While the fast turns felt much better, scrubbing speed quickly certainly did not. The Cease & Desist took some serious energy to slow down quickly.
I was frustrated with the Cease & Desist in these blizzard conditions. Fortunately, it stopped snowing on day 3 long enough to let me get the ski up to speed. As soon as I was able to see a line more clearly, I was much happier with the ski’s performance, and found that the Cease & Desist works best when it has plenty of room to run.
We started the day off early with the Hanazono Powder Guides. Their First Tracks program allowed us to get on the lift at 7:30 a.m., which gave us several runs down the pillow-filled Strawberry Fields area before anyone else. Twenty centimeters of new, light snow had fallen on top of packed powder, and in these conditions, the Cease & Desist ripped.
I made long, sweeping turns and aired off small bumps and pillows on these early laps. And while I could feel the previous day’s tracked snow beneath the fresh, the Cease & Desist easily dealt with the hidden chop and the occasional tree-pillow landmine.
Turns were controlled and predictable at the moderately fast speeds I reached on these runs. But I felt like I was just scratching the surface of what this ski was capable of. It certainly liked to go fast and take airs, but I felt that the Cease & Desist would feel even more at home in steeper and bigger lines.
Bouncing off features in Strawberry Fields, and all over Niseko, I found the Cease & Desist to have a large sweet spot. Though it skis better when steered with a forward, aggressive stance, it will forgive a little backseat driving if you slip up. The C&D’s tail is short, but it is stiff enough to prop you up after a backseat landing.
A note about on-piste performance: with only 125 centimeters of effective edge (most of which is from the toe piece back) the Cease & Desist can get pretty squirrely on groomers. It is manageable, though, especially if the groomer is soft enough to sink the edge a centimeter or so into the snow. On firm, windswept piste, however, I didn’t feel comfortable at speed.
This kind of performance comes with the territory. You don’t buy a ski like the Cease & Desist to rail turns on groomers but to get you from one stash to the next. This ski can get you there as long as you keep your wits about you.
Bottom line: Things that the Cease & Desist doesn’t like include groomers; tight, tracked-out trees; and blizzard conditions that require you to stop on a dime. But ON3P never says this ski is meant to do any of that. It is billed as a tool for “aggressive skiers ready to charge on powder days.” As long as you can see on these powder days, the Cease & Desist can live up to this label.
I couldn’t find the speed limit on this ski, which is a testament to the ski’s ability to charge. The Cease & Desist may not be the right tool for someone who does a lot of pow skiing in the trees, or for someone who values supreme versatility in a powder ski. But if you’re looking to point it down an open pitch, this could be your ride.
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Where exactly you did mount bindings? I’m going to buy these skis and I’m thinking to do some backcountry/off-piste kickers and throw some tricks. Would true center be good mount position for such?
Just to be clear, we haven’t skied the current C&D, and the 12/13 is a fairly different beast. So I think you’re better off contacting ON3P and discussing with them.