"Telemark" is more than a turn

[Ullr]

I just registered to this forum after reading it for a while now. A lot of good stuff here! I am from Norway and has been skiing since I was 2, as most Norwegians of my generation. I started telemarking in the end of the 80s, but had a break from active skiing for almost 2o years before I started again 4 years ago. I really think the move to heavier equipment is a dead end for the sport. I still use leather boots (and occasionally T4s, when I go to the local skiing hill) and 75mm bindings and enjoy the challenge and flexibility of that.

Modern telemark skiing is, as many of you know, really an American invention, not Norwegian. Even though it is based on Norwegian traditions, the Norwegian telemark skiing before the 80s was mostly conserved in ski jumping. Ski jumping is big here, not just as an organised sport, but also something you do when you go skiing. When as a child I went skiing with family and friends, as soon as we arrived at a rest or goal, someone started building a jump. Then we started jumping.

We always built the jump that would give us most height, not necessary length, and the style of jumping was classic telemark: We did not use poles and in the air we pulled our knees and skies up as high as we could. The landing was always the telemark landing (same pose as a turn, but without turning) and some would do a telemark turn at the end.

And this is the point of my post. Telemark skiing is best when it has style and the telemark landing is mandatory! I have lately seen so many telemark videos on YouTube, and almost no one do a pull-up jump with a goodtelemark landing. many land parallell while leaning backwards. Not to be a style nazi here, but I like to remind my fellow International skiers that telemarking came from ski jumping. Let’s honour those roots and do telemark jumps!

[Toby]

Hi Ullr, and everybody,

this is my first post here too. Absolutely agree with above. In my childhood in northern Finland we cross country skied like there were nothing else, we raced, downhill skied every small hills around, then we skied to the school, and the school sport was XC skiing, we learned how to wax the skis in the school, and then when we had some fun, it was ski jumping. Basically we always ski jumped, when we did some downhill skiing. Telemark was the style, or better say; method of "landing".
(this was well before I got my first alpine gear – a very rebel thing against my dad “alpine skiing is not real skiing”!)
Now living in the Alps since 20y. Big mountains, big lines, big tours, with heavy tele, then mainly on modern AT.

[Ullr]

Good to hear!

Yes, fun is the word. Like this clip from Norway. It shows a beer bowl run. The purpose is to keep the beer in the bowl while ski jumping. Look at all the telemark landings. Most people fall, but that is prat of the fun (you have to skip to the 6 minute mark): http://www.norge-rundt.no/video/3212

More traditional ski fun:

Backflip in leather boots with telemark landing:

Some good style jumping from the 50s:

[Ullr]

A fun bit of history of how important style and skiing used to be, is the story about when it was issued a stamp of the old king of Norway (Olav) skijumping in Holmenkollen. He was a good skier and skijumper and jumped 34 meters with pretty good style. But when they made the stamp they removed some of his scissoring of the skis (scissoring is frowned upon and seen as bad style. The work of charlatans and drunken men). This editing resulted in a heated debate all over the country. By editing his style, some saw it as being disrespectful to the king: Wasn’t his style good enough for a stamp?

Here is the stamp and the original photo:

And a film about the controversy:

https://www.nrk.no/video/PS*31209

[Lo-Fi]

...in the air we pulled our knees and skies up as high as we could. The landing was always the telemark landing (same pose as a turn, but without turning) and some would do a telemark turn at the end.

And this is the point of my post. Telemark skiing is best when it has style and the telemark landing is mandatory! I have lately seen so many telemark videos on YouTube, and almost no one do a pull-up jump with a goodtelemark landing. many land parallell while leaning backwards. Not to be a style nazi here, but I like to remind my fellow International skiers that telemarking came from ski jumping. Let’s honour those roots and do telemark jumps!

Ha! This is great. I do find I often look for little jumps, pull my knees up when jumping and also always do the tele landing. I'm in Canada, but I came to this quite spontaneously and naturally (although my dad is from Lithuania, which is kind of close to Scandinavia(?!))

[FrenchFred]

I agree with you !
I start with leather, then move on plastic boots, then I switch to AT, and now I'm back on soft télémark gear.

But T4 and Excursion are still pretty soft for jumping...

If style is "everything", the NNNBC is allowed ?

Keep the spirit alive !

Fred

[Verskis]

Good to hear!

Yes, fun is the word. Like this clip from Norway. It shows a beer bowl run. The purpose is to keep the beer in the bowl while ski jumping. Look at all the telemark landings. Most people fall, but that is prat of the fun (you have to skip to the 6 minute mark): http://www.norge-rundt.no/video/3212

More traditional ski fun:

Backflip in leather boots with telemark landing:

Some good style jumping from the 50s:

Nice video clips! I like seeing some old time skiing

[Woodserson]

This is such a great thread, very inspiring. Thank you for posting this guys! My jumping days are mostly behind me now, unfortunately, but I love the stoke and dose of ski culture, and the desire to keep skiing beautiful.

Also, if I do jump, I'll be sure to scissor my skis so everyone knows I'm a charlatan and drunkard! Sounds like I'll be in good company.