Thought I'd share some impressions of the 2013 Sherpa (mountain graphic).
I have had a pair at hand for only three days, so this first post here is more of an initial impressions review. As I add more days on the snow with them I might add more.
I had three very different days, all typical of Mid-Atlantic East Coast conditions. Me, 200lb, 6'4". Used with DIY riser (0.5" wider than the Spruce Riser, with Tyrolia Attack 13 bindings).
Day 1: frozen loose granular spread over smooth hard ice patches, with occasional deep pile of skied-off granular or powderized man-made snow. No issues, Sherpas handled it fine. On the other side of the mountain, nice packed man-made powder. Great conditions to try carving and other types of turns on the nice groomed slope - Sherpas did excellent there.
Day 2: soft heavy man-made powder/granular/near-slush in 45F+ temps. No drama, Sherpas handled well.
Day 3: Frozen corduroy, bare or covered with up to 10" of either fluffy fresh natural snow or heavy man-made snow (7F morning rising to 10F by mid-day, following a full day of heavy rain with 50F daytime temps). Sherpas offered a rewarding performance.
For these conditions and my style if riding, the Sherpa excelled. I was especially impressed on Day 3, where I felt completely in control in what were challenging conditions due to the constantly alternating bare frozen corduroy with areas of light or heavy powder, on a long black diamond slope. Most people who skied that day there had one run and went over to the other side of the mountain in search of easier conditions. Very few made more than one run. I on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed it did 6 non-stop runs in 2 hours - the Sherpa not once lost their edge or got bogged down. On shorter boards I would have had to slow down more, make smaller turns, and use extreme caution and be more in the back seat on the transitions from hard to soft snow, leading to more fatigue. Not so on the Sherpas - they did go through or over and never faltered.
These boards carve great and offer the most edge hold and fore-aft stability of any skiboard I have tried. I consider myself intermediate to advanced skier at this point, and found the Sherpa easy to handle, not requiring any special attention or having any particular bad traits. I can ski them in a very relaxed way or hard or in-between. They do ski like the big boards they are, meaning they need proper technique or they will get in the way, unlike shorter boards that might let you get away with poor habits in some situations. The only "bad habit" the Sherpas might promote is being in the back seat, because they are so stable and long. I think they would be most at home in the quiver of an experienced skiboarder or skier. A beginner I suspect might experience with the Sherpas some of the typical problems as they would experience when getting started with regular skis. But the Sherpa really rewards good skiing technique in my opinion - they are easy to manage, dependable, high-performance boards.
I should mention that the pair I have now is well-turned, flat bases, sharp edges. It has what Jeff Singer from Spruce Mountain Skiboards calls "race tuned", which may have a slightly edgier feel than what usually comes out of the box, but has a super nice glide and edge hold. YMMV with different tuning. Your local ski shop can do a tune like this (stone-ground flattened bases, polished edges, hot wax, etc.), Then maintenance at home would be easier down the road to touch-up the edges with a hand tool.
Stay tuned for more. Probably will need to wait until March, when I hope to get a chance to ski them on West Coast conditions and compare them better with my current soft snow favorite, the Osprey.
I have had a pair at hand for only three days, so this first post here is more of an initial impressions review. As I add more days on the snow with them I might add more.
I had three very different days, all typical of Mid-Atlantic East Coast conditions. Me, 200lb, 6'4". Used with DIY riser (0.5" wider than the Spruce Riser, with Tyrolia Attack 13 bindings).
Day 1: frozen loose granular spread over smooth hard ice patches, with occasional deep pile of skied-off granular or powderized man-made snow. No issues, Sherpas handled it fine. On the other side of the mountain, nice packed man-made powder. Great conditions to try carving and other types of turns on the nice groomed slope - Sherpas did excellent there.
Day 2: soft heavy man-made powder/granular/near-slush in 45F+ temps. No drama, Sherpas handled well.
Day 3: Frozen corduroy, bare or covered with up to 10" of either fluffy fresh natural snow or heavy man-made snow (7F morning rising to 10F by mid-day, following a full day of heavy rain with 50F daytime temps). Sherpas offered a rewarding performance.
For these conditions and my style if riding, the Sherpa excelled. I was especially impressed on Day 3, where I felt completely in control in what were challenging conditions due to the constantly alternating bare frozen corduroy with areas of light or heavy powder, on a long black diamond slope. Most people who skied that day there had one run and went over to the other side of the mountain in search of easier conditions. Very few made more than one run. I on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed it did 6 non-stop runs in 2 hours - the Sherpa not once lost their edge or got bogged down. On shorter boards I would have had to slow down more, make smaller turns, and use extreme caution and be more in the back seat on the transitions from hard to soft snow, leading to more fatigue. Not so on the Sherpas - they did go through or over and never faltered.
These boards carve great and offer the most edge hold and fore-aft stability of any skiboard I have tried. I consider myself intermediate to advanced skier at this point, and found the Sherpa easy to handle, not requiring any special attention or having any particular bad traits. I can ski them in a very relaxed way or hard or in-between. They do ski like the big boards they are, meaning they need proper technique or they will get in the way, unlike shorter boards that might let you get away with poor habits in some situations. The only "bad habit" the Sherpas might promote is being in the back seat, because they are so stable and long. I think they would be most at home in the quiver of an experienced skiboarder or skier. A beginner I suspect might experience with the Sherpas some of the typical problems as they would experience when getting started with regular skis. But the Sherpa really rewards good skiing technique in my opinion - they are easy to manage, dependable, high-performance boards.
I should mention that the pair I have now is well-turned, flat bases, sharp edges. It has what Jeff Singer from Spruce Mountain Skiboards calls "race tuned", which may have a slightly edgier feel than what usually comes out of the box, but has a super nice glide and edge hold. YMMV with different tuning. Your local ski shop can do a tune like this (stone-ground flattened bases, polished edges, hot wax, etc.), Then maintenance at home would be easier down the road to touch-up the edges with a hand tool.
Stay tuned for more. Probably will need to wait until March, when I hope to get a chance to ski them on West Coast conditions and compare them better with my current soft snow favorite, the Osprey.
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