Volkl Gotama Alpine Ski

Have skied these about 10 times (the 07/08 gold ones) several times in 2'+ of fresh snow and generally like them.  They handle a variety of turn radius's without much fuss (I ski Steamboat trees so they clearly can turn on a dime) and have enough stability for me when going faster/straighter through open crud areas.  They also maneuver through soft bumps (that be Mary Jane bumps) very well as long as you stay over the ski, angulate and drive them through each turn.

 

While definitely a very good deeper snow ski, they are not as floaty as the width might indicate (I find myself having to unweight the tips at times to get them from diving, though this is very subtle and only a problem in tight trees - hence my concern).  Also, while very forgiving, they are not necessarily willing to respond to all techniques.  Definitely prefers a more advanced, highly angulated technique (with constant pressure applied through the turn even in deep snow) vs. a more easy-going swiveling/smearing technique.  This could be due to the 176cm length under a 130lb skier (I'd recommend the 168cm size to someone less technicallly proficient), though I prefer the stability and float of this longer length and am willing to apply the technique it prefers.  OTOH the 176cm ski is actually only 171cm long and with it's upturned tail skis closer in length to many other high 160cm skis, so it is not a long ski.

 

Otherwise, nearly perfect as an in-bounds soft snow ski (deep powder noto really) with an uncanny ability to rail on groomers back to the lift (as long as the snow is soft). 

This Buddha "Goat" is the funnest ski I ever owned.  I am an old "powder hound" from Jackson Hole days and specialized in off piste in search of fresh tracks, pow steep and the deep and found the ultimate bottomless many times with over 800 days on my belt.  This ski is so smooth in the powder, like silk, cushions very well and turns anytime you want them to with great accuracy in every carve pow or pack.  What I found to enjoy with them in the deep pow, you can let your upper body freely flex to the flow of the terrain in your turns and over rises and the skis keep their track on coarse and then when you need to tighten up your carve they coil right into place quickly and smoothly.  They have no unexpected faults, One describes this; "Definitely prefers a more advanced, highly angulated technique with constant pressure applied through the turn."  I would agree.  But this is how I trained to use skis and is what one needs to overcome as an all mountain expert skier anyway.  I got to ski up to my elbows in them in the Cali dump last week and they were so wonderfully perfect.  I just enjoy them tremendously.  I am sure there are other great skis some of you are on, but I love this pair and will keep them a long time.  Super fun skis.  They rip in trees!

This ski is brand new for the 09-10 season.  I have been a Goatama follower ever since i moved to Colorado in 2002.  Why change it?  That is my one question.  This ski at 105mm underfoot was one of the few powder skis that could handle whatever you threw at it in bounds or out of bounds.  It's overall stiffer flex gave it an edge on high speed groomers while racing your buddies to the bar and its overall width really floated the ski.

After demoing this ski last March in both a backcountry experience as well as a few runs at keystone i have come up with one thing.  They shouldn't have changed it.  In the Deep stuff the ski was fun maybe even a little more than it used to be.  The new Rocker built into the ski really helped it surface on a knee deep day.  Jumping off cliffs and bouncing through pillows took little to no effort to stick the landings.  Unfortunatley the rocker shape leaves no camber underfoot to make a turn on anything that wasn't a foot deep.  There are many other skis out there with both rocker and camber which makes them a much better pick for a more versitale ski. 

If Pow is all your in search for and you could careless about the other 50% of the time you ski this is the ski for you.  If your like me and enjoy a day of searching for pow and riding the rest of your local mountain in between your secret stash runs rethink the 2010 Goat.

Still looking for the perfect ski to replace my old Volkl explosives. Mantra was too turny in the deep.
Gotama not as solid as the explosive. Maybe I'm just getting too old:)