Cassiar do tour.
I first mounted the Cassiars at midpoint and knew I was on a good ski — but they didn’t quite sing for me. Then I moved to +1 (as with all my other DPS) and it was like Renee Fleming hitting a high note. I can now state without equivocation: this ski does it all. With a less pronounced rocker and different tip and tail configuration than the Wailer series, you get more effective edge. This allows you to really lay them over and feel a carve that fully engages in the tip and continues through the entire arc of the ski regardless of turn radius. The edge engagement also allows the ski to build up energy in the turn with great rebound for the next turn.
Due to low snowfall in Aspen during the first part of winter, most of my skiing was relegated to fitness uphill at the areas. So I got a good sense of how the 95 Tour 1 performed on firm and groomed snow. I was impressed with the lack of chatter and dampness for a light, carbon build. As a result the ski/snow contact was superb which goes hand in hand with the above comments about effective edge and clean arc. I found myself approaching speeds typically reserved for alpine skis. I ventured into some bumps with some relatively soft, chunky snow and found the 95 Tour 1 tracked with confidence and was very directional in nature.
My first experience with corn or funky conditions was in Antarctica and the 95 Tour 1 was as predictable then as on the groomers. They proved to be as smooth as the corn snow and unflappable in the weirdest junk (and believe me, junk snow in Antarctica can get weird). It wasn’t until I returned to Aspen and the snow began to fall with some consistency that I got to run them in some powder. If they didn’t perform in powder than everything above would be somewhat for naught. After all, skiing powder is my job.
My fears were dispelled from turn number one and by turn three I popped a little air off a rock, landed and kept right on going as if I had been on these skis my whole life. While certainly not as purely playful as the Wailer series, the 95 Tour 1 lays down the same clean arc in soft snow as on the firm and corn. I then realized that I missed the more technical nature of skiing that the Cassiar rewards. I am seriously thinking I need to get another pair right away to stash in the closet before DPS deems they have run their course. On a quick note, I have the 95 Tour 1 mounted with the Salomon MTN (Atomic Backland) tech binding binding which Lou and I have already glowingly reviewed. For this trip I relied on them all day, every day with no recourse. Both the skis and bindings were flawless.
Bob Perlmutter and his wife Sue live in Aspen where Bob manages Aspen Mountain Powder Tours, a snowcat skiing operation. Bob has sought adventure skiing over the past thirty years, in the nearby Elk Mountains as well as numerous locales around the world. Presently, he is reeling it in close to home to embark on his biggest adventure yet, fatherhood.
