Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11

I recently returned from a long hiatus from skiing. I grew up skiing
but in the past 12 years (18-30) I skiied about 6 times, 1 of which
was in the past 4 years (!)

Getting back on the slopes & I am trying to emerge from the "ice age"
(I skiied my best in the bumps on 203cm Dynastar Course SLs).

I am 6'2", 210lbs. and categorize myself as an advanced/agressive
skiier. I ski steep terrain, a mixture of bumps, groomed & whatever
the new england weather brings, e.g. ice & granular. Sometimes I run
full open, cutting wide arcs. I also spend a lot of time doing tight
turns & hard bump skiing.

Last weekend was my 1st weekend back on the trails. I demo'd 2 pairs
of skis.

Day 1: 181cm Atomic GS11's
After 1 warmup run I was up on the steeps cutting turns with ease &
about 2 hrs later I felt like I never stopped skiing. These skis were
incredible - they seemed to carve well, were stable at speed, yet also
were responsive in tight turns. I found that if I loaded the ski
right and worked my carve I could get really fast action, even in the
bumps. They didn't mistake me for a bump ski by any stretch, but were
quite acceptable likewise.

After skiing the GS's I was ready to say "sign me up" for a pair. I
have skiied SL skis my whole live and was really suprised that I'd be
turned on to a GS ski. Then again, when I was skiing in the 80's a GS
ski was not good for much else (to me anyhow).

Based on my experience with the Atomic GS11, I'd call it a good all
around ski for an agressive skiier who does more than GS. If you are
willing to work a little harder & trade ski forgiveness, the ski can
be enjoyed in tight turns & bumps, as well as offer stability at speed
and decent & performance on ice/hardpack.

Day 2: 171cm SL11's
These skis were also great. They had a noticably faster transition
when turning, yet they also seemed to be pretty good at cutting wide
turns. The SLs seemed more skiddish on ice than the GS's, but in
fairness I hit more ice with the SLs and was a little tired from Day
1.

The SLs were good, but I found them less stable on ice, which is a
known quantity here in New England. Also I think the stability at
speed affected by the shortness of the SL (171).

The guy at the ski shop wans to put me on Atomic R11's (ride series)
next as he thinks they would be the 'best of both worlds' for me. He
called it an 'all mountain' ski, which seems to be quite the rage
these days.

Back in the day 'all mountain' skis struck me as "pretty good at
everything but not great at any one thing", and definately not a ski
for a hardcore skiier.

Based on the above can I get some feedback on the following:

1- Am I way off base thinking that a GS ski would be a good fit based
on my needs?

2- Does my assessment of the Atomic GS11 sound reasonable?

3- Does an all mountain ski fit the profile for my needs? I don't
want ego or outdated logic to make me pass up considering a good ski
for me.

4- Would I be crazy for passing up further demos if I loved the GS11?

5- Can you think of any other skis I may want to consider?

Also FWIW, I will be running a set of Atomic Race 10.50 boots to
replace my 13 year-old Munaris. Normally I'd never buy boots w/o
trying them on, but the price was right, I can return them if I don't
like the fit, & the reviews I read online sounded good. Because I am
getting all new gear, I can't afford to try on boots at a shop & pay
$500 for them.

Thanks for your advice...!

My last year race ski was a GS11. My play ski was also a GS11! By the way my
boots are 10.50's. I just loved that set-up.

Rich C.

Glad to hear that seutp worked well for you. In the interim I have
bitten the bullet and ordered my gear:

New 2004 GS11's (181cm) $433 shipped via ebay
New 2004 R:412 bindings $178 shipped via Plaine's of Pittsfield MA

I would much rather patronize a local ski shop but I simply cannot
afford to gear up at retail prices - over $900 for this combo!

What is a fair price to pay for mounting the bindings & what should I
look for, e.g. an Atomic dealer or a shop who does a lot of race ski
setups, etc?

It would be rather rude of me to walk into my local ski shop with my
dot-com gear since I demo'd their Atomics for 2 days for $50 total.
When the guy found out that I bought my boots on ebay, he was like "Is
your computer going to fix your gear when it needs to be serviced?"
He does have a valid point...!)

Thanks...

