For Me, the Pierra Menta is a No
Typically, when we get to the top of a mountain, we are excited at the prospect of skiing down. Dynastar's Pierra Menta inverts that equation: the exciting part is the climb.
I purchased the Pierra Menta with a very specific spring-skiing job in mind: long, hideous, abominably-dry approaches where I'd be forced to endlessly carry all my gear on my back to reach snow.
The Mentas are Dynastar's skimo race planks. They are built to be as light as humanly possible while still maintaining enough downhill performance to get you to the finish line and of course the podium.
I became interested in them because they have a reputation, in skimo circles, as a ski that skis unusually well for its weight. How good a ride do they truly offer? Well, there was only one way to find out. I bought a pair and mounted them up to see.
I skied them, briefly, at Lizard Head Pass two months ago, but that was on foreign snow in far-from-ideal conditions, and while my initial impression was mixed, I didn't feel it was a fair enough test to come to any definitive conclusions.
But Gorgonio with Al two weeks ago was a different story: this was exactly the test I was looking for, and I got exactly the information I needed.
The good: these are climbing demons. If you are coming from "normal" touring skis, when you put the Pierra Mentas on your feet you will climb higher, faster, easier than you ever have before.
Starting from a lazy transition, I took in Al's position a hundred or so yards above me with a predatory eye and hunted him down like a speedsuit-wearing cheetah stalking an aging three-toed sloth with a dodgy back and a touch of the vapors.
I actually felt a brief twinge of guilt when I passed him. Then I grinned and kept going.
Oh, the Pierra Mentas are a dream going uphill. My 160cm Mentas mounted with ATK Haute Routes weigh a preposterous four pounds two point one ounces per pair.
Per pair!
For contrast, my 170cm Blizzard Zero G 95's with ATK Raider 13's weigh seven pounds, zero point seven ounces—almost exactly three pounds heavier. In fact the actual system difference is even greater, because the Pierra Mentas have a 65mm waist so require only tiny skins. Additional weight: a modest 7.7 ounces (pair) versus 16.3 ounces for the Zero G's.
On your feet, the difference going uphill is huge. Like, big enough that you probably make a sport of just strapping them on and spending all your time going uphill.
But alas, as mentioned earlier, the Pierra Mentas invert the usual asymmetry. As I neared Gorgonio's summit ridge, I found myself experiencing a most unusual and decidedly unwelcome sensation: I realized I was dreading the thought of having to ski back down.
The problem was not the snow. The snow was fine. The problem was not the width: I can ski a 65mm waist and have plenty of fun. The problem is the compromises involved in getting the PM's weight down around three pounds per pair simply take the joy right out of actually skiing them.
Edge grip is credible, even on firm snow. But the moment you try to use the front half of the ski, you overpower them. The tips distort, the entire ski starts wobbling, and you retreat to your heels, which creates this sort of "A-ha!" moment where you suddenly realize exactly why skimo racers look the way they do when they're on the downhill portion of the course.
But what about the weight savings on those long savage approaches?
Here I discovered something interesting: saving three pounds on your feet matters a lot. Saving three pounds on your back is much less noticeable.
The Gorgonio grind nuked me just like it always does, and the lighter Pierra Mentas mattered on the hiking portion of the day, but not as much as I was hoping. So for me the bottom line is clear: the tradeoff isn't worth it. You still suffer on the approach, and in the process, you lose the one thing that truly matters: the actual skiing part of the day.
Now: that the Pierra Mentas are not right for me does not mean they can't be right for you, and I do not want in any way to suggest they are not outstanding when used as their designers intended.
Please, do not send me angry emails telling me the PM's are a racing ski, not a touring ski: I know. My question here was to determine whether or not they might be suitable for a specific niche application: SoCal and/or Sierra spring deathmarch skiing.
Sadly, the answer appears to be "no."
That said, I still believe the mission itself is worthy. There are other skis out there that are lighter than the Zero G's but not as spindly-noodly as the Pierra Mentas, including the Black Crows Mentis Freebird, and Dynastar's M-Vertical (currently only available in Europe).
I'll keep looking.
— May 11, 2026
Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents