Heads down, testers Jeff, Bjorn, and Anna-Sophie fill out review cards on the chairlift ride, before switching to the next pair.
The 2012 OntheSnow.com ski test is a wrap. As one of the more widely visited online ski websites, with an equally popular annual ski review, it was an awesome opportunity to be one of the testers this year. Over the course of three days, about a dozen of us each skied and evaluated over 60 different skis on Aspen Mountain. If that sounds like a lot…it was.
It's a lot of information. Here's a shot of 23 reviews I completed on the third day of testing. After this short break where I sorted my review cards, I went back out and did three more.
The skis were scored on versatility, carving, playfulness, stability, and float/powder. Detailed comments on their performance in these five categories were also required, as were overall impressions. One of the more challenging aspects of this was trying to distill unique thoughts for so many different skis and put them into words on the short chairlift ride back up.
Because there were so many skis to test, it was easiest to do quick laps up top on Chair 3 (Ajax Express) and switch to a different pair after each run. It made for a busy three days. On Day 3 I tracked my skiing with the new Aspen/Snowmass app and here’s what my day looked like-
That's 26 skis tested lapping Chair 3. If you count the peaks and valleys, it's short by one because I accidentally turned it off in the beginning and missed a lap.
30,000+ vertical feet and more than 60 miles traveled up and down to Chair 3, that’s definitely a record. It actually felt like a sort of endurance event at times.
And the top ski was…
We had a lot to evaluate and not much time. We filled out review cards on the lift as we tested them.
I can’t go into details of the brands and models tested and how they scored, but I will say there are a lot of cool, new skis to hit the slopes next year. The reviews will be published next fall, before the start of the 2012/13 ski season, which will probably prove to be just enough time for the staff at OnTheSnow.com to sort through the massive amount of review data.
I look forward to seeing how it all shakes out in the final review, which I’ll pass along as soon as it’s announced.
I’ve always thought it was way unfair to have to make decisions on so many things so quickly. Same when the eye doctor says “which is better 1 or 2, 1 or 3? Now speed dating does the same thing. On Valentine’s Day at CB we had a ski lift dedicated to speed dating. You got 8 minutes with Ms. Right or Ms. Wrong. Incredibly warm over on this side of the Elks. Frozen up until noon at least and the resort is not smart enough to change operation hours to 10-5 with the time change. Best skiing of the day is when the lifts close. Hope you got to keep a pair or two of those skis. Rod
i think you may have eclipsed my season-total laps on ajax express in a single day. nice effort, and funny comments, dr. nash.
Funny Rod. I found one run enough time to get a feel for each ski.
Hopefully the snowbridges last long enough on your side to keep our feet out of the creeks for the GT.