For the 2013/14 season, Dynafit released the Grand Teton, a new ski in honor of Jackson-based, ski mountaineering fanatic, Steve Romeo. Steve and his partner were killed in an avalanche in Grand Teton National Park, in the late winter of 2012.
Steve’s legacy includes his website, tetonat.com, countless steep ski descents in the Tetons, and his slogan, “Live to Ski”. He was also a great guy who, on numerous occasions, fed valuable beta to a tourist like me.
Dynafit set the bar quite high when they decided to put his name on these skis. They would have to be, of course, light and nimble. They would also have to ski well, in any conditions, at any time of year. My hopes were high once I mounted them up with Speed Radicals. They would surely do well on the uphill. But a light ski on the way up often translates into terror on the descent. I am psyched to say that Dynafit broke the mold here and made a ski that does both well.
The GT’s construction strikes a balance between lightweight and responsive wood, along with chatter-absorbing carbon fiber. This helps the ski to shine in short radius turns as well as high-speed GS arcs, hard or soft snow. The tail is snappy, but predictable, and the rocker tip keeps you floating effortlessly in the pow. Depending on the length chosen, the waist hovers around 105mm, with a 20-25m turn radius in the sidecut. These have become somewhat magic numbers in the current all mountain ski category.
My only feedback for the ski was that the Scoop Rocker tip initially felt “disconnected” from the traditional camber and sidecut built into the rest of the ski. At times, the tip would grab and hook me into the turns, especially in breakable snow. After discussing this with a peer, we decided that special attention paid to detuning (intentionally dulling) the rocker portion of the tip has solved this problem for us.
Dynafit also makes precut skins with an easy to secure tip and tail attachment. Buy the Dynafit skins, they work well.
I am happy and fortunate to have this set up as my everyday ski this season. It’s likely to see many different and amazing places, hopefully including its namesake peak. I’m glad to answer any additional questions that you might have about the ski, or any other Dynafit products that I use with regularity. Please drop me a line and have a great winter!
Mike Soucy is an IFMGA Licensed Mountain Guide with Colorado Mountain School.
