Aspen trip

Went over to Aspen for a couple of days before Christmas, to ski with Sven Coomer, Wayne Wong and John Clendenin. In this company I knew we’d ski fast, so I took my good skis, the metal Wagners (72mm waist, 166cm, 11m radius).

Sven wanted me to try some new boots — the Head Raptor Supershape, a plug boot with a solid upright stance and very narrow last, especially in the heel. For the past couple of years I’ve been in the Rossignol Race 1 Pro shell, with a Zipfit liner. We popped the liners into the Heads, and Sven ground the inside of the Head shell near the toe buckle rivet to take the pressure off the lateral metatarsal.

The stance in the Head is more upright than in the Rossignol, and the closer around the heel gives a better sense of power. I felt really rooted to the skis. We skied hard snow, especially in spar gulch, and I was able to match Wayne ’s snaky fast short-radius carves. Exhilarating. I like the boots. I love the skis.

Happy to report that Clendenin still skis like a pro moguls world champion, and Sven still skis like a guy who trained with Perillat and Killy back in the day. –Seth Masia