Shaggy's Copper Country Skis Meets Little Cottonwood Canyon- Madeline Dunn
Butter, creamy, surfy, bottomless, face shot worthy, sleeper snow. Yup, that's what I casually woke up to on February 18th 2017. To be honest, it was a mediocre day in the Wasatch National Forest. Typically our storms roll in deep with 5% density snow: aka blower pow. However, February has been a disappointment on the grand scale of winter out here in Utah. The few storms we did get were wet and heavy. January took the cake with over 100 inches so maybe this is mother nature's way of letting our bodies rest. But why rest when you can ski?
The surprise snow coupled with mounting my new Shaggy’s CCS Phoenix 105 Tour with super light pin bindings was a perfect half-birthday present for little miss Madeline over here. I had no expectations and a lot of questions. Is the Phoenix going to be wide enough for Utah pow? Will the turn radius slay in tight trees? Will they be too long to kick turn? What if they're heavy? I am coming off of a full Dynafit race setup. Iv'e carried those skis all over the world with me and frankly haven't been impressed. But hey, its not the skis its the skier right? Wrong! It's most definitely also the skis.
I realized this after my first 5 turns on the Phoenix Tour. Holy cow! I was skiing a real ski in the backcountry. They were shredding hard and lighter than the Dynafits. My friend Aaron Rice @airandrice recently broke the world record for most human powered skiing in one year. He hiked 2.5 million vertical feet in 2016. He even said, and I quote, “I am impressed with the weight of these skis.”
I quickly remembered that the turn radius doesn't matter when you're skiing pow. Slalom, GS, Super G turns, straight line? I have my choice with these burly skis. The 105mm underfoot cuts the weight nice and the fat shovel at the tip of the ski keeps me floating. I felt like I was back on a race ski with freeride capabilities. I could throw them out to the side and my body down the hill trusting that they would support me and the g-force as I catapulted down the fall-line. After over 5,200 vertical feet, I didn't want to stop. But, again mother nature had her way with me and turned the lights out.
I remember when Jeff Thompson and his dad were making skis in Northern Michigan about a decade ago. Jeff and I ski raced together, and let me tell you he shreds! He even won a state title back in the day: no big deal! I was fascinated by the idea of making my own skis but defiantly didn’t have the resources or motivation to dedicate the effort and time necessary to perfect the craft like Shaggy’s CCS has. Jeff and the Shaggy’s crew, I am not only highly impressed with the wight ratio, design and quality of the product, but I am also so proud of where you all have taken this brand. Now, I am honored to take my sticks across the globe as I chase the endless winter. I am already drooling over next years carbon Tubby 120!
