Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Greetings!

I am new to Telemark Skiing, but have skied Alpine and XC for many years. I live in SW Wisconsin, but a few years back went telemark skiing on a mountain in Oregon with a friend and loved it! I plan to ski on the small hills here in the MidWest to gain some skill, then take some trips to larger places to ski, or we may be moving to Washington soon. I recently bought some Garmont Prophet NTN boots, G3 180 ElHombre Skis with Rottefella Freeride bindings at a ski swap, only to realize afterwords that the bindings were the small version and would not fit my boots. I went back to the swap the next day and ironically found the guy who was buying the boots that went with the skis I had bought, and although I got an awesome deal on the skis and was somewhat reluctant to let them go, I sold them to him for what I had paid for them ($100) and for now am keeping the boots. I'm not sure what to do. I have been out of skiing in general for a very long time, and just got back into Alpine last year, so I have a lot to catch up on in terms of gear and what is good for what, etc. I know I could get a set of older skis, but I really like the NTN concept and especially the safety of having skis that will come off if I crash. I'm not a big risk taker, but I am adventurous and I like to work my edge. I am also a husband and father and need to stay able bodied for my family and myself! I have heard bits about skis that are great in deep powder of the bigger places out West but maybe not as good on the groomed hills of Wisconsin. Part of this also is my wife and 10 year old daughter are much newer to skiing in general, so I thought it might help put us at a more similar level if I was learning Telemark while they are learning Alpine, rather than me often wanting to head for the black diamonds while they are on the easier slopes. It seems also that there are a lot of skis that can be considered for telemark or alpine, it just depends on what the bindings are? This could help me find some skis now that the swap is passed as about one pair of telemark skis comes up for sale every 2 months around here! I know skis get sold on here but I am a champagne on a beer budget kind of guy, but who knows what might come my way? This is a long ramble but there you go! As an aside, without having done any research, I assume that alpine skiing was the recreational child of telemarking, yes? Where telemark was originally a form of practical (and enjoyable) transportation in Norway and the region, and then when it became more of a sport and chairlifts came into being or gondolas the idea of fixing the heel came about as you no longer needed to walk up the hill?
Cheers to all you telemarkers!
Peter.

NTN is closer to Alpine as 3-pin is closer to Nordic, but NTN (or Tech -toe variations) are where you will want to be. Used boots are probably the most difficult thing to get, then NTN binding, though someone somewhere will be passing on a pair. Try 'earn your turns' website. Skis, used Alpine skis are almost given away, junk the Alpine bindings and you area away. Best of luck and enjoy - Telemark skier always have the biggest smiles!

Since you have the boots already, stick with looking for an NTN binding, plus 75mm is getting more and more scarce as the manufacturers for the most part are trending to NTN or tech toe (or both bindings). Hopefully the Prophet is a good fit for you as it can be a problematic fit for some, myself included. I liked the way the boot skied, but it destroyed my toes as it can deform and shorten if you get too low, and getting locked into the heel pocket can be tricky if you have skinny ankles.

As far as which bindings to go with, Freerides are ok, and frankly will feel pretty close to alpine bindings if you're skiing with your heels down, and have great lateral edge control. They can be punishing to poor technique though. You might be happier with a Freedom or a 22-designs Outlaw, but really any of them will be pretty good for an alpine convert. While the Outlaw doesn't advertise release, many people have released when they've needed too.

For skis, and your location, I'd look for some used skis in the 75-90 mm waist width. Pull any alpine bindings off them and fill the holes, and mount your binding of choice. On the most part, I've found very little conflict between alpine binding holes and telemark binding holes. In fact, on most of my skis, I've got inserts to run either binding. Considering you'll be mostly hardpack, a traditional cambered ski will be fine. If you find something with tip rocker, that's ok too, but try and get something with at least a little camber underfoot. The tip rocker will make them ski/turn a little shorter/quicker on hardpack, but you'll have less effective edge on the snow.

I'm somewhat in your locale, (Minnesota) and run wider skis, but tend to keep my quiver to 1-2 skis, so currently run a 98mm waisted ski with some tip rocker as my daily driver, and I like it. It's a little slower edge to edge, but not appreciably, and gives me a better option out west. I've also got some old 85mm twins, and bump skis, but that's another story. That being said, I learned tele on ~70mm waisted skis, and would recommend you not go overly wide to start.

Thanks for the advice! I'm following it and will be flying down the hill on bended knee soon!