Climb up easily, descend quickly – touring skis Ogso Thor 90 in the test

With the Thor 90, Ogso has developed a light touring ski that doesn't shorten long climbs, but does make them a lot easier. Its downhill-oriented design is forgiving and provides a safe and controlled feeling in a variety of snow conditions. On a test drive in Vorarlberg.

It's mid-February, but feels more like the end of March when we're freetouring in Laternsertal Thor 90 from Osgo pull off. Still fresh in the shade, already quite warm in the sun, the newly fallen Neuschnell is transformed faster than we can gain altitude. This hurts the powder heart, but at the same time makes it possible to ride the Thor 90 on a tour in very different conditions.

Buoyancy at its finest

There is still airy powder on the first few meters in the forest. As we glide along, the elongated nose of the Thor 90 stands out clearly from the fresh snow, announcing what will come true later on the descent: with this touring ski you don't have to worry about too little buoyancy.

The Thor 90 doesn't plow through powder, but rather gives you the feeling of gliding over it. Turns can be initiated with minimal effort, and the flat tail helps you complete turns in a controlled and powerful manner right up to the end.

Climb easily and safely

Unfortunately, we only find really inviting conditions on the lower slopes, which leads us to make our first descent from halfway up. So I'd rather have a sparrow in my hand and stuff like that. When we reach the bottom, we put the skins back on, take a drink and start the climb again.

After a few hundred meters in the blazing sun we climb up on completely transformed snow. The good edge hold of this elaborately crafted ski comes into its own in the steeper passages - a good feeling.

^{With its weight of 1200 grams per ski, the Thor 90 is a pleasant companion on long climbs.}

Thor 90: Precise and quiet on the descent

Ogso built the Thor 90 like a sandwich: in the middle there is a wooden core, on the outside there are various inserts made of fiberglass, carbon, aramid and basalt fibers. It is specially reinforced in the binding area, and a stabilization insert ensures the necessary torsional rigidity.

Shortly before midday, after a short portage passage, we reach the highest point of today's tour. The all-round view is magnificent and the slopes below us also make us want to let it really whistle.

After a short rest, we traverse to some inviting slopes that still have potential for a few tracks of our own. Unfortunately the snow conditions are far from powdery, but somehow exciting.

Forgiving all-rounder

The Thor 90 is very stable and agile - and fortunately it forgives some of our driving mistakes. Only further down, where we quite surprisingly drive into a non-supporting lid, nothing can be saved and the shot ends in an abrupt tomahawk. Fortunately, people and material escape unscathed - what remains is the white beard and a broad grin on their face.

Further down we decide against destroying the remaining meters of altitude on the officially recommended and flattened route. Instead, we choose a direct variant through all sorts of things, where the Thor 90 can once again show its trump cards in terms of maneuverability, agility and control in fairly changeable conditions.

Conclusion

We reach the parking lot with burning thighs and contented spirits. The satisfaction that a ski tour can convey is always impressive. And when you also have a super light all-rounder like the Ogso Thor 90 under your feet, it's even more fun.

We weren't able to test the downhill-oriented touring ski in knee-deep powder snow as we had hoped. But the changeable conditions we encountered on that winter day impressively demonstrated its versatility.

Ogso Thor 90 at a glance

• Weight: 1200 grams per ski (at 160 cm length)
• Areas of application: ski tours, ski mountaineering, freeriding
• Tip and tail rockers
• Sandwich construction
• Paulownia wood core
• Inserts made of triaxial fiberglass, carbon, aramid and basalt fibers
• Torsion stabilization made of carbon and fiberglass
• Reinforcement in the binding area
• Cushioning layer in the area of ​​the edges
• Reinforced ski tail

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