The best skis for New Zealand

By Sam Masters

Why are Kiwi skiers some of the best in the world? (Hello Craig Murray, Alice Robinson, Nico Porteos, Jess Hotter, Luca Harrington etc…)

The mountains of New Zealand are the major input for this algorithm. They are very much characters in the story; shaping Kiwi skiers and their formidable reputation of all-around ripability. The locals draw strength from the variability of their mountains and snow conditions. International visitors either ‘get it’ and join in the spirit of adventure, or they never make it past the trench warfare the first time they drive up the ski hill; fitting chains in half-frozen mud, and the kea making off with a new pair of goggles and their passport.

NZ Conditions

Shale sharks lurk on every run, only rising to the surface to take a substantial bite out of your skis: leaving you to rag doll through rock, ice, tussock, and spear grass. The snow – when it turns up – is so variable that even the Yukon Inuit need a thesaurus to read the snow report. Your skis will hit a lot of stuff over the course of a day – not all of it frozen water. Let’s just say that “wind blown rocks on groomed trails” has appeared on ski patrol signs.

Bring your “A Game” – and that includes a robust pair of planks. Durability counts for everything. A sidewall/sandwich construction is best able to take this kind of punishment. The average cap ski won’t make it to lunch time, and probably won’t even survive the harsh language used in the lift queue. Save your cap skis for the immaculately groomed pistes of the Northern Hemi super-resorts for which they are so well suited.

The average cap ski won’t make it to lunch time, and probably won’t even survive the harsh language used in the lift queue.

The author at Mt Potts.

Ski materials are crucial in New Zealand. For ski construction, weight-saving (and ski-company cost-cutting) exercises backfire in the most spectacular fashion. Mainstream ski brands are notorious for using thinner, less-durable edges, and stopping the fiberglass layer short of the ski edge. Do you really want this kind of time bomb detonating an inch away from the ball of your foot; at the crux of the turn when circular acceleration is sucking tears out of your ducts?

Variable snow is a given, so you’re gonna need a one-ski quiver; unless you’re the type of skier that can change boards mid turn. Every run is a mini-series with each episode by a different director, often in a different genre. Just get yourself a fat, turny, stable, quick, solid, racy, predictable ski that can handle anything…

Every compromise must be calculated when buying an all-round ski, so consider this: stability matters. You will be driving your boards through chopped up crud, ice and crust to get anywhere near the pow. So, make sure they are strong, stable and suited to anything Mother Nature can throw at you. With nothing but change from one turn to the next, the reliability and consistency of your skis is key. Every skier already has enough temperamental relationships – with the weather if nothing else. Avoid this kind of toxicity with those closest to you – skis most of all.