Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I've been skiing 60+ years, from downhill to tele when my knees blew out. Like others said, you have the feel for skiing and just need to add some different skills. Snow conditions and terrain will dictate what gear works for you.

I ski backcountry 100% nowadays. I started on 3pins and stuck with them, though updated to Voille 3pin cables. Current skis are Fischer 89s (quiver of 1, with Volkl powder skis mounted with Switchback Xs collecting dust - not that good for touring IMO). Depending on the terrain, I have some worn-out Asolo leathers and old Crispi T3s. With the Crispis, I rarely use the cables anymore but a good option to stuff in your pack. I like the support of the Crispis and can loosen up the 2-buckle boot for comfort. (they don't make them anymore).

Have fun out there.

With Cannotonic on the Rottas.....Going to get my new 109's remounted with them....Voile is a good binding but the Rotta "feels" better.....We use "Lowball" getting real low for when we need to come around :right now".....Mostly we ride higher up and do the tele deed from that position...It gives you a lot more options....Couple of the guys hinted or out and out said leathers....With them on that!!!!!....Some said to go skinnier and with them on that too....Wide is more of a downhill ski with little going for it on cruises...It also restricts your ability to squeeze between whips and larger things....Cables are good but for me just added weight and do nothing in sweet powder....Remember one really important thinger.......Your balance is fore and aft....not starboard and port...That is the hardest part especially if you got wide and short...Teleman

Shorter skis help a lot with 3 pins, especially if you want to ski steeps. The tails of longer skis drop much lower than with a cable and can hang up on the pitch behind you. A lower stance can make heavy snow easier but use slightly shorter poles to keep your arms down and plant very deliberately. Have fun!

practice backfoot hockey stops? how does that work? I think I need it

Practicing on stopping in control and looking good is a great exercise especially for the weaker turn side. Just guessing but I think he is referring to is focusing on pressuring the back foot especially the little toe.

Oops

Cannatonic wrote: ↑

Thu May 02, 2019 1:14 pm

practice backfoot hockey stops? how does that work? I think I need it

Canna,a backfoot hockey stop is when you hockey stop in the tele position. You really try to pressure the back foot. It is really just a way to practice pressuring the back foot while maintaining balance.
If you have your start alpine skiing you already know how to pressure the downhill ski. Back foot hockey stops help develop dynamic back foot feel.

trees wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:25 am

Right now I only have the T2 eco's in duckbill-

I've flexed the bellows of a few T2eco boots over the last few years, and they are STIFF! I can't see how those boots would work for touring with a 3-pin binding. The bellows is so stiff that it would take too much work to get a kick-and-glide going. Not worth the effort, IMO.

I ski a pair of Crispi CXP, which are very similar to T2eco. I have a pair of Madshus Annum that I use with those boots and Voile Switchback bindings (with free-pivot, like AT). I couldn't imagine bending their stiff bellows hundreds or thousands of times a day. Ouch. Too much work.

I had a pair of Crispi CXT, which was their "touring" 2-buckle version of the CXP. Stupid design. Its bellows are just as stiff as the ones on the CXP. The only real difference is that the CXT is shorter and has one less buckle. Like I said. Stupid design. Discontinued long ago.

If you had a pair of softer-flexing boots like Scott Excursion or Scarpa T4, I think those would work pretty well with 3-pin bindings (like Voile HD Mountaineer or 3-Pin Traverse) and Madshus Annum or Fischer SBound 112 skis.

I love my Madshus Annum skis in soft snow. I take them on long trips wandering aimlessly in tight Northeastern woods, hunting for a few turns here and there. I like soft snow, and here where I live, the resorts are tracked out within minutes after a storm. So I go a-wanderin'...
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Another fun setup is something like heavy-ish leather boots like Crispi Svartisen or Alpina Alaska, 3-pin bindings, and a fairly wide ski like Fischer Excursion 88 (about 68mm in the waist). I ski something like that with old Fisher Rebound skis, and I love those too. That's more for lower angle terrain than the Annum setup.
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I have a pair of Madshus Epochs, which I love, but I'm planning on getting the Annums next fall, to be paired with plastic boots. The intention is to go touring for turns, with more emphasis on the turning part.My particular lightweight tele setup is Scarpa F1's (with bellows) coupled with TTS binding. I'm not sure where to mount the bindings, though. How did you mount the Switchbacks? Relative to pin line or relative to boot center? Thanks!

You probably mean Boot Center on Center Mark or pin line on Balance Point or Cord Center. Depending on what you intend to do... I think are looking for turns... Then go for the first option. Anyway, you'll get used to it...