I suppose it was destiny for me to end up here - Sherpas. I was out on Sherpas 4 times this past week in varying conditions: 2 nights of pure Pocono Pavement at Bear Creek, a full day at Elk Mountain in pretty good groomed conditions (with lots of frozen hardpack and some ice coming through quickly) and a morning of excellent conditions yesterday at Bear Creek.
Bottom line assessment of the Sherpas: a quiver of one for me - simply brilliant.
Detailed review:
I was comfortable on the Sherpas from the first run. They look big - no doubt about that. The set-up feels heavy carrying them to the slopes. However, all of that disappears once I got on the snow. The Sherpas feel like supercharged Spruce 120s. I think they actually take less energy to ski them than the 120s - how is that possible? Because the Sherpas has such good edge grip, carve on rails, glide so well, track straight, skate easy (good edge bite, good glide and nice energy from the tails) and they go through what is in front of them without much, if any, deflection. All of that saves energy.
I was in Pocono Pavement the first 2 nights out. Rock hard base, rutted up, skied off, frozen hardpack everywhere, powdered sugar top surface with low grip. Thursday night was even worse than Wednesday night (the first night out) - didn't look like Bear Creek groomed overnight so it was even more skied off, glazed over and generally nasty. The Sherpas were surefooted, carved great and can do soft edged slip turns very well. They are really fast too.
Saturday at Elk Mountain was in pretty good groomed conditions. Lots of frozen hardpack and some glacial ice started showing through pretty quickly. The Sherpas go from the groom to frozen hardpack and ice without missing a beat. I was riding at very high speeds at times - felt planted and very comfortable. I skied 5 1/2 hours with one 10 minute break and at the end of the day my legs still felt good. Could have stayed longer but needed to get home. Was there with Zach from the forum, which was cool.
Yesterday morning at Bear Creek was on excellent groomed conditions on quickly softening snow. The Sherpas were sweet in that condition as well. Gliding great, carving rails, seamless tight slalom style carving turns in very tight spaces.
The Sherpas have definitely unlocked unrealized potential in my riding.
Free word association:
--Power
--Carve rails
--Glide
--Fast, fast, fast
--Skate so smooth
--Quick edge-to-edge (surprisingly so)
--Slip turn like a champ
--Grip
--Dampened ride
--Look great
--Lots of interest from other people
--Smooth turning and buttery transitions
My search for a quiver of one has ended for now. These are everything I have been looking for.
Bottom line assessment of the Sherpas: a quiver of one for me - simply brilliant.
Detailed review:
I was comfortable on the Sherpas from the first run. They look big - no doubt about that. The set-up feels heavy carrying them to the slopes. However, all of that disappears once I got on the snow. The Sherpas feel like supercharged Spruce 120s. I think they actually take less energy to ski them than the 120s - how is that possible? Because the Sherpas has such good edge grip, carve on rails, glide so well, track straight, skate easy (good edge bite, good glide and nice energy from the tails) and they go through what is in front of them without much, if any, deflection. All of that saves energy.
I was in Pocono Pavement the first 2 nights out. Rock hard base, rutted up, skied off, frozen hardpack everywhere, powdered sugar top surface with low grip. Thursday night was even worse than Wednesday night (the first night out) - didn't look like Bear Creek groomed overnight so it was even more skied off, glazed over and generally nasty. The Sherpas were surefooted, carved great and can do soft edged slip turns very well. They are really fast too.
Saturday at Elk Mountain was in pretty good groomed conditions. Lots of frozen hardpack and some glacial ice started showing through pretty quickly. The Sherpas go from the groom to frozen hardpack and ice without missing a beat. I was riding at very high speeds at times - felt planted and very comfortable. I skied 5 1/2 hours with one 10 minute break and at the end of the day my legs still felt good. Could have stayed longer but needed to get home. Was there with Zach from the forum, which was cool.
Yesterday morning at Bear Creek was on excellent groomed conditions on quickly softening snow. The Sherpas were sweet in that condition as well. Gliding great, carving rails, seamless tight slalom style carving turns in very tight spaces.
The Sherpas have definitely unlocked unrealized potential in my riding.
Free word association:
--Power
--Carve rails
--Glide
--Fast, fast, fast
--Skate so smooth
--Quick edge-to-edge (surprisingly so)
--Slip turn like a champ
--Grip
--Dampened ride
--Look great
--Lots of interest from other people
--Smooth turning and buttery transitions
My search for a quiver of one has ended for now. These are everything I have been looking for.
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