Steep skiing, depending on your stylistic persuasions, comes in two French flavors: Tof Henry and Vivian Bruchez. Henry sadly died while practicing his inimitable and beautiful form of steep skiing: huge, fast fall-line turns over enormous exposure. Bruchez’s style—flowing, rhythmic, double pole-plant hop turns – is no less beautiful thanks to its amazing consistency and control, but, unlike Henry’s, is a conceivable aspiration for recreationalists like us. In my aspirations to ski like Bruchez, I am reviewing a pair of Majesty Superpatrol Carbons.
Majesty bills the Superpatrols as a “ultralight carbon technical ski for rescuers and mountain guides.” Bruchez is a guide. Must be on the right track. The ski, and Majesty’s whole line-up, is rather unique in my experience. All of their skis share an aggressively rearward mount point, leaving more of the ski at an equivalent length in front of you. They argue this makes the ski more maneuverable and, assuming you can stay on the front of the skis, you get more ski/gram since you shouldn’t be pressin’ those tails anyway. I think it will make the ski more powerful. We’ll see. The Superpatrols (and the Supernovas, which I am separately reviewing) also have quite flat tails and a heap of camber. Those features make me think this will be a grippy, demanding ski. The shovel is to me surprisingly rearward, and the rocker generous for my conceptions of what a “steep ski” is supposed to be. I am curious how all of those factors will combine when it’s time to ski with precision.
