Atomic made a stop at Alta over the weekend as part of their traveling ski demo, and we showed up to test out the new 2013/14 ski line. From the Bent Chetler to the Alibi, we literally shredded the packed powder at Alta to find the pros and cons of Atomic’s offerings. Below are mini reviews of the Bent Chetler, Ritual and Alibi skis. We spent over an hour on each pair while skiing all over Alta’s expert terrain in day-old powder and groomed runs.
Atomic Bent Chetler: These skis seriously bring the beef. The Bent Chetler feature their powder rocker profile with a traditional camber underfoot, step down sidewall construction, wood core, carbon SPB inserts in front and in back of mounting area, and a wide turn radius sidecut. Dimensions are 142/123/134 in the 183 and 145/123/137 in the 192 sizes.
I took the Atomic Bent Chetler for my first run on West Rustler. There were some hidden powder pockets there that nobody had hit the day before after a decent storm over the weekend. It was a great place to give the 60% rocker a go. As I cut turns through powder pillows, and choppy snow, I noticed that they are really damp, and they make wide sweeping turns. I’m used to noodling a bit when I ski pow, bit these sticks are definitely most at home while going fast. I seriously would not have a problem straight-lining big mountains with the skis on my feet. They inspire confidence. However, when I got into some tight, technical terrain under the Wildcat lift, the Bent Chetler no longer felt at home. Attempting to make tight turns in the trees, they felt a bit unwieldy. Also, skiing the groomers and icy spots on the way back to the bottom of the chairlift, they performed adequately well but were sometimes hard to get on edge.
Overall the Atomic Bent Chetler skis are big, burly, and they bust through crud and broken-up powder pillows with ease. Basically nothing stands in their way.
Atomic Ritual: The Atomic Ritual are a stereotype of the all-mountain ski – and that’s a good thing. They feature a rockered tip and tail with regular camber underfoot, step down sidewall construction, backbone metal laminate, wood core, and a wide-enough for anything 103mm waist. Dimensions are 137.5/103/123.5 in the 182 size.
I took the Ritual to the Wildcat Shoulder for some packed powder and bump runs, followed by steep and even rocky terrain. No matter what Alta threw at them, it was clear that the Ritual are very capable skis. They freaking kill it on the groomers under the Collins lift and are perfect for when you want to go mach 11-teen down the mountain on the hard pack. They are very quick to turn, which makes them awesome for tree skiing and for times when you get into the bumps. Also, they’re pretty damp and stiff and handle cut up powder conditions like pros.
Overall I’d say that the Atomic Ritual are awesome all-mountain skis, but for deep powder days I might want something a little bit wider with more rocker. These are not quite a one-ski quiver but they’re close enough if you’re looking for a capable, well-built ski that is very easy to figure out.
Atomic Alibi: The Atomic Alibi is another all-mountain ski that is very similar to the Ritual, but with a narrower profile. They feature a rockered tip and tail with regular camber underfoot, step down sidewall construction, wood core, metal laminate, and a 98mm waist. Dimensions are 132/98/118 in the 180 size.
I immediately took the Atomic Alibi skis to the Supreme lift after I heard that Catherine’s was open. But once I got there, patrol was sweeping the chutes under the lift and bombs were going off. No dice. So a did a few runs on Upper Sleepy Hollow by dodging in and out of the trees and into powder and groomed runs. My first impressions were that even though the Alibi are a bit thinner underfoot than the Ritual, they somehow felt like they ski powder better. I don’t know why, it’s just the impression that I got. My suspicions were confirmed when I returned to Alta’s front side right when patrol dropped the rope on Baldy Shoulder. At that moment, I wished I was back in the Bent Chetlers, but the Alibi handled the deep stuff like champs. It didn’t take long for me to open them up and make really hard, fast turns. The rockered tips provide plenty of float and even when I got caught up in some avalanche debris, the Alibi didn’t falter. Also, because of their more generous sidecut, I was able to make very tight and quick turns on packed powder and groomers. Plus, they were fun in the trees below the Wildcat lift.
Overall, I had a great time on the Atomic Alibi and wouldn’t hesitate to add them to my quiver for those cruiser days at the resort.
For more information about these and the other skis in Atomic’s lineup, check out their website.