Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

another question in pursuit of the "perfect" setup and for discussion. this time, focusing mainly on the ski.

lets assume one wanted to go on-piste at some resorts occasionaly but only leisurely run the bunnyhills. lets also assume they were going to do that on the most-rigid, non-plastic 75mm boots possible. finally they are on simple 3 pins.

gimme your top 2-3 skis with the requirement that they be no bigger than 75mm at the waist. it would be fun to also stipulate 1 vintage ski (if possible- you geezers), one small production company (local builder) ski if possible, and sure a regular commonly discussed ski here on the forum or others.

interested to hear your thoughts!

I would check the used market and get something cheap that you think might work. Narrow and not too stiff, there are lots of skis that will work.

I picked up a pair of skis for $12.99 at the Goodwill last week. They are a rossi "wild widow" 88-63-83 in a 198cm. Other than it being a womens ski I think it would be good at the resort. I bought them for the Riva binding on them but I will try to ski them before I remove the binding.

I'd probably look for skis from the mid-2000's (something cheap and used as suggested above). While a bit wider than your stipulations, something like the Atomic Kongur (84 underfoot) with a basic telemark binding (G3 Targa or the like) would be a reasonable set up. (I still have this set up, which was my jump from leather to plastic boots, and an upgrade from my old Tua skis. I rarely ski these anymore as I much prefer wider skis with early rise and a flatter running base for lift served tele these days, but keep em around for low-tide, hard pack conditions.) The Atomic skis that pre-date these were called the TM 22(I think?) and would also fit the bill for a basic starter set up. Alternatively, the K2 "piste" or "stinx" skis (there were different names like "world piste" and "super stinx"; I don't know much about these skis other than they were quite ubiquitous) from the last decade might be worth looking into as well.

cheers!

I'll second the K2's from around 2005 - 2010 as good skis (most of them) for what I think you're describing. Easy and predictable turners, generally on the softer flex and camber side, big sweet spots. Versatile too.

right on, thanks for the suggestions. k2's. some of the rossi's (but i have heard to stay away from some of the rossi skis?). i really like the tua sumo's, those things just look like they would be my type of ski (but i guess that's kinda like fishing where you pick what "looks" good to you, not what might be the best).

scotty bob's (sorry, i had to mention them)

these black crows vertis looks pretty sweet!
https://www.black-crows.com/vertis-skis

and these...
https://www.evo.com/outlet/skis/black-d ... o-new-demo

there's a really beat up pair of these elan's at pia. think i should pop on em? 5 bux (this link is just the ski)
https://www.k-bid.com/auction/4524/item/22

so somebody local has these downhill skis for sale. in all of your expert opinions, which would work best on blues for a 140 ish lb guy and simple 3 pins?

They'll all be ok, maybe a little less ok with the teeny boards. What you're considering doing is pretty well what my son and I did a few years ago. Took old, worthless, pre-year-2000 skis, screwed in whatever 3-pin we could scrounge up from here, there, and I-forget-where, inserted mediocre ankle-high old-school leathers, and started having fun. No offence, but the old skis on display in the photo have no monetary value. And little value as technical achievements compared to what's available nowadays. They may, however, have lots of fun-value. They may even help you become a better skier than if you were to get started tele-ing on high-end, "modern" gear. Maybe. When my son and I made our début it was on the bunny hill at Mont Tremblant. We were hooked from Day 1. Part of the fun was the encouragement, the laughter, and the general fuss and buzz our efforts generated amongst onlookers, ski patrollers, resort employees, liftees, assorted groupies and hangers-on. We were hooked. And the rest is history...

Once you've moved on to beefier, better, yes, MODERN telemark/alpine ski gear, though, the old experimental stuff develops a natural tendency to stay safely buried in the basement or garage. Next to the rollerblades and the old Ford Maverick that you haven't quite gotten around to restoring. The new stuff for downhill skiing, tele or other styles, performs better, i.e. it makes executing controlled movements in challenging terrain EASIER. You can do things on the new stuff that you can't do on the old. Tooling around with antique gear, though, is fun. I still have like-new 90's-era skis tucked up in the basement rafters patiently waiting for a Voilé 3-pin/cable installation.

Why fiddle around? Maybe to realize a dream: floating endless telemark turns down fresh, calf-deep, untracked powder. Totally addictive and unlike most addictions, relatively harmless.

nice to hear you guys are making it work! it's like bikes in many ways, there is something fulfilling about taking old, cast'aside things and using them again. sometimes i feel that (especially with old steel bikes) they have a spirit that thanks you for making them work again. we'll see if i can get a pair of these skis, they are pretty dang cheap. been casually looking for boots that will be a decent match for skis like this...the hunt continues.

leathers on groomers...we'll see how it goes tomorrow!

Do yourself a favor and skip those skis in the photo. Look at freeheellife.com's used tele skis. There are a bunch of good ones, with bindings, all lengths, and prices are good.

phoenix wrote:Do yourself a favor and skip those skis in the photo. Look at freeheellife.com's used tele skis. There are a bunch of good ones, with bindings, all lengths, and prices are good.

This is good advice. Check these out from the freeheellife site:
181cm K2 World Piste w/ G3 Targa (75mm Telemark Skis & Bindings) - Used
Dimensions: 119/78/105

Nice basic set up from the past decade. Depending on the boots you end up getting, these would make a greater starter set. And would probably not require a super beefy boot to drive.

Cheers!