I have my own ideas on what it is and when it is useful, but I'll let someone else lead
Striding turns
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MikeK
Striding turns
Lilcliffy and I have both mentioned this, but what does it mean? Is it really telemarking? Is it Kosher? When should you do it?
I have my own ideas on what it is and when it is useful, but I'll let someone else lead
I have my own ideas on what it is and when it is useful, but I'll let someone else lead
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SanJuanSam
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 12:15 pm
- Location: Del Norte, CO
Re: Striding turns
Just another tool in the box of tricks as far as I am concerned. If you don't have the bible "Free-Heel Skiing: Telemark and Parallel Techniques For All Conditions" by Paul Parker I would suggest getting it, its a great read... although its a bit outdated I still find it useful.
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MikeK
Re: Striding turns
https://books.google.com/books?id=p8YUC ... tput=embedSanJuanSam wrote:Just another tool in the box of tricks as far as I am concerned. If you don't have the bible "Free-Heel Skiing: Telemark and Parallel Techniques For All Conditions" by Paul Parker I would suggest getting it, its a great read... although its a bit outdated I still find it useful.
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MikeK
Re: Striding turns
Actually Sam, I'm talking about something a little different than Parker is above.
To me, a stride turn isn't a telemark at all. What he is talking about is more like scissoring I think, in that you want to keep equal pressure on each ski.
I think a stride turn has a lot of names... par-a-mark, fake-a-mark, poodling, etc... essentially skiing on just the front ski with very little to no weight on the rear ski.
It's probably bad in a lot of situations, and if I'm aiming to ski linked turns, I try at all costs not to do this but I know one situation where I really like, and it's when I'm going really slow through deep snow, and need to turn rather sharply. A step or kick turn is probably the proper thing to do, but it's cumbersome and sometimes really hard with trees and brush around.
I ask this question because I don't know if this is what other people mean by it, but I literally push off my back ski while steering the front ski and put all my weight on a stemmed front ski. You can then get it to bend and turn and either pick up the back and make it parallel, or drag it into place.
This seems very reminiscent to me of the technique in the old style telemark books where they show starting with a lot of weight on the rear ski, steering the front ski into place and then weighting onto the front ski as it swoops through the fall line.
To me, a stride turn isn't a telemark at all. What he is talking about is more like scissoring I think, in that you want to keep equal pressure on each ski.
I think a stride turn has a lot of names... par-a-mark, fake-a-mark, poodling, etc... essentially skiing on just the front ski with very little to no weight on the rear ski.
It's probably bad in a lot of situations, and if I'm aiming to ski linked turns, I try at all costs not to do this but I know one situation where I really like, and it's when I'm going really slow through deep snow, and need to turn rather sharply. A step or kick turn is probably the proper thing to do, but it's cumbersome and sometimes really hard with trees and brush around.
I ask this question because I don't know if this is what other people mean by it, but I literally push off my back ski while steering the front ski and put all my weight on a stemmed front ski. You can then get it to bend and turn and either pick up the back and make it parallel, or drag it into place.
This seems very reminiscent to me of the technique in the old style telemark books where they show starting with a lot of weight on the rear ski, steering the front ski into place and then weighting onto the front ski as it swoops through the fall line.
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lilcliffy
- Posts: 4286
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
- Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
- Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
- Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
- Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
- Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger
Re: Striding turns
Parker's book is an excellent nerdy read...I find it very complicated though...it is one of my regular 5am coffee reads...
I find the illustrations in his book to be generally poor- but, that one that Mike highlighted- using an angled stride to initiate a telemark turn- is very good. I quite firmly believe that the origin of the "telemark" turn is this exactly.
To me- whether a striding turn becomes a true telemark depends on whether the rear ski becomes heavily weighted once the turn is initiated.
Although striding turns can be done on any Nordic kit- to me, they are critical when downhill skiing on XC tech.
XC boots just don't have- and shouldn't have- the above-ankle power to steer or "smear" your way into a telemark- except in the most ideal of conditions.
(I have them right now BTW- we got 12" of fresh cold powder on top of the dense base yesterday. I went for an EPIC ski this morning through the northwoods. I had my grip wax pefect- felt like I was flying through snow covered forest, cold fresh air and sunshine! My 205cm E-109 tours and Alaskas are a dream!)
On XC tech I generally stride my way down-hill- shifting my weight from ski to ski- like a diagonal stride- but, as Parker points out- my arms are not moving like a diagonal stride, they are out in front- in the fall line.
If I need more stabilty and power- drop my rear knee and weight the rear ski- the stride becomes the telemark!
My strength and balance increases as I begin to rack up many miles- as the season progresses I find myself having to weight that rear ski much less...
Striding your way through down-hill turns is most definitely Nordic technique. To go by "the book"- if that rear ski is not weighted, and the skier is not in the telemark stance- then it is not really a telemark turn.
My historical guestimate is that Nordheim is really famous for developing new technology which allowed "modern" telemark technique. Sidecut, lower camber, higher boots, cable bindings- these are all innovations that Sondre brought to a traditional technology.
I am thinking that free-heel skiers were striding down hills long before Sondre.
I find the illustrations in his book to be generally poor- but, that one that Mike highlighted- using an angled stride to initiate a telemark turn- is very good. I quite firmly believe that the origin of the "telemark" turn is this exactly.
To me- whether a striding turn becomes a true telemark depends on whether the rear ski becomes heavily weighted once the turn is initiated.
Although striding turns can be done on any Nordic kit- to me, they are critical when downhill skiing on XC tech.
XC boots just don't have- and shouldn't have- the above-ankle power to steer or "smear" your way into a telemark- except in the most ideal of conditions.
(I have them right now BTW- we got 12" of fresh cold powder on top of the dense base yesterday. I went for an EPIC ski this morning through the northwoods. I had my grip wax pefect- felt like I was flying through snow covered forest, cold fresh air and sunshine! My 205cm E-109 tours and Alaskas are a dream!)
On XC tech I generally stride my way down-hill- shifting my weight from ski to ski- like a diagonal stride- but, as Parker points out- my arms are not moving like a diagonal stride, they are out in front- in the fall line.
If I need more stabilty and power- drop my rear knee and weight the rear ski- the stride becomes the telemark!
My strength and balance increases as I begin to rack up many miles- as the season progresses I find myself having to weight that rear ski much less...
Striding your way through down-hill turns is most definitely Nordic technique. To go by "the book"- if that rear ski is not weighted, and the skier is not in the telemark stance- then it is not really a telemark turn.
My historical guestimate is that Nordheim is really famous for developing new technology which allowed "modern" telemark technique. Sidecut, lower camber, higher boots, cable bindings- these are all innovations that Sondre brought to a traditional technology.
I am thinking that free-heel skiers were striding down hills long before Sondre.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.