Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information & opinion website. Lou's passion for the past 50 years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about
ski touring and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the
Fourteeners! Books and free ski touring news and information here.
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Which black Blizzard skis are those?
Zero G, baby. Lou
Better question what volkl’s are those with the dynafits?
BMT 94 Volkl. They should be illegal, perhaps when they sort out all this supreme court stuff they can do a constitutional amendment that skis this good are cheating and shall be put through the recycling chipper because they cause uneven distribution of turns. Lou
The black top sheet Blizzard Zero G has popped up in a few photos. Will there be a review coming soon?
Mike, what happened is they came in last year with the defective Marker toe units. I had to get those swapped, and by the time I’d gotten around with that, combined with our light winter and Lisa and I doing so much traveling, I didn’t get out on them much. I am remedying that with myself and others this winter. They’re good skis. They really hook up on the piste, light, not so much rocker. I think for my style I like the full rocker forgiving feel of the BMT, but that’s only personal. These are real, adult skis made for real skiers. More later. Lou
I thought you guys hated black skis?
And what’s with the Blizzard skins on the Volkl’s? Testing? Couldn’t scam the proprietary skins from Volkl? Don’t like the Volkl skins? Just curious… Really longing for those Z G 108’s out here in the PNW.
my question–what’s the car? Nissan? AWD by any chance . . . ?
Jeez, are you guys auditioning for the next Sherlock Holmes movie or something? The car is a Nissan Versa, we bought it used quite a while ago and we’re driving it into the ground. Poor man’s Prius. Doesn’t look quite as good in the Whole Foods parking lot, but we cope. Lou
VT, whoa, all I’ve ever done with black skis is, based on experience, say we strongly dislike the way they pick up ice and stuck snow on the topskin. We know that is true for our climate here in Colorado. Apparently not such a big factor in other snow climates. Not testing skis because of what color they are would be ridiculous. I’ve done plenty of stupid things in my life, but giving up on good skis just because of their color is not one of them. It’s simply one factor in the mix. Sure, all other things being equal I’d pick a light colored ski over a dark one… but…
As for the skins, the Volkl branded “glueless” skins don’t work in our climate. They are stored away. The Blizzard skins are a very glidy Pomoca that are in good shape, so I just use those on both.
No shortage of skins, skis or bindings here at WildSnow. Mixing and matching is easy, and helps inform our writing.
Lou
Lou Two,
what length BMT 94 are you guys ripping around on ? I’m contemplating a pair of those to compliment my V Werks Katana, those are 184’s mounted +1 – love these boards !
I’m 5′ 8″ with a backcountry ski weight of around 180 lbs geared up ..
Thank you !
Rick, I’m using a 176 cm. Sounds like it would be a toss up between that and a longer length for you. I’m light in weight and not a very aggressive skier. Lou
Hey Lou, thanks for the post! Really appreciate it!
Think snow,
Bo
Seems like every time I take my kids skiing I have to remind them not to lean the skis on the car. Too bad they are sold out at the link ’cause I would buy one.