In order from more-backcountry to more-freeride.
Welcome to the Freeride, Powder and Backcountry portion of our ski test. Last winter, we split up our testing over two days: one for the skis in these categories, and one for the All-Mountain and On-Piste skis that ran in our last issue, Buyer’s Guide 2022.
To test these 14 skis, we enlisted the help of instructors, patrollers and recreational skiers of all shapes, sizes and abilities. Most of the testing occurred on a snowy day in Mount Washington Alpine Resort’s Outback, a mostly trailless playground of glades, meadows, cliffs, pillows and lots of powder. For the Backcountry skis, we also took them for a walk beyond the resort in a variety of conditions. Back at the computer, we combined feedback on how the…