The Rossignol Strato 102

A couple of days ago was my 102nd day out skiing for the season. While I was happy that I had skied well beyond my age, my attention went to the number 102 and with it, brought back the picture of Rossignol’s famous iteration of its very successful ski “Strato”, under the “Strato 102” moniker.

In American culture the number 101 often represents a time of new beginnings and growth. If you've been feeling stuck or unhappy, this signals a great time to make a change. It also denotes an introductory course at college or university in the subject specified, so from there, one could infer that “102” was the next best thing or as the expression goes “one good turn deserves another”. 

I also asked Maurice Woehrle, who ran R&D at Rossignol for many years, he said that, as he recalls, there was no specific reason behind that number, except perhaps that “2” was marking a minute progress in the ski finishing technique. There was indeed an attempt, for a year or so, to replace the lacquer and varnish covering the ABS top by some wax that would have been cheaper to produce.

Finally, I also tried to contact Rossignol’s former CEO Laurent Boix-Vives in Paradise where he is currently on vacation. He was the one who resurrected the company thanks to his financial savvy. He said, "One hundred and two? You know, where I am now, figures don't interest me anymore! »  

So you know now the story behind that name and don’t be surprised if someday, we see a new Rossignol Strato 103 marking a quantum leap on that successful breed of skis...