Telemark - why? - Page 2

Nonsense, you can do it!

The woman in pict isn't doing a reversa-mark... black pants make it hard to see. It's just really contorted twisted up weight on the front leg form. Put her in 10"-15" of fresh or off piste, and she'd have a very very hard time.

Oops, nevermind! The shadows on the pants makes it look reversamark and I thought I saw buckles on the trailing boot. How the legs connect to the hips makes it clear that I was wrong. The trailing leg  thigh obviously connected to inside hip.

What's a "fixie"? A fixed speed track bike? or messenger bike?

btw, I hate helmets now? funny.

I think the aftermath of my broken knee cap (which doesn't track reliably now) would sort of preclude it, even if I lost 50 pounds.  
 

 

It doesn't matter how you want to get down the hill...as long as you are having fun doing it.  I became bored with traditional alpine skiing and picked-up tele skiing ten years ago.  I did it for the challenge, and now, it's not a challenge; it's fun!  Deep tele pow turns are indescribable.  Fast groomers, laying the tele's over on edge feels more natural than an alpine turn.   For backcountry options are endless; as well as a great tool for search and rescue.  I've rid my sports basement of all remnants of alpine gear and have never looked back.   I agree with telerod15; all tele skiers I know are pretty down to earth, not granola, regular folks who enjoy the sport of tele.  Far from being a snob!!  Not need to hate.  Just respect.  Telemark skiing is a hard sport, especially on the quads, and when you see someone ripping a deep pow day, or shredding a fast groomer, give him/her props...because it's probably taken them time to get there.  Tele till your smelly.  Free the heal and the mind will follow.  No, I'm not a hippie either.  

I think we need a pole.

Go back to lurking.

Yea. Nothing to see here.

 

Haha.

 

I've had some problems with knee cap tracking. Telemark skiing helped strengthen the muscles that stabilize my patella, the vastus medialis specifically.

 

I found it therapeutic, but it might not be for you. It could cause damage to your knee cap and I think you suspect it would. You know your body best. I lied when I said tele is more fun. Alpine is just as much fun. Enjoy the snow!

 

I don't tele, but I want to learn because it provides variety.  When I had a seasons pass at a crappy local mountain, I wanted to make the same boring 1000' vert trails more interesting.  When my son starts skiing and I get a seasons pass again (hopefully next year), I'll look into getting a pair for the same reason.

why ski?

That would be like not bolting half your seat to the car chassis and asking 'why drive'.

I think a better analogy would be motorcycling.

Only bolting the front of your seat to a motorcycle?

My Fiat 2000 spider was like that.

I used to teach Alpine, Tele, and Snowboarding. 

I gave it all up and am so happy seeking the biggest thrills on telemark gear. 

More often than not, tele gear would make an otherwise short downhill descent more exciting, more challenging. 

I also will totally agree that Telemark "stresses" muscles (which heal quickly) and Alpine "stresses" joints (which cannot heal well over time). 

Doing a "correct" tele turn doesn't necessarily have to stress muscles though... usually a sure sign that your uphill ski is too far back behind you. 

 

Nearly all sports are the same:

In Alpine, Snowboarding and tele, we all start with a bent front knee. 

 

We all love powder... but on a good day, I want to be ready to taste that powder from a little closer:

Telemark: Norwegian for, "Hey guys! Wait up!"

 

...I'll still never go back to alpine...

Hey when all you tele skiers are ready to step up to the next level...

There's the Kramelet binding. It's a free toe instead of heel.

In the meantime, a little stoke.

 

As for the question: "Why telemark?"

-Ans: Well, I grew a beard and needed to do something with it.
 

Aussi's:

 

                       tgellie                                                                                           http://youtu.be/NYBTKY92OSc

 

 

Some "New School" telemark.

Interesting that skiing switch the inside ski leads instead of the outside.

 

            a3fvideo                                                                                                        http://youtu.be/_RQdbpZ-Nz4

 

That video is pretty Epic.

 

I met a local at Sunlight last year that would "Tele Heli" in the park and off booters on the mountain. It was strange and awesome and strange.

The guy in the red coat in the vid... newschool maybe. Good school, not. The switch skiing is good though. Wish someone had a vid of the late Scott Murray tele'ing switch. I've never seen better, even years later. 

I'm a little late on responding, but it's no where close to not bolting a seat down and asking "why drive".  Skiing is just a fun, not-so-serious, recreational activity.  Different strokes for different folks.  A different turning sensation appeals to some people.  Not bolting a seat to the car chassis becomes a safety issue and driving is nearly a necessity.  If you want to drive around on a crate on the floorboard of the car a la Cannonball Run, and you want to assume the consequences involved, then maybe we are on to a viable analogy... 

 

But asking why telemark or snowboard is really no different than asking "why ski?"

 

The answer: Because it's fun.

 

If you want me to be pragmatic, in the past there was certainly some use while touring.  Truthfully, AT gear has caught up and in many, if not most cases, surpassed tele gear.

 

But it hasn't replaced the feeling of the that turn.

 

An AT rig is certainly a better mountain tool than my splitboard.  But I still like snowboarding and for the hour to three I'm on the skintrack, there doesn't seem to be a huge trade-off in hiking ability.  My gut is a bigger trade off in climbing ability.  But the surfy sensation of snowboarding untracked/ungroomed snow is the reason I like it.

 

I'd imagine that would be analogous to tele turns...

 

So, why tele?  I still say, why ski?  I don't think one is better or has a more right answer.  I think the answer is typically the same.

 

Fun.  I don't look at things as very serious when it comes to the adult version of sledding down hills.

 

 

I said not bolting HALF your seat.  And it's not necessarily a safety issue if you add some straps and springs and change your driving style to accommodate it...you know, like a telemark turn and hardware accommodates the unsecured heel.  Anyway, the point was that the purpose of skiing with an unlatched heel may not be readily apparent to the uninitiated...especially on lift-served terrain.  I think anyone who visits this site already knows the answer to 'why ski'.

you're absolutely right and I'm a total idiot.

 

Free your seat, and your windshield will follow...

I saw a guy here last week doing ballet tele. Unfortunately, didn't have the camera ready on time (I was on the chair so passed each other pretty quickly). Lots of twirls one leg on the air and such just like the OLD Suzy Chafee stuff.