From the Chairlift

November 17, 2021

Ski Brands

Alpine and Touring Skis

Armada – The 24/25 lineup is their most complete collection of hard-charging directional skis, performance-enhancing all mountain skis and the most dedicated lineup of freestyle skis in the industry. Armada uses tougher edges, super strong “w3Dgewall” sidewalls, great sintered bases and excellent finish work. A really well built ski!

Blizzard- Everything changed for Blizzard when they implemented “flip core” technology several years ago. Award winning skis like the Bonifide, Cochise and the best selling ski in the US last year the Black Pearl 88 followed. Now they have Re-done the line completely again with all new Rustler skis last year and the all-new Anomaly replacing the “bull” series. The Black pearls got the same treatment and Blizzard is hot hot hot!

Fischer – Founded in 1924 by Josef Fischer, this is a 100-year-old family-owned business. Based in Ried Austria, the employees are passionate about building great skis and boots. Fischer builds skis for a lot of other brands too. With a race heritage and innovative technologies like Vacuum boots, Fischer is a constant leader in winter sports technology.  California Ski Company has carried Fischer skis since 1989.We love the brand quality!

Black Diamond– Based in Salt Lake City, Black Diamond has been making skis and other gear for ski touring longer than most. We carry not only skis, but bindings, crampons, and even ice axes made by this venerable brand.

Head– Started in Baltimore in 1950 by Howard Head, this company revolutionized skiing by building the first laminated wood and metal ski. Led by the Head Standard model fully 50% of skis sold in the US in the 1960’s were sold by Head. Owned by Austrian interests since 1989, head continues to innovate. Head also has become a dominant force in ski racing, winning world titles with athletes such as Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller. California Ski Company has been selling Head skis since its inception in 1989.

Nordica – A relatively new brand for California Ski Company. We picked up Nordica in 2016.  Nordica is under the same ownership group as Blizzard. Nordica was known for years as a dominant boot company. Now they have award winning skis like the popular Enforcer series. Nordica also build women’s skis that range from fantastic intermediate models to real hard charging ones that are very well received. And of course, they still make boots!

Salomon– While California Ski Company has generally favored Central European  skis, it is hard to ignore Salomon and a few other French skis as fantastic and iconic brands. Salomon has many iconic skis over the years. From racing to surfy freeride skis Solomon really knows how to build a ski that everyone loves. From the Pocket Rocket to the QST we love Salomons dedication to innovation.

Volkl– If you are a skier and don’t know the name Volkl- well what can we say? Volkl was a very top tier line for generations. Rent years have brought new ownership. The skis still made in Germany have been consistently good.

Stockli – It takes hours to build a ski in most European factories. At Stockli it takes ten days. That pretty much sums it up. Comparing Stockli to other brands is like comparing a Timex to a Rolex (not to slight Timex watches in any way…). Stockli skis have a special magic. Once you have skied them it is hard to ski with anything else!

Wagner – Ever wanted a ski that was perfectly built just for you? Wagner Custom Skis can deliver that dream! A custom ski builder out of Teluride. A mutual friend of California Ski Company and Wagner Custom Skis said “You two companies would like each other- you guys need to work together!” So we met and figured out how to make a custom ski company and a retailer relationship work for everybody. Now we sell skis that are perfect for each customer.