A Love Letter To Powder Skiing

If you’ve been reading my reviews since I started writing for Blister in 2012, you’re likely aware that I’m somewhat obsessed with powder skis. I’ve spent most of my ski life up here in Alaska and have traveled pretty extensively in pursuit of deep snow. For the past 14 winters, I’ve also worked full-time as a heli ski guide at Chugach Powder Guides in Girdwood, AK.

For most of the last 20 years, I have been on a pretty tight budget, but jumped on the first generation Powderboards, owned half a dozen pairs of 138s and 120’s and had some early 192 Comis. In 2012, two things happened that really accelerated my obsession. The first was starting to write reviews for Blister, which allowed me to get on more skis more frequently. Second, I was offered a job guiding for Chugach Powder Guides, and now on my 14th full season of guiding heli skiing here in Alaska.

Over that time, I have not only tried the vast majority of pow skis on the market myself, but perhaps more importantly, I’ve watched thousands of people ski all kinds of soft snow conditions on a wide variety of skis. I’m sure I have a ton left to learn about all of this, and that my experience doesn’t translate to all skiers and all operations and conditions, but I think it has given me a somewhat unique insight. I also know that the skiing we do from helicopters and snowcats is different from lift-served powder skiing. With all of that in mind, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time talking pow skis with anyone who shares my passion and have had a little input on a couple of skis over the years. I still don’t have exactly what I want, and more importantly, I don’t think that a ski currently exists on the market that I could put a wide variety of skiers, from intermediate to highly trained experts, and they’d all do well with it. 
 

Through Blister and my general interest in the ski industry, I’ve watched powder skis generally get narrower and more versatile over the past few years. This is probably a good thing for a lot of skiers in a lot of places, but where once every brand had at least a 120+, and many had a 130+, those are both getting rare. I think I’ve tried almost every ski over 120 currently on the market, and a significant portion of those over 115, and am still looking for the right ski without having to rely on a full-custom build. Below are the features I’m looking for:

Waist width over 130mm
 

While you can certainly have a great time skiing powder on much skinnier skis, the underfoot width matters for deep and/or steep skiing situations. The benefit of the extra width underfoot allows for much more maneuverability vs relying on the length of the ski to keep you higher in the snowpack. I started to realize this after skiing back-to-back heli runs using ~120mm traditionally shaped skis, 130+ rockered skis, and 130+ “reverse/reverse” skis. The 120mm ski felt more locked in and required much more weighting/unweighting of the skis to break free from the turn. Both types of 130+ skis felt much looser and actually quite comparable in any snow deep enough that I couldn't feel the bottom.  

Flat or slightly cambered area underfoot, with just the right amount of tip tail rocker:

I absolutely love full reverse camber skis and still ski them regularly, but in my observation, most skiers do better with a flat or very subtly cambered area underfoot. There is essentially no downside to the flat/cambered area in deep snow, but in firm snow, it does provide more support and requires less fore/after balance from the skier. When things get weird in bumpy runouts, a little stability underfoot provides better support, making it easier to get back under control. 

The correct amount of tip tail rocker allows for the balance between a long effective edge when tipped at higher angles, with a very loose, “pivoty” feel when needed.  Too much and the ski loses stability, and too little and the ski dives, no matter how fat it might be.  

I have spent 100’s of days skiing on “reverse/reverse” skis like the Spatula, Powderboard, various iterations of the 138, and the HL 132. I have long appreciated that shape for the ability to drift out turns or “slarve”. What has surprised me is that similarly fat skis with a little more traditional shape, like the Powabunga, create very similar feelings and capability in deep snow, something I attribute to the large underfoot platform, mentioned above, combined with the right amount of tip and tail rocker. But, compared to the reverse/reverse skis, those with more traditional shapes are much more capable of normally carved turns in firm snow and provide more stability and predictability in variable conditions. Even in breakable crust, long the domain that reverse/reverse skis blow everything else away, the right ultrafat, rockered ski will do even better, partly because they add the ability to just ride the turn radius through the crust but still allow for the skis to break free when needed. It took me a while to come around on this, but I’m now convinced it’s the way.

Progressive Mount Point
 

I love a traditional mount point as much as anyone for on-piste skiing, but in powder, especially when things are steep and technical, I want the ski to feel balanced and loose when thrown sideways. This has to be combined with the width and rocker profile above for a very balanced and intuitive feel when you just have to get sideways in powder.  When the rocker and flex are nailed, and the forebody of the ski is long enough, a progressive mount point is the best solution for powder skiing.  

Tip Biased Flex
 

The skis that are often the most demanding/least forgiving in big mountain conditions are those that have a stiff tail and soft tip. On firm, on-piste snow, this combination can work well with the soft tip that easily initiates, and then the strong tail provides power and rebound. In soft and variable snow, however, this same flex can be a liability with the tips feeling “foldy” and the tails punishing.  I personally prefer a strong shovel that can support aggressive skiing when I’m in control and balanced, and a slightly softer tail that is just strong enough to support me but also very forgiving so that if I do end up there, I don’t find myself getting bucked or locked into a turn. This is also very helpful for less experienced powder skiers who inevitably find themselves leaning back in soft or variable snow. In addition, this type of flex pattern makes it easier for skiers who have not yet fully mastered the ability to weight and unweight their tails in turn transitions. 

For experts, this extra forgiveness increases confidence to go faster, knowing that they can always throw on the brakes when needed and that the ski won’t punish them if they get knocked around by surprise conditions, while the strong tip provides support for more traditional stances and those who want to drive the shovels. 

Most current models of fat skis either have a uniformly stiff flex that provides the shovel support but has a less forgiving tail or, more commonly, a universally soft flex that provides forgiveness but can lead to the tips “folding up” when driven in deep snow, especially deep maritime snow.

The Benchmarks

The Powabunga is a remarkably good ski that provides almost all of the above features. At CPG, they are a perennial guide favorite.  Aside from no longer being in production, its areas for improvement are:

When I first skied the HB122, I immediately recognized that it had the durability, stability, and tail that was exactly what I was looking for. It was buttery smooth and provided great support when charging through chop, but was remarkably forgiving and could be skied a whole run from the backseat (if needed) without losing control. It provides a gentle nudge to get back forward without any punishment. In shallower snow and chop, it is ridiculously fun, but for me, as soon as the snow gets deeper, I find myself wishing for a stiffer shovel/front of the ski, the very things that the V2 should address.

The Solution
 

After long discussions with Marshal, the HB122v2 has been updated for 2025/2026 to feature a tip-biased flex pattern.  Once I get some time on it, I think the HB122v2 could become my go-to Alyeska “resort powder ski”. For deep powder skiing, I still want more width. That’s where the new HB135 comes in.  I hope it will be perfect for both expert powder skiers who want to push themselves and those experiencing the joys of the steep and deep for the first time. I’ve been wanting this ski for years, and I really hope we can make it happen. 

Thank you for reading this and hopefully joining in on these special skis.

- Paul Forward