The Vail Ski Resort built the first terrain park in 1990. Now, any resort worth its snow has one, and any self-respecting "park rat," as they're called, has a pair of twin tip skis. These skis, with their vivid, youth-oriented graphics, feature upturned tips and tails, which allow athletic skiers to move forward or backwards.
Choosing Twin Tips
Before selecting a twin tip ski, consider where you will use them. If they are part of a one-ski quiver, select an all-mountain twin tip. These skis have a set-back binding position, making them functional in all types of terrain. Alpine skiing on groomed terrain requires you to keep most of your weight on the downhill ski. In contrast, powder skiing requires an equal weight distribution. A backcountry or powder twin tip also has a back-set binding as well as a narrower tail and wider tip, which equally distributes your weight. True park and pipe twin tips have a centrally-mounted binding position, which allows bi-directional movement. Their wider base helps you balance on the rails and boxes.
Powder Twin Tip
In their 2011 gear guide, "Powder Magazine" and "Ski Magazine" sang the praises of the Nordica Radick. Its innovative design mixes rocker or reverse camber at the tips and tails with traditional or dome-shaped camber under foot. This enhances its swing weight, making it maneuverable in deep powder and in the terrain park.
Women's Specific
Expert female skiers who play in the park and the backcountry can now have it all in one ski. The Blizzard Crush IQ has a patented removable Slider-Mounted binding. When you tire of park tricks, switch to a backcountry binding and explore the off-piste terrain.
Most Improved Ski
The Armada AR7 was always a favored park ski, but its recent improvements earned praise from "Powder Magazine." The company widened the ski, giving a better underfoot base for jump landings, and changed its sidewall to lower its swing weight.
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