Specializing in pure freeride performance, the Black Crows Corvus is extremely unique and powerful. Intended for extreme terrain and conditions, these skis blend a burly construction with a highly modern and specialized shape. Steep couloirs, faces, and chutes are where these skis truly come alive as their flat profile is designed for maximum edge contact and grip while in the gnarliest of situations. The Corvus’ beefy construction permits the world’s best to push their own personal comfort zones while still providing floatation, responsiveness, and maneuverability. With titanal incorporated into its construction, approachability for intermediate skiers is quite low, but for is great for expert level skiers looking for a bomb-proof ski.

The Corvus has a poplar wood core which is reinforced with fiberglass and titanal laminates. Poplar provides energy, while fiberglass and titanal laminates provide dampening properties and torsional stiffness. For a ski that has all of this going on, it comes in at a reasonable weight of 3900 grams at 183.3cm length. Typically, skis with a similar construction will be much narrower and come in around the same weight so it is quite impressive how Black Crows manages to keep the weight to a minimum. A beefy build like this is very telling for what kinds of forces and scenarios that the Corvus is designed for: high speeds, steep pitches, and massive impacts.

The shape of the Corvus is certainly one that will make you give a double-take upon first glance. Typically, a ski this wide would have a twin tip shape, but not the Corvus. Instead, it will have a flat tail with a long tip rocker. The philosophy behind this design is to provide maximum stability and edge contact through variable snow conditions. Its intention is to be used for wide open, extremely high speed turns on steep mountain faces, with the ability to quickly pivot and dump speed when needed. Therefore, making the Corvus a highly specific ski for a small demographic of skiers using it for a highly specific application. The sidecut of the Corvus surely matches its application with floatation and a long turning radius in mind. At the 183.3cm length, the maximum forebody width is 139mm, 107mm at the waist, and 128/mm in the tail. Which gives the ski an incredible amount of floatation through powder and chopped up snow. The turning radius that is generated from its sidecut is 21 meters and aligns with its application very nicely. A turning radius this long is indicative of the big-mountain terrain that best suits it.

The Corvus is not for everyone, but it absolutely is for some. And if you couldn’t already tell by its motto, “I’m difficult”, then its construction and shape will tell you. A burly build, long turning radius, and lack of tail rocker makes for one heck of a big mountain ski that likes to break all speed limits. If you are an expert skier looking for an absolute charger for your next big mountain line, the Corvus is definitely one that will keep you up at night thinking about.