(RCHRIS) wrote in message ...
My last year race ski was a GS11. My play ski was also a GS11! By the way my
boots are 10.50's. I just loved that set-up.

Rich C.

Andrew wrote:

When the guy found out that I bought my boots on ebay, he was like "Is
your computer going to fix your gear when it needs to be serviced?"
He does have a valid point...!)

Absolutely he does.

(RCHRIS) writes:

My last year race ski was a GS11. My play ski was also a GS11!

Oh, person after my own heart. Ain't it sweet?

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.

(Andrew) writes:

Glad to hear that seutp worked well for you. In the interim I have
bitten the bullet and ordered my gear:

New 2004 GS11's (181cm) $433 shipped via ebay
New 2004 R:412 bindings $178 shipped via Plaine's of Pittsfield MA

I would much rather patronize a local ski shop but I simply cannot
afford to gear up at retail prices - over $900 for this combo!

I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length
right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were
their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up
front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of
different lengths before I found the right one for me.

What is a fair price to pay for mounting the bindings & what should I
look for, e.g. an Atomic dealer or a shop who does a lot of race ski
setups, etc?

Yes on both. It'll be one and the same.

It would be rather rude of me to walk into my local ski shop with my
dot-com gear since I demo'd their Atomics for 2 days for $50 total.
When the guy found out that I bought my boots on ebay, he was like "Is
your computer going to fix your gear when it needs to be serviced?"
He does have a valid point...!)

Yeah, he does. Ya know, you can probably do better than $900 retail
if you do a little shopping. I bought mine as skied-twice demos,
with a 614 race binding, for about $650.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.

"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
(Andrew) writes:

snip
I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length
right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were
their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up
front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of
different lengths before I found the right one for me.


I did my first ever GS race on Sunday on a borrowed pair of 10.22s They
didn't feel like they "gripped" well do you reckon that's just me (I usually
ski on Salomon 3Vs) or are the newer versions better?


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk

"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...

People advised me up
front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of
different lengths before I found the right one for me.

"skis long"? Does that mean they feel longer than they are, or that you
need to get them longer than you would for other model skis?

"MoonMan" wrote in message ...
"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
(Andrew) writes:

snip
I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length
right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were
their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up
front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of
different lengths before I found the right one for me.


I did my first ever GS race on Sunday on a borrowed pair of 10.22s They
didn't feel like they "gripped" well do you reckon that's just me (I usually
ski on Salomon 3Vs) or are the newer versions better?

Did you try using them on any of the blue or green runs at Mt d'Arbois ?

The terrain at Cote 2000 had a bit too many changes in pitch to make it
easy to dial in a new pair of skis. The snow conditions also made it hard
to get the feel for how to get them to carve cleanly, so you were using
them for the first time on hard snow for the race itself.

I'm right at the bottom end of the weight range for adult race skis, so
I know to just go as short as possible. If you had been able to demo
different sizes a slightly shorter pair might have been easier to use.

Robert Swindells

Robert Swindells wrote:
"MoonMan" wrote in message
...
"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
(Andrew) writes:

snip
I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length
right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were
their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up
front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of
different lengths before I found the right one for me.


I did my first ever GS race on Sunday on a borrowed pair of 10.22s
They didn't feel like they "gripped" well do you reckon that's just
me (I usually ski on Salomon 3Vs) or are the newer versions better?

Did you try using them on any of the blue or green runs at Mt
d'Arbois ?


No, used my 1080's and 3Vs, I could have done on thursday but what with
Bev's ankle it didn't happen ;(

The terrain at Cote 2000 had a bit too many changes in pitch to make
it easy to dial in a new pair of skis. The snow conditions also made
it hard to get the feel for how to get them to carve cleanly, so you
were using them for the first time on hard snow for the race itself.


yep, and my first ever GS too, could have gone faster, should have gone
faster! well there's always next time.

I'm right at the bottom end of the weight range for adult race skis,
so I know to just go as short as possible. If you had been able to
demo different sizes a slightly shorter pair might have been easier
to use.


Bev and I have decided that next time we're on snow (well not Easter with
her ankle just fixed) we'll have to try blasting on GS ski's, just to get
used to them, demoing differnt makes and lengths is a good idea too.

BTW can you send me those links you mentioned.


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk