What is the future of Telemark?

[dorthman]

if skiing is a sport, so is telemark skiing, non? Or I guess it's more of a discipline of the sport. but really, just don't dwel too hard on my word choice, I generally post from my mobile so my grammar ain't so hot. I think my point still stands.

[dorthman]

Unfortunately the inferiority complex of Tele skiers got to them and they had to make it clear.

It is really odd though. I mean when I talk to "regular" people and tell them I'm going skiing, they ASSUME I'm going dh skiing. Even people I've told many times still don't get it. Whatever.

When you say skiing, they think this:



Then when I say XC skiing, they think this:



And I sometimes try to explain... but I usually just don't care. Then sometimes I pull out the T word. Because somewhere, somehow, someway, they've seen a Telemarker, and kind of know what that means.

Still think this is the future of the Telemark turn:

[video][/video]

if I'm going to ride my bikes, I'll be pretty specific; "gonna go on a road ride", "im going to ride my mtb" - saying your just going "cycling" or "biking" is pretty damn unclear. I don't do it to be a snob....it's just to be clear and a bit more specific

and that video, I'm not sure tele will actually end up going that direction - but I agree that's where id like to see it go. thanks for posting that, saw it last year an kinda forgot about it. cool stuff

[MikeK]

JMO...

Telemark, the sport:



Telemark, the turn:

[Petri]

In my neck of the woods SE Michigan us Telegeezers are going strong. There are definitely more of us than there were in the nineties. On the hilly trail areas that I trail ski there is interest in my equipment, especially when I we get some decent snow and I can make some SS's going off trail and going downhill. When I take my son to the local lift served, I get frequent questions about my gear, so there is interest from the youth.
I think skiing is gaining in popularity with young people, as opposed to a few years back when younger folks went primarily to snowboards. When those young skiers reach a certain skill level, a small percentage will decide to telemark. Telemarking isn't for everyone, well maybe except for Skandinavia. I like it quiet in my out of the way places. It looks like it will stay quiet fo a while.

Just moved down to Ann Arbor from Saginaw area; what setup are you using for lift serve and trails? I'm toying with this idea of a setup for both.

I think it will always exist based on the beauty, history and challenge. When I first saw telemark, I was infatuated with the movement of motion. Researched the history and I wanted a new challenge.

[lilcliffy]

An attempt to answer the original question...

I think that the "telemark" will live forever- because I believe that there will always be Nordic skiers that want to truly ski downhill.

With the continuous advancement in performance of AT tech- if I could predict anything it would be that high performance big-mtn "Telemark" tech will become more and more of a niche market- marginalized by AT.

BUT- I believe that traditional Nordic ski touring is not about to become a niche market- at least not in the big picture. Traditional Nordic touring may have at least temporarily lost some of its popularity in the US, but it is still very popular in the northern countries (e.g. Canada, Fennoscandia, Russia, etc.)

IMHO- if you want to truly ski downhill on trad Nordic ski tech- learning "telemark" technique is unavoidable.

[Lo-Fi]

If the people of the future have any discernment at all, then the future of Telemarking should be assured, because as LoveJohnny said "Telemark is more fun." Even a single turn can amount to a very gratifying ski experience.




You can squeeze a lot of fun, challenge and satisfaction out of very little: almost any terrain and location from steeps, to flats, to ups, to rolling hills; almost any snow conditions and snowpack (makes it somewhat climate change resilient); a huge range of gear from floppy leathers and skinny skis, to t1 races and fatty big mountain skis; usually lots of used gear available (recession proof)

I've variously loved all forms of cross-country skiing and even alpine skiing through the years, but xcd-telemarking (ie. when you are out looking for turns, and ideally they are telemark turns), in theory and in practice, subsumes them all.

.

[lowangle al]

An attempt to answer the original question...

I think that the "telemark" will live forever- because I believe that there will always be Nordic skiers that want to truly ski downhill.

With the continuous advancement in performance of AT tech- if I could predict anything it would be that high performance big-mtn "Telemark" tech will become more and more of a niche market- marginalized by AT.

BUT- I believe that traditional Nordic ski touring is not about to become a niche market- at least not in the big picture. Traditional Nordic touring may have at least temporarily lost some of its popularity in the US, but it is still very popular in the northern countries (e.g. Canada, Fennoscandia, Russia, etc.)

IMHO- if you want to truly ski downhill on trad Nordic ski tech- learning "telemark" technique is unavoidable.

What he said.

Telemark IS more fun, Dickie Hall described it as "more physical pleasure" and he started as an alpiner.

[MikeK]

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, a gif is worth a billion

[fisheater]

Just moved down to Ann Arbor from Saginaw area; what setup are you using for lift serve and trails? I'm toying with this idea of a setup for both.

I think it will always exist based on the beauty, history and challenge. When I first saw telemark, I was infatuated with the movement of motion. Researched the history and I wanted a new challenge.[/quote]

Petri,

I have a pair of S-bound 112's, mounted with 3 pin hardwires, and T-4 boots. I like the 112. but it is not the greatest kick and glide ski. It performs very well going downhill. I really like the hardwire 3 pin bindings. They offer much more control than the 3-pin cable, and you hook the heel throw to the heel riser piece when you are in kick and glide mode, and fasten the heel throw to the boot to make turns. It is a pretty active binding and pairs well with the T-4's. If I didn't have the 112"s I would look at a pair of Vectors, but for down here I will think about Vectors if I break the 112"s. The ski I am thinking about is a pair of Kom 145"s. I think they be a nice ski for our short downhills in the tight woods.

[rongon]

I have a pair of S-bound 112's, mounted with 3 pin hardwires, and T-4 boots. I like the 112. but it is not the greatest kick and glide ski. It performs very well going downhill. I really like the hardwire 3 pin bindings. They offer much more control than the 3-pin cable, and you hook the heel throw to the heel riser piece when you are in kick and glide mode, and fasten the heel throw to the boot to make turns. It is a pretty active binding and pairs well with the T-4's. If I didn't have the 112"s I would look at a pair of Vectors, but for down here I will think about Vectors if I break the 112"s. The ski I am thinking about is a pair of Kom 145"s. I think they be a nice ski for our short downhills in the tight woods.

I really like the Voile 3-PinHW, but they cause bad pinching of my toes with the plastic boots I wear (Crispi CXP). I'm jealous that you're not experiencing that problem.

I have a pair of Madshus Annum (very similar size/shape as S-Bound 112, but softer) and a pair of Vector BC. Both have Voile Switchback bindings on them. If the Annum is anything like the SB112, I'd say the SB112 will be far better for kick-and-glide on the flats than the Vector BC. I find the Vector BC's tip rocker, 95mm width, and aggressive fish scales make it extremely slow on the flats. It's really a full-on downhill ski with fish scales. Not an XC ski at all.

I have an old pair of Dynastar Legend 3800's, which are standard camber downhill skis with 75mm waist. I've used those with kick wax for long approaches in the Adirondacks, and they worked surprisingly well. I have a pair of old Voile 3-Pin Cable bindings on them, using the bungee cord trick for a DIY tour mode. I think this combination of trad-camber ~70mm waist downhill ski with fairly light telemark boot/binding is a classic touring-for-turns setup. The skis are just narrow and light enough for kick wax to work on the flats, while they're still perfectly good downhill skis for most conditions -- AND makes for a perfectly good setup for most lift-served ski areas.

Fish-scale base = no good for lift served
80mm or wider waist = no good for XC skiing
Tip rocker = no good for XC skiing

How about a pair of vintage 2000 Rossignol CUT skis with 3PinHW and T4's?
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