Remember how lousy the snow was up in British Columbia during the winter Olympics in early 2010? I went heli-skiing up there a couple of weeks after the games ended and the ski guides had never seen conditions that bad. Warm weather and thin snowpack meant the best snow was in the dense forests, protected by the tight trees. They had us on these Rossignol S7’s and I could not believe how quick they turned through the tight stuff. When we were able to find the few stashes of deep stuff, they absolutely rocked – they’re quite wide so you really float on top, and shaped to turn quickly. In the high, exposed alpine much of the powder had sun & wind-packed down and it was very hard and fast (not what you want when you pay to go heli). The Rossi S7’s ate it up and behaved like quick-turning slalom ski’s. The standard camber underfoot and reverse (or early-rise) camber at the tips & tails looks strange but I’m telling you, it works.

And they’re ugly as sin, so put them away quickly at the end of the day.

Overall, probably the best ski I’ve ever been on. I’m 53 years old, 205 lbs, 6’1” and have been skiing for 40+ years. Two very big thumbs up on this one.

The Mantras are fantastic skis. I'm 6'1", 205lbs, 53 years old and with 40 years skiing experience, ski expert terrain aggressively. All the hype you've heard about these is true - these skis flat out rock. I've skied them on balls to the wall hard pack steeps and they hold their edge really well. Wonderful in the thigh-deep untracked stuff out west, and great on the thick / wet warmer stuff in the Sierras. Also they're easy and fast in the chopped pow (which is much more common at most ski areas than the untracked) - they handle it all well. Highly recommend.

This is a great deal on the finest equipment for anyone heading off the groomers should carry. I just bought this set-up before our latest ski trip to Austria, and it worked great. In addition to its kickass use as a ski pack, the pack also worked great as a carry-on with the airlines (although I stuck the shovel & probe into my checked luggage so airport security wouldnt freak). The Pulse Barryvox transceiver is the absolute best on the market my buddies were all stoked that I had it because it locates buried signals (by that I mean their buried bodies) faster and more easily than anything else out there. And I was a bit nervous because they had cheaper tranceivers that were glitchy and hard to use.
Fortunately we stayed out of avalanche trouble (not always easy to do). This is not the kind of equipment that is worth saving a little bit of cash on whats your buddies life worth? Get the Mammut Respect 30 Avalanche Package and know youve got the best avie gear (and then train & practice using it!).

This is the best jacket I’ve worn in 35+ years of downhill skiing - Great for cold & windy weather! I bought mine on sale last fall and had doubts about it – it felt too lightweight to keep me warm. But last week I finally got up to Mammoth for four days of pre-Holiday (crowdless) skiing and tested it out. Ended up wearing it every day. The temperatures ranged from 0-15F with some heavy high winds. I wore a very lightweight poly-pro T-shirt and my lightest fleece under it and stayed toasty. The insulating material works wonderfully and this jacket truly is completely windproof! The built in hood works great with or without a helmet. I am 6’2”, 215lbs, 51 years old. Fit is great, doesn’t constrict, great pocket & zipper design. My friends were totally jealous and kept wanting to try it on cause they were freezing their tails off. We went into the lodge so they could warm up and I kept it on – it was so light and comfortable, I just unzipped it and stayed nice & cozy. This jacket rocks!