WC bindings, driven by La Sportiva Stratos V boots. At ~150 lbs, I went with the 165cm length, with some trepidation over float adequacy. However, sure seems fine so far! Granted, I have used them for only two outings with a total of ~10k vertical feet. Yet that has included a big range of conditions: wind-scoured ice, some weird (yet supportable) crust, perfect powder, very heavy powder, and powder in between the prior two categories. T...

The basis for my experience is actually the predecessor model, the V, with which I have ascended 1.2 million vertical for skiing, plus some lift-served “victory laps” skiing after dawn patrol. However, my impression is that the VI is really more of a V.ii since the only difference seems to be extending the height and coverage (in the rear) of the integrated zippered gaiter. Which is about the only conceivable improvement I could think of for the V! I have a lengthy tome on the Stratos V that can be acc...

I never would have imagined that ATK could improve upon my much-beloved SL World Cup bindings (whether rebranded by Hagan for my pairs, or by various other partners, or under ATK’s own branding). Fortunately ATK engineers have a better imagination than I do! Admittedly though, the improvements are relatively minor. However, the Revolution is lighter, which would seem to be an impossible accomplishment. Granted, not much lighter, but still, lighter. This is both because the toe piece design is lighte...