The Blizzard Thunderbird R15 WB is a true frontside carving ski for advanced to expert skiers who want a ski that bites on even the firmest snow. The Thunderbird, replacing the older Firebird offers race-like performance on the piste with slightly more forgiveness and versatility than a pure-bread race ski would. The Thunderbird R15 WB features a beefy construction, comprised of two sheets of metal along with some carbon additives which ultimately provides a very stable ski and an impossibly smooth feel even at high speeds. The R15 WB is the “Wide Body” version of this Thunderbird model and has a waist width of 76 millimeters. While not a floater by any means, the additional surface area helps when the groomers are soft or when things get chopped up towards the end of the day. R15 essentially means that this ski, at a length of 174 centimeters, creates a 15-meter turn radius. That’s pretty darn snappy, so if you like making dynamic turns at fast speeds, this is the ski for you. The TruBlend On-Piste Wood Core, Active Carbon Armour and a pronounced sidecut all give this ski a very energetic feel while carving, and the ski is able to stay quiet, maximizing ski to snow contact for impeccable stability. This would even be a great beer league ski as it would work perfectly for the tighter gate sets often seen at those events. Whether you’re an ex-racer, a carving enthusiast or someone who just loves making nice rounded turns, the Thunderbird R15 WB would be a great choice.