Type:
Handmade Swiss freeride / jibber ski for
long turns in powder and on slopes.
Level:
intermediate
to expert
"Hovering over the surface of the snow". Efficient and direct power
transfer. Perfect in every situation: for freeriders looking for a
ski with superb lift and who love the freeride feeling. For
magnificent performance both on and off-piste."
From Ski-Review:
I approached Stockli's Snake BC as an
all mountain ski after hearing raving reviews from colleagues and peers
about the performance of the original Stockli Snake.
New Years Day, it started snowing and it did not stop for nearly 2 days.
After charging around a snow baron resort on short piste carvers, the
day after it started snowing seemed perfect timing to take the Snake BC
out, with the snow not forecast to stop. There was plenty of new snow,
between 12 and 24 inches. We had some fatter Stockli skis in the Quiver
(Stormrider DP Pro and TT) but I did not want to miss out on a chance to
take the Snake BC out in the circumstances, especially given their
reputation in the powder.
So with great snow conditions, a lot of runs 'closed' due to the
inability of the piste bashers to do their job due to the conditions the
day was set. I had just finished the biggest skiing gap in my snow
career of recent years and I had not touched true powder snow like this
for a while.
I am 5'10 and we had the 177 which was perfect for me. Most Stockli skis
radiate exceptional build quality and the Snake BC is no exception.
From the bottom of the mountain up, the Snake allowed you to add some
arcs to what could be groomed nearer resort level. Not exactly snappy
from edge to edge and the turning circle could be better described as a
straight line but it railed and blasted through the low level chopped up
stuff and I was smiling already. The fact that the metal capped tips
make the tips of the Snake BC look like the tails took a while to get
used to.
Steering clear of the majority of the off piste due to visibility and
avalanche reasons, we spent the majority of the day skiing steep closed
reds and blacks. A quiet resort and a big CLOSED sign meant more or less
untouched runs. The Snake BC performed fantastically well reacting well
to a range of turn types. In some instances the Snake BC was a little
bit stiffer than I had expected, but this was a positive thing for me
and made the Snake BC a joy pretty much all over the mountain. Anyone
familiar with the French resort of Courchevel: Favourites here were the
Roc Mugniers red and the Suisses Black, both deserted and powder laden.
Overall, a fantastic powder ski, blissfully happy all over the mountain.
Apologies for the lack of comments on how this ski performs upside down
and back to front, I was having far too much fun facing forwards and the
right way up.
Note : Big thanks to Stockli for the loan of our demo quiver.
The
Stockli Stormrider is simply put, is the most precise
skiing instrument on the market today.
Never heard of Stockli ???
Hand-made in
Switzerland, Stockli are renowned for their levels of craftsmanship and
finish. They have a very strong heritage in specialist racing and
Free-ride skis for skiers who equally strong and technically competent.
Stockli skis are hand built by "old world master craftsmen" in the heart
of Switzerland. Their history began 65 years ago and those ski building
traditions of taking 7 days to build each pair of skis, all by hand, are
still used today.
