Telemark 101, The Stance

[lowangle al]

Regardless of what gear you are on you want a tight compact stance. This is what you want to shoot for, as opposed to the more classic looking spread out form that is prevalent in the old videos and pictures.

Below are some photos of the type of stance that I shoot for. Anyone can add photos that they think are good examples and also some that aren’t. Just let us know which are the bad examples.

[Montana St Alum]

Just because one can't have a tight stance all the time, every time, it's an important technique to aspire to! Whenever conditions are on the easier side, trying to tighten it up as much as possible pays dividends, for sure.

[lowangle al]

Just because one can't have a tight stance all the time, every time, it's an important technique to aspire to! Whenever conditions are on the easier side, trying to tighten it up as much as possible pays dividends, for sure.

Good point, as soon as you start going too fast or you hit some rough snow you naturally are going to want to spread out for stability. (Which is a good thing.) Skiing in a tight stance makes it a lot easier to weight both skis.

[Stephen]

Like what you put up @lowangle al.

I posted liking these on another thread, what do you think?
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[Stephen]

And wouldn’t want to leave out this one — at least this guy is wearing some clothes!
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[Telerock]

Not sure of you definition of a “tight stance”. I try, ideally, to keep my skis as close together as possible. That said, Forward/back distance is variable, and I still consider that “good form’ even with a deep drop and long distance between my feet. I posted attached on another thread, but think it portrays some of my best skiing (such as it is, and given spring conditions on manmade snow at a closed resort (Stowe, Vt)).

[lowangle al]

Good question on what is a tight stance. I'd say "tight enough" is a stance that allows you to easily weight the rear foot.

I don't think you are too spread out in the picture. The toe of your rear foot is just about under your butt, and as I mentioned in your other post, I thought you looked centered.

We are trying to get people to change their perception of what a good stance is, and aspire to achieve it. Your stance in the pic is working for you, but a newbe starting out with that same spread, can soon find they can not weight the back ski if they get spread out even a little bit more than that.

I had my first powder day at Stowe back in 85', things magically start working for me.

[Capercaillie]

One variable that becomes important with a tight stance is: how much do you lift the heel of the rear foot? You can lift it just a bit, which stretches your calf muscles and Achilles tendon, or you can lift it a lot, which stretches the muscles under your foot, but keeps your shin at a right angle to the top of your foot (and therefore your Achilles tendon slack).

This is where boots come into play, and I think a lot of the controversy about Xplore boots is coming from. Notice how Johnny highlights the different flex zones that are designed into the Alpina Pioneer boots:

https://telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php? ... 207ca72aa5

Flex Zone 2 lets you stretch your calf and put the rear foot back without having to lift your heel much.

I notice that the Alfa Skaget seems to be designed to allow a similar flex for the boot shaft.

One of the telemark exercises I read about somewhere (probably Steve Barnett's Cross-Country Downhill) is to practice lifting your front ski in the telemark stance. It seems a lot easier and less tiring with a low heel.

[lowangle al]

One benefit of a tight stance is that you don't have to lift your heel high for more control, because it's easier to get enough weight on the ski to control it. Besides aspiring to keep it tight I also aspire to keep my heel low. Keeping your heel low (while the ski is weighted) will also help keep your knees closer together, which is also part of a tight compact stance.

[fisheater]

I really don’t consider how high my heel is. I want the ball of my foot firmly on my ski. I am edging with the pinky toe side of my foot. Even when I have skied an active binding, my focus is ball of foot on ski, pinky side of foot edging.
I will address tippy toe back foot skiing. I learned, or shall I say struggled on a boot called the Asolo Telebreeze. This was back when plastic boots first came out. I got the boot and a copy of Paul Parkers book in a package deal. He was somehow endorsing the boot. The bellows break was on the toe, instead of the ball of foot. I struggled for a couple years on that boot. Then when my legs were toast on my last day of a week of skiing in Utah, I rented an outfit with a Garmont 3 buckle Teleboot. I immediately could Tele ski. Immediately I was on the ball of the foot, immediately I could ski well.
When I got home I immediately threw Parker’s book in the trash. While now I see NTN Telemark skiers, skiing well without placing the ball of the foot on the ski, I credit that to active bindings, 4 buckle boots, and stiffer skis. To me I compares to alpine setups. I do not see that tippy toe technique in more challenging terrain, only on groomed pistes.