Mogul Ski
Dynastar Assault Superior
Last January I watched a transient snowboarder challenge a friend of mine to a head-to-head race down Montana Snowbowl's Angel Face, one of the steepest natural bump runs in the country. Boy, was it ugly. The boarder put $50 on the line, unaware that the tall, friendly skier with dreadlocks was Donovan Powers, the 1997 national champion mogul skier. Powers
rocketed down the center of the run, knocking off perfect mogul turns and absorbing every bump so completely that his upper body remained perfectly still. The snowboarder, meanwhile, paddled chimp-like from the start to gain some momentum before cresting the headwall and letting gravity take its course. Which it did in short order. Forced to lean back to
keep the unwieldy nose of his board from impaling oncoming bumps, the bold rider was less pilot than passenger. He hit terminal velocity after seven or eight bumps, exploded off a ramp, took a few moguls on the ass, and then repeated the process all the way down the hill. Needless to say, he bought the beer for a posse of chuckling skiers after the lifts
closed.
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| Gerald Bybee/SF |
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It has always been so. Mogul skiers have proven themselves the equals of snowboarders in parks and pipes, but snowboards don't work in the bumps. It's that simple. Without the ability to absorb and extend with both legs equally and at the same time, you can't get through a mogul field gracefully. Shaped skis aren't much better: Big sidecuts are
designed to take you across the hill in a carved round turn; in the bumps, that's the equivalent of taking you out of your line. When you try to go straight, the edges hook up and slam you sideways into the bump next to you. Edge-to-edge, fat skis, and even mid-fats, are just too slow.
To excel as a mogul skier, you must be on a mogul ski—essentially an old-school slalom ski without the heavy sheets of metal. In fact, because the basic shape hasn't changed much in 15 years, it's the last traditional ski you can buy. The French have always built some of the lightest bump skis, and the Assault is no exception. Traditionally,
lightweight has meant chattery, but because bumpers need skis light enough for pivot-turns between widely spaced moguls, and for better launches off jumps, it's a trade-off they've been willing to make. Still, even though the Assault is light and lightning-fast edge-to-edge, it has a subtle, quiet feel on snow, and its sidecut geometry, although straight by
today's standards, makes a balanced, round turn on groomed runs. Of course, if you're skiing groomers on a bump ski, you'll be the one buying the beer in the Snowbowl bar. 
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