Moving to St. Louis, going to try out telemark skiing

Try posting over at telemarktips.com. You'll get more information there very quickly.

I lived in St. Louis for 16 years.  It doesn't snow much, and the snow doesn't last.  Where are you planning on skiing?

Speaking form experience, I wish I wore a full face helmet when I tried telemarking. Faceplants hurt.

Yes, I lived in University City all those years.  It's a great place if you have to be in St. Louis area.  I never made it out to Hidden Valley to ski.  There's a Six Flags out there, though, and as I raised my kids we made the obligatory pilgrimage there several times each summer, and always went back for Halloween.  I can taste the wafflecones right now, and feel the summer heat

We said goodbye to U City with many tears, but I'm glad I'm in New England now.

Well, I don't know tele boots, but I know Hidden Valley, and you've got the right idea: diversify.  Those 300 feet can get pretty boring ("big turns this time, little turns next time, now mix it up").  I've actually considered doing the same thing myself, trying tele.  Frankly, speaking of the conditions and equipment, I don't think it matters.  I skied several different shapes and sizes of skis and the experience doesn't change much.  I hate to say it, but it's almost like your not on your skis long enough to notice conditions or equipment.  The question is do you plan to take your new tele skills somewhere else, those are the conditions to buy for.

I don't mean to sound too negative about HV though, it's a nice place and I'm certainly glad we have it.  Generally clean and well run and the folks seem to put in a good effort to make it a nice experience.  They are opening two new runs (which is, like, a 30% expansion) with a new lift and they take the snowmaking seriously IF the weather allows..  They also do NASTAR on the weekends, another thing I want to try.  They have a ski team for the young ones with good coaching, my son has gotten a lot out of it.  Don't dawdle though, this "season" was about seven weeks long.

I grew up in U-City, albiet not near the university.  It's a great place and has all the "amenities" that you'd expect near the collage: food, drink, music.  Also Forest Park is truly a wonderful urban park.  I'll try and send you a PM.

I'll do this in a quick way. There might be some jargon, so forgive me in advance. In your case, your investment will be in boots. Coming from alpine skiing you'll probably want something like a Scarpa T1 or T2 or equivalent from a different manufacture (Crispi, Garmont, Black Diamond).  Bindings, I'd suggest something like 22 designs hammerhead to start with. You can adjust 'feel' of the binding (active or neutral) easily enough, and play with things until they work for you. Skis, just remount something you like alpining on. If it's a pair of WC SL skis, you'll need a T1 type boot to drive it well. Softer, more easily driven skis, you can go with softer, smaller boots. In teley, there really aren't beginner, intermediate, and expert boots. It's about matching the gear to your skiing goals and most frequented terrain. Poles, a bit shorter than alpine, but if the hill is pretty flat, don't worry about it. 

Books. Paul Parker's:  http://www.amazon.com/Free-Heel-Skiing-Techniques-Conditions-Mountaineers/dp/0898867754/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331066874&sr=8-1 

This is the bible. And remember, like alpine skiing, learn to telemark skeletally, not crouching down low and busting your quads and gluts. 

Again, telemarktips.com can be a good resource for information. Not always, but in general, pretty good.

NTN is fine and IMHO, even preferable if it's in your budget. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Risen29463 

 

Do you know if there is a tele instructor at HV?  That would make my transition much easier.
 

 

Sorry, just got this.  No, not to  my knowledge.  I've only ever seen a couple of people out on tele gear there.

Another resource could be a place called The Alpine Shop, it's the only place in town for skis and service.  Gear wise, they don't get a ton of stuff and they sell out of all the normal sizes by Thanksgiving, but the service shop is really pretty good.  I'm pretty sure one or two employee's there do some tele, at least I've talked with them about it in the past.  They could have some useful advice.