Europe 23/24

So I opted for the off piste course. Not the Intro to Ski Touring. They are “strongly recommending” 100mm underfoot skis. It can’t be because they’re expecting powder skiing.
Do the wide skis help while skiing spring snow? I’ve got my 92mm all mountains. Should I rent a pair of wider skis? @Tony Crocker you’re the spring skiing guru. Do you use your daily driver Bonafides late season?
 
Sbooker said:
I opted for the off piste course. Not the Intro to Ski Touring.
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That's what I would've done!

Sbooker said:
Should I rent a pair of wider skis? @Tony Crocker you’re the spring skiing guru. Do you use your daily driver Bonafides late season?
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A shame that skis don't have the ability to go back and forth between mid-fat and fat on the fly like an adjustable mountain-biking seat post! Many people swear that they can carve comfortably on 98s and above when skiing hardpack; however, it looks painful to me. Let us know what you decide.
 
Sbooker said:
Do the wide skis help while skiing spring snow? I’ve got my 92mm all mountains. Should I rent a pair of wider skis? @Tony Crocker you’re the spring skiing guru. Do you use your daily driver Bonafides late season?
Click to expand...

I do not ski on anything more narrow than 106mm—the last model year of Rossignol Soul 7—and fatter skis for some powder days.

Since moving to Seattle and San Francisco, I have been 100+mm for almost 25 years. Yes! They absolutely help with light powder, heavier powder, and Spring snow. Stiffer skis can help in these conditions as well.

Most often in the Cascades, Whistler, and Tahoe, you will be skiing in higher water-density powder, and you need a wider ski to help push through it. Spring snow skis similar to this heavy powder.

Carving? Sure, most fatter all-mountain skis have enough sidecut that you can just set them on edge and they carve decently. I am not running slalom gates. Nor do I care to do a lot of short radius turns.

Do you need to rent fat skis? IDK. I don't like getting thrown around in variable Spring conditions on pencil sticks.

I still use my Rossignol Soul 7s because they are softer than most fatter skis. Therefore, they perform decently in moguls and tighter trees. You can flex them enough to get 'quick enough' turns.
 
A lot of this is personal taste. Also ski ability and ChrisC’s is very high.

I use the 98mm Bonafides in spring and like ChrisC I think they are just fine for carving groomers. My 112 powder skis are OK for soft groomers but not great on hardpack. With spring conditions in the Alps and early morning guiding you will be skiing some hard snow early in the day.

I also think your 92mm will be just fine. That’s not considered narrow by most skiers. Presumably your skis have a wide tip and some early rise.

James uses 82mm in the Alps and manages powder just fine though that would not be my preference given how well the Bonafides do on groomers.

There are people who think wider skis stress your knees more on groomers. Like Chris I don’t see that and neither does Liz even with her history of knee issues.
 
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