realskiers

It was my first time skiing in Maine as well. 

The 161cm is the original length of the Shaman.  Ben Anderson only made longer versions (up to a 184cm) because people were too skeptical about purchasing such a short all mountain ski.

Truthfully, If I were primarily a big mountain western skier, I'd want a longer length as well.  Though, green trails other Son spent 10 days at Big sky on the 161cm Shaman, and he loved it (though, he admitted that the other guys on long, rockered skis could go quite  a bit faster in really long off-piste sections over 3000ft of vertical descent-in Narrower chutes he said he skied as fas, if not faster than most).  But I have a Ski Logik Howitzer in a 186cm length for filling in big spaces at speed.

For the typical east coast all mountain skiing I pursue, the 161cm is a the perfect ski. It's easy to ski, handles reasonable speed, and the tip is just unflappable in varied snow.  The short length (with a 110mm waist and 160mm tip!) is part of the magic.

  Check out this go pro video -take a gander at the speed, air time and terrain being negotiated by the camera wearer...he is 6'1" and on the shaman 161cm:



This is a hike-to-ski back country run in the Adirondacks.  I would fast fwd to about the 3 minute mark to get a sense of what this ski can handle.