A glimpse of the shovel…I had a better shot, but it was on my phone…which died last week and I lost it. Bummah.
I’m usually geeking out over saving grams and rocking the lightest, latest, greatest…but I’d heard about the new board from Salomon, the BBR, and I had to give ’em a ride.
At first glance the ski really does look different–the ski designer also makes surfboards, which the BBR shovel obviously draws from. It’s a normally cambered ski, but has a dramatic sidecut (140/79/102), and a squared off tail. It’s middle of the road, in terms of weight–1780g/3.9lbs (published weight, not mine) for a 169cm ski. That’s eight pounds for a set, which isn’t unusually heavy, especially for a ski with this much uumphf. Having a 79mm waist saves some tonnage, eh?
I skied the BBR on a bulletproof day at Breck, under splitter weather. Totally great day and because my Dynafit TLT’s won’t reliably use a step-in binding, the folks at Breeze and Salomon generously let me snag some boots to ride. I haven’t skied a true alpine boot in more than a decade–turns out all that extra weight makes them ski really well. Ah, what a throwback to lift skiing and charging with buddies!
Breck’s a great venue because it’s lower key than Vail, though I hear they somehow do more skier visits in a season. I’ve gotten to know the mountain pretty well, skiing with friends who live there, which makes it enjoyable. Our lean start to the season had runs like Mach One basically bone dry, but they’re catching up now…so hopefully I can get back up there on a soft-snow day to see how the BBR handles crud and powder.
And oh yeah, the BBR! That thing is a party ski on hard snow–I didn’t find the speed limit on it and it gets over on edge crazy fast. Once on edge, it holds on like Zsa Zsa Gabor hopped up on meth in a diamond shop on Rodeo Drive. In a word: tenacious. It was a total blast.
They say the floaty shovel and tail handle powder pretty well, which I’m open to believing. I think the BBR will certainly blast crud, with a stout wood core and plenty of heft, it didn’t chatter on icy patches the day I rode it.
In all, the BBR was a total gas the day I had it. I’m curious about softer snow and maybe I’ll get on it again. As a backcountry ski–and to be fair, NOT its intended purpose–I think the sidecut would be bothersome on the up, as the shovel and tail will be in contact with the slope, while the waist (where all one’s weight and grip come from) would be pushed outwards. Dunno, I’ve never toured on a ski with that much sidecut, but it’d be an interesting exercise. Maybe I can beg them enough to mount a set with Dynafits. Pretty please?!
For anybody doing most of their in an area, both on- and off-piste, this thing is a gas. Damn, makes me want to get an alpine set-up, just for speedy days on groomers. Rebecca would never forgive me for showing up with another set of boots and skis…but a man can dream. Thanks, Salomon and Breck for a good time!
