Dynafit Huascaran is one of the skis that consistently “floats” to the top of our Ultimate Quiver evaluations. We’ve published previous reviews, but got this female take last winter from Piglet, a well known Aspen Powder Tours Guide and gal-about-town who’s one of the mountain women who makes our valley here in Colorado such a wonderful alpine community.
Dynafit Huascaran backcountry ski has a good surface and width ratio, rocker. They work.
Piglet: I was excited to ski the Huascaran, having heard they are designed as a lightweight but wide ski for backcountry conditions. This past March, I took the planks to Aspen Highlands where we happened to have plenty of natural and semi-natural soft snow. I skied a few runs in Highland Bowl, then headed for Steeplechase, No Name and more. I skied them in a variety of snow conditions: firm refrozen, forgiving slush-corn, spring glop. I also hit a variety of ski lines that demanded some sort of commitment and a firm edge, or a quick turn and fun mogul skiing.
Huascaran has a huge sweet spot. It loves to turn (as I do also) but will hold and carve for a nice long turn. Actually will leave railroad tracks though you need to be patient getting it on edge. Skiing down Highlands G4 was firm in spots and the ski held an edge with ease. I looked for the weirdest snow I could find on the hill and let the skis slice right through seamlessly. If I committed then the ski would perform. Love the tip rocker on the ski. It initiates the new turn flawlessly.
Perhaps the only drawback was that the skis felt a bit planky. In other words, not a finesse ski. But that’s okay so long as the performance/width/weight ratio is there, which it is.
Overall, impressive! Anyone wanting a wider ski that’s suitable for human powered vertical should consider Huascaran.
(WildSnow weight vs Surface score of 81 places Huascaran below average in mass. Weight of our 167 cm testers (width 133/110/122) is 1576 grams, 55.6 oz per ski.
In terms of shopping, we’re surprised not to see better summer prices for Huascaran. Perhaps they’re in short supply. REI has a few, we’ll add other shopping links as they become known.
WildSnow Girl is our pseudonym for gal posters who wish to remain anonymous, or use another name just for fun. Used for female oriented backcountry blog posts at Wildsnow.com, and also general subjects covered by WildSnow girls.