Skiing conditions.

I would not claim to be an expert but the following would be my understanding of these terms:

Hard Pack: Plenty of snow but compacted with no new snow. Likely to be quite icy in parts, especially on steeper pitches. Good for high speed cruising for confident skiers but not particularly liked by the more nervous :shock:

Machine Groomed: Any fresh snow has been pisted and I would expect conditions to be fairly nice. :D

Variable: Expect areas with horrible conditions - ice, slush, brownish thin snow with bits of grass showing through, etc.:evil:

Hard Packed Snow: not sure there is any difference from Hard Pack. :shock:

Powder Snow: as it says on the tin. Light fluffy snow on piste. Wonderful skiing conditions :mrgreen:

Wet Snow: High temperatures resulting in heavy, wet snow that is not pleasant to ski on :evil:

Fresh Snow: Doesn't really tell you too much other than the good news that you will have fresh snow :shock:

More than happy to receive any corrections/clarifications :lol:

Custom shelled?

If by that you mean are they custom boots? Hmmm, not sure what constitutes a custom boot... I spent a while with the fitter picking the boots, and he has stretched them around the left toe, and around some 'extra skin' I apparently have on my left foot. But other than that not really. The boot comes with a liner that needed heating and moulding to my foot, but that seems pretty standard with most boots these days.