2014 Atomic Ritual Ski Review - Sierra Jim

The Atomic Ritual returns unchanged except for graphics from last year.

This is one of those skis that we talk about when the discussion turns to the “one ski quiver” for a good western skier. To us, this designation means a skier with roughly a 50/50 bias between hard packed snow and softer or deeper snow, and the ability to handle most off trail type terrain.

Naturally, these are neither dedicated groomer tools nor are they powder specific skis either. Many skis in this category are in the 95-98mm width range and several of them have stiff metal layup constructions.

At 103mm the Ritual is a little wider than that and while it uses a titanium spine, it also has a slightly softer more forgiving flex. These factors combined with a small rocker in the tip and tail, cause the Ritual to be a little more soft snow or off trail biased than some of the other 50/50 type skis.

In the last two seasons, I have tested the Ritual in a variety of hard and soft conditions.

In soft snow and especially crud with a bit of depth to it (say 8-12” or so) the Ritual is very smooth and easy but it is also quite nimble and light feeling for a ski of this size.

This is especially beneficial a day or two after a small dump when the prior days 12” of powder is starting to think about becoming bumps.

When out on the groomers, the Ritual is comfortable at most speeds. and when tipped up on a high edge angle, the Ritual will pull the skier through a medium radius carve but is won’t power out with a lot of energy like a flatter tailed ski might.

The Ritual has adequate grip for what I would describe as firm snow. Really hard or icy snow is not the forte of the Ritual and that’s why we categorize it as mostly a western snow biased ski.