YOUR AD HERE »

Fischer Rangi Freeride does (or did) it all

Jeanne McGovern
Aspen Times Weekly

I know it’s an awesome snow year. And I know all this fresh will make anyone a better skier. But I’ve got to believe there’s more to the fact that I’m skiing stronger and longer and with a bigger smile on my face than ever this season.

Enter the Fischer Rangi Freeride skis.

According to Fischer, which introduced the model for the 2006-07 season, “this ski has the perfect dimensions for any expert woman. The scaled-down length allows for easier maneuverability while the fat tip and tail assist with initiation in the park. The 88 mm waist still provides enough underfoot to find yourself afloat in powder.”



Although I can’t speak to “initiation in the park” (it’s been a great ski year, not a groundbreaking ski year), I can vouch for the Rangi’s ability to keep you “afloat in the powder.” This big ski, while not an ultra-fat powder ski, rides plenty high through deep powder and slices perfectly through cut-up snow.

And perhaps most surprising to me is its versatility. At a moderate 168 cm in length with a short turning radius of 18 meters, I’ve had no trouble taking the Rangi from knee-high snow in Highland Bowl to the bumps on Scarlett’s to a cruiser down Apple Strudel with my kids. In fact, once I figured out how not to cross the tails ” ski with your legs further apart than a traditional “shaped” ski and don’t get in the back seat ” I have had no complaints about these boards.




But you might complain. From what I learned while researching this article online ” and what my gear-head husband, who let me test-drive this model from his ski shop, confirms ” Fischer is no longer making the Rangi. Its current offerings include a few seemingly comparable skis: Anything from the freeride Maori Series and the twin-tip Vision Zeal from the women’s line jumped out at me (and at least one website said the Zeal is the same ski as the Rangi, with a different name and updated design.) But the award-winning Rangi, with its subtle but hip graphics, appears relegated to the likes of eBay and the Ski Depot.

Of course a ski being discontinued is not all bad news. While on the market, the Rangi had a price point in the high $600s; the Zeal’s suggested retail price is $795. I found a pair of Rangis on eBay for bid at $149.99.

Not bad for one heckuva ski, awesome snow year or not.