This question was inspired by our recent spring skiing trip to Cooke City (
https://www.SkiTalk.com/threads/cooke-city-mt-yellowstone.23419/).
We have a pair of 163 Fischer Hannibal 94 skis, that both my wife and my 13 year old can use. Since this was a family trip, my wife used her Fullavits 95 (with Shift bindings), and my oldest daughter used the Hannibals. (Both my daughters and my wife all wear 24.5 boots).
In the firm, spring conditions, the width of the Fullavits wasn’t necessary, and the deep tail rocker, combined with the slightly longer length, made kickturns hard.
Of course, most of all, the weight was a drag on the uphill.
So I was thinking I could go a few different directions, with some new AT skis for her.
We want to do it all, but we don’t ski fast in the backcountry, so definitely favor low weight over high speed stability.
This also means we need somehting that is maneuverable at slow speeds, and in tight terrain.
We also tend to be fairly risk averse.
So things we have on the wish list would be:
Mid season low, low angle powder skiing (favors lightweight, long, wide, soft/rockered skis).
Spring Touring (favors lightweight, short, skinny skis)
European Hut-to-hut traverse (favors mid width, lightweight, capable in variable conditions)
Easy ski mountaineering (favors short, lightweight, easy to turn skis)
Canadian backcountry lodge trip (favors one of the above depending on location/time)
One option would be getting another allrounder type ski, somehting 90-100mm wide.
The thing with that is that it is very similar to the Hannibal we already have.
Another option would be getting somehting longer and wider: >170cm, ~105mm wide.
If we put Vipecs on there, she could use them as an inbounds powder ski on deep days, and use them to tour during midwinter and especially during mixed resort/backcoutry trips out west.
Then, for spring trips, our oldest could use them: she has longer legs and younger knees, so kickturns and sidehilling on 105mm skis won’t be a big deal for her. My wife could use the Hannibals for that.
The third option would be getting something in the 85-90mm width, in a short length, for maximum enjoyment and ease of use in spring (skimountaineering) conditions.