If this brainchild of Shane McConkey & K2 (but really all McConkey) scares you or looks too intimidating for you to ski, well, get over it. In fact, many small children and senior citizens have looked at it standing next to other skis on the ski wall and proclaimed with astonishment and confusion, “What is that!!!???”. Well, it’s a ski, you ski on it, just like a ski, and the Pontoon is the easiest powder ski you will ever ski on. The MASSIVE shovel (for those who can’t convert metric to English units, that’s 6¼”+, and yes, that’s half the width of a snowboard) and narrow tail combined with the 3-stage rocker (like the bottom of your grandma’s favorite chair, only with a flat spot under your foot) makes it virtually (AND actually) impossible for the tips to dive in deep snow and send you over the handle bars (although the end result is the same, this is not an acceptable form of face shots to brag to your friends about at the bar at the end of the day). This unique construction also allows you to turn the Pontoon’s on a dime (almost like you were on ski-blades but SO, SOOO relieved you’re not). The 189 turns more like a 160 in the trees or in your favorite chute (or for you slalom guys that can’t stop making those short little turns even on a blower day). So for all of you guys & gals that know that size in the pow really does matter, get the 189. If you like to cruise in powder and straight-lining the Nose to Fingers at Squaw is not your thing, get the 179. And for many of the ladies and the older groms that really want the goods, get the 169. Not only are the Sierras getting pounded, but the Cascades, Utah, Colorado, the Northern Rockies, and even New England have had epic storm cycles filled with bottomless days in recent weeks. Mother Nature is spreading the wealth all across the lower 48 this winter and she’s unloading all of her pockets, so the question you need to ask yourself is, “Why the hell haven’t I gotten a pair yet??? This epic season is really just getting started and I’ve already had five times as many pow days as all of last year….” And if you have the coin to ride a heli in AK this winter, make the second-best decision you’ve ever made in your entire life and get a pair to take with you.

-Tony

Labels: k2 Pontoon, k2 Skis, Lake Tahoe, Ski, Winter