quiver expansion

With the new season coming upon us I find myself facing the new gear itch.

I currently live in NYC so ski mostly east coast. with 1 week out west.  My quiver currently consists of Line prophet 90s and atomic nomad premiums which are 76 or 78 in the waist.

I'm a lvl 7/8 skiier, 150 lbs, about 6 feet tall, and like to be off piste when I can.

I'm planning a trip to Chamonix this year instead of my annual trip out west and think I'm going to be needing some new gear for it.  My question is where should I go from here for rounding out my quiver?  How big of a jump in waiste should I be looking at?

Thanks.

From your post it sounds as if you are looking for a powder/soft snow ski?  If that's a correct assumption, I would suggest going up to something at least 15mm wider than what you are on.  Ideally, I'd go up to at least 110 mm so that you notice a significant difference from your Prophets...which are a nice all mtn. ski.  Obviously, in addition to width, you should be looking for something that has the appropriate flex and shape for deeper-snow skiing.  You also have to think about whether you want a traditional ski or something with some early rise in the tip and/or reverse camber. 

I have skied the Cham Valley a fair bit. It depends upon when you go and the snow gods (of course) but in general, don't expect a powder nirvana. It may happen, but it probably won't. In fact, you can more safely bet on deep snow in the western US than over there. What you will have the chance to sample is a vast array of off trail situations (hire a guide) with widely variable conditions.

So....if you want a powder specific ski with a wide waist and possibly rockered and all that....fine go for it. The chances are that if you travel over there with one ski like that, you'll have the wrong tool on your feet most of the time. Rockstars notwithstanding, the locals over there do not ski on very big skis compared to say Tahoe or some other parts of the western US.

The P-90 that you have is OK for the conditions there and in a general sense is a better tool than a powder specific ski. I think that the P-90 is a bit wimpy for rough windlown snow or crusty refrozen stuff but that's just my own tastes.

If I were to go over again, I might consider the Dynastar Legend Pro. It was developed in that valley by guys that have skied there their whole lives. It is wide enough for any deep snow situation, and has the benefit of a fairly straight sidecut so it's stellar in mixte salad conditions. The LP 190 is a pretty firm ski but the 184 has a nice medium firm flex and the 176 is just on the soft side of medium.

SJ