Today, I went to Buttermilk and hit up my Lacroix for the first time. Since I do own two Summit Custom skiboards (1st generation Woodies super stiff and 2nd generation Carbons medium flex), I knew how these skiboards would react and expected a lot out of them. What I didn’t expect is that these will become my second favorite skiboard, only second to the Summit Custom woodies.
Remember, I don’t do rails, boxes, jibs, and jumps. I only do small jumps when I get launched airborne unexpectingly. I mainly go to the top of the mountain and bomb it down as fast and as aggressive as I physically can. For this reason, I prefer a skiboard that is super stiff, giving me the most feedback of the terrain and most energy return on a carve.
When I purchased the Lacroix, I expected it to react similar to the carbons, with more flex than the woodies. What I didn’t expect is that they are actually almost as stiff as the woodies. The topsheets also do look like a single sheet of metal, not woven, with a clear epoxy above it for protection.
As far as how did they performed, they were a dream. First I hit several blues from the top to mid-level and it worked extremely well. Then I hit up several blacks and they performed without skipping a beat, grabbing edges properly, no slippage, tons of speed, etc… always in control, never felt a second that something unexpected would occur. Hit up some moguls and they performed very well, turning around the bigger bumps.
Finally, was able to hit up the boardercross track. I did the boardercross track last season at Sierra-at-Tahoe and loved it. This one, on the other hand, is a total monster. Keep in mind, Buttermilk is the site of this year’s X-Games next week, so they have really turned it up all over the place with huge jumps everywhere. This was the fastest and most challenging boadercross track I’ve ever been on, with tons of high bank turns, camelbacks, huge jumps, etc… It was so fast that it knocked me flat on my ass due to how fast the Lacroix were going hitting a lip I didn’t expect. If I didn’t do speed checks, these things would have no limit as to how fast they will fly down. I felt that I could hit a high-bank turn so fast, I could literally fly over the bank and go into the trees.
The following week, I took these bad boys out to Steamboat Springs and they just never missed a beat. Absolutely fantastic in all conditions, pushing me faster and faster with my face smiling wider and wider.
Rider – Edward Ho – Expert Skiboarder
