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Woodpecker Review

Woodpecker Review

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 3:37:09 PM America/Denver

We've had a period of time here in Utah this winter where the groomers are the only place you'll find Utah's "greatest snow on earth." And, who cares really, because ripping groomers on a pair of RAMP skis is so fun! I headed to Canyons Resort in search of the longest runs I could find so I could really let these skis run.

I was skiing the Woodpecker on a 179cm, which specs out at 123-90-111 and has a turn radius of 18.3m. It has the 65%-35% camber, which ensures a tip that doesn't hang-up. Additionally, this ski sports a vertical bamboo wood core, that makes it super energetic.

I like to always give some perspective of what my expectations from of a ski are before I actually go out and ski on them. In the case of the Woodpecker, I didn't really know what to expect, at 90mm under foot they could have been best at skiing groomed terrain—and that was really what I anticipated, that they were going to be a hard-pack oriented ski. I was wrong. So the day I spent on the Woodpecker, as I've already mentioned, really was all about being on the groomers and hard-pack. The groomed runs were in perfect shape, and I was out early (and the resort was pretty empty), so I spent a lot of time going fast on empty runs. I also skied a few lines in moguls, they were compact and chalky. The other terrain I skied was some off-piste south facing garbage (it had thawed and refroze a few times).

My immediate takeaway was this ski has no speed limit, your ability and headspace is the limiter. Let me give my explanation of speed limit, anyone can go fast as hell straight down the hill, carving fast turns is another story. So in short, this ski will go really fast, and stay locked-in and on edge (my Garmin watch would later show a top speed of 58 mph and lots of time in the low 50mph range).

In the bumps, the ski was super fast from edge to edge and I felt it was easy to handle—it never was jumping out from under me. I've got to be honest, I'm not a big bump lover (used to be, but not as much anymore) but I found myself have a really good time playing around in this terrain.

So the last test zone was off-piste, most of what I skied was south facing and very hard and frozen (sounds as bad as it was). Again, the ski was very predictable and easy to manage. For the record, I was trying to actually ski this terrain, it wasn't a survival mode mission. I also skied some north facing snow that was actually still soft and very easily skied, as you'd expect, the Woodpecker tore it up.

Who is this ski for? RAMP's website dubs it the one-ski quiver for the east, I don't disagree, but I'd also suggest this ski for the western riders that feel 100mm underfoot is too much width. If I skied most of my days under clear sky, this would be a great ski to turn to. Don't be fooled, I know for a fact it will ski 6 to 12" of powder just fine, it has a great tip design that helps get the ski up out of the snow.

RAMP

Woodpecker Review

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 3:37:09 PM America/Denver

Vanessa Pierce

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