FAT IS WHERE IT'S AT IN NEWEST SKI TREND; WIDE BOARDS HAVE INDUSTRY MUSCLE ON THE SLOPES.

Byline: Art Bentley Special to the Daily News

According to a growing segment of the skiing populace, it is possible to be too thin.

These folks are easy to spot. They ski on the widest boards wherever the snow takes them, be it groomed, hard pack, steep and deep, bumps or the worst junk imaginable.

The industry calls the planks fats or mid-fats, depending on the dimensions of a particular model. Together, they make up this season's hottest species of ski, though fats skis still represent less than 10 percent of adult skis on the market, according to SnowSports Industries America, a nonprofit trade association in McLean, Va.

While shaped, side-cut or parabolic skis compose the majority of production, fats and mid-fats constitute more than 40 percent of the inventory at ski shops like Sports Ltd. in Woodland Hills.

``They're a true all-terrain vehicle,'' said store owner Bob Bergstrom. ``They will ski all conditions extremely well.''

Originally intended in the early 1990s exclusively for accomplished powder skiers because their wide bases help suspend the downhiller, fat skis are crossing over. Good skiers have learned more recently that these ``porkers,'' as Bergstrom dubs them, can handle a wide variety of terrain and conditions with dazzling effect, speed and stability.

Woodland Hills skier Bill Lugg has witnessed the evolution of fat skis from uniformly wide platforms designed after snowboards to models that were more narrow in the middle to cover greater terrain. Their popularity has increased with their versatility, said the staunch fat-ski proponent.

``They have been out for a while and (the manufacturers) are starting to perfect the technology,'' Lugg said. ``It is allowing more people to do more things on the mountain with one ski. That versatility is attractive - the economy of owning one ski, rather than having a couple of skis that are each superior in one aspect. It's cost-effective.''

That's an important consideration when today's top-of-the-line skis can retail for more than $700. Fat skis range from $200 to $700.

The progenitor of today's wide-body is the Powder Plus, introduced in 1991 when Atomic split a snowboard down the middle, creating an exceptionally wide ski. However, it was the distinctively thinner Volkl Snowranger that provided some real momentum when it appeared three years later; today it is a fat ski of choice in the West, where it has been nicknamed the ``Power Ranger.''

A rugged board of giant slalom design and construction built in lengths of 170, 180, 190 and 200 centimeters, the Snowranger floats in powder, blasts through crud and, with the aid of increased flexibility in its front, absorbs moguls in quick fashion. Other manufacturers have responded to it with a vengeance and several are now represented in the category.

The 800-pound gorilla of fat skis is without a doubt the Hart Phatback, which is tough to find since it's being virtually unpromoted. You'd expect its mere appearance - painted battleship gray, appropriately - to melt anything in its path.

The Phatback measures 130 millimeters (5.2 inches) at the tip, 104 mm in the waist and 120 mm at the tail. Compare the numbers to those of a traditional straight-cut ski, with its 73 mm tip (2.92 inches), 65 mm waist and 70 mm tail, and a moderately shaped parabolic - 98 mm (3.92 inches) at the tip, 63 in the waist and 88 in the tail.

Other models, including the Dynastar Big, RD Heli Dog II, Rossignol Bandit XXX and the Volant Chubb aren't quite as obese but are certainly easier to locate at retail outlets. The Big, for example, measures 115 mm (4.6 inches) up front, 90 in the middle and 108 in the rear; dimensions for the others are similar.

If you want more side-cut with your width, the mid-fats may be the ski for you. Among the options are the Dynastar 4x4, Evolution Uinta, Olin Selkirk, Rossignol Bandit XX, Salomon X-Scream and Volkl Crossover. Their distinctive shape is evidenced in the measurements of the X-Scream - 106 mm (4.24 inches) in the shovel, 68 in the midriff and 96 at its end. Word is they knife through most terrain but, in deep snow, lack some of the buoyancy of their straighter, fatter cousins.

Overall, fat skis are also knocked for their ability on ice, since it takes more effort to get them on edge because of their width.

When it comes down to it, fat skis are preferred for what they were initially designed for - powder.

``I enjoy searching for the powder,'' Lugg said. ``But with today's fat skis you can still have a good time during that search; everything on the hill is quite tameable with the new skis.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Designed to float in powder, fat skis (second and fourth from left, shown with their straight-cut brethren) have been reshaped in recent years to also perform well in most other snow conditions.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News

(2) Catching air may be the ultimate goal of winter recreation, but getting to the mountain safely is more critical.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News