Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I know this is going to sound like a stupid question but where do you do it?

I know some resorts have dedicated courses and that some people go off piste but I mean if you are just learning and there's no separate run do you use the normal ones?

confused.gif

Link to post
Share on other sites

Good question. There is nothing funnier that seeing a learner telemark skier trying to use a normal run.

Downhill skis and snowboards use slightly different snow. You should phone a few of the resorts and ask them if they have any courses for teleskiing and go to the ones that do. They generally don't advertise them on thier websites so its best to phone them and ask directly.

Link to post
Share on other sites

chortle chortle...

 

And where might these dedicated runs be...

 

me Jane, as the rather humourous Cap'n says, all slopes are tele slopes, they're just on loan to the other users. For learning, try a low intermediate with a nice bit of width and consistant gradient, steeper than what one might learn to ski on, not as steep as a learner snowboarder.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Me Jane... Are you talking about telemark skiing or cross country skiing? Huge difference. Cross country does have special areas (and the back country). Telemarkers are happy on any normal resort slope or the back country. Telemarking may have grown out of cross country, but it's like the difference between a mountain bike and a touring bike. Zenzen chigaou.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah, why don't who publicise what, Smiler? I'm not having a dig at you here. I'd like to answer your question.

 

A lot of people still seem to confuse cross-country skiing with tele skiing, and I can understand why because of the historical links.

 

If your question is 'why don't telemarkers publicise themselves as being significantly different from cross country skiers?' - we do. Our numbers aren't huge, and our voice isn't very loud, but we do. There are telemarkers ripping up the big lines in the mountains (have been for donkeys years of course), telemarkers carving like there's no tomorrow on the slopes, and (recently) telemarkers pulling off all the park and pipe tricks. There's even some sick guy in the States who's working on telemarking moguls backwards (shudder).

 

Our gear lagged behind alpine gear for years for various reasons, including the difficulty of getting plastic boots to flex, and inherent problems getting a binding strong enough to hold a boot tight and flex just below the ball of the foot at the same time. But we are there. I took a video of the last guy I saw telemarking on skinny skis and leather boots. Living history.

 

Me Jane, or anyone else, if you're interested in learning to tele, feel free to PM me. Maybe I can point you in the direction of a good vid, book or website that can give you the info you need.

 

Whatever your means of riding the snow, I hope the season brings you deep powder \:\)

Link to post
Share on other sites

confused.gif Powda tele... you're right, I'm confused! What is the difference between tele & cross country and is Nordic cross country?

So you can tele on anything but can't cross country on the regular ski/board runs? confused.gif

Link to post
Share on other sites

This part:

 

"You should phone a few of the resorts and ask them if they have any courses for teleskiing and go to the ones that do. They generally don't advertise them on thier websites so its best to phone them and ask directly"

 

\:\)

Link to post
Share on other sites

They don’t publicize that information because the largest part of the market is regular skiers and snowboarders. If that section of the market found out that the snow at a resort was the kind that tele skiers use then they wouldn’t go there, they would go somewhere with snowboard snow.

I think I read an article that explained it all quite clearly at www.theonion.com, you should have a look for information there.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Me Jane - you're certainly not alone in confusing tele and cross country. A small group of tele skiers in the States are trying to rename tele as 'freeheel' skiing, just so we can break away from that dirty, sweaty, hippy, long-haired, meusli-munching image of cross country. Most of us don't care, and we think we've broken away from that anyway (at least we think so).

 

Basically, cross country skiing is for touring around the mountains. Think hiking on skis. The skis are long, thin and straight, because that shape is efficient for moving forward. Unfortunately, that ski shape isn't very good for turning. The boots are often leather because they flex so well (efficient) and they're just so comfy. Yeah, cross country skiers have also ripped up some wicked lines in the mountains for years, but it's pretty hard to do on that gear. Cross country is generally (if a teeny bit simplistically) thought of as hiking on skis.

 

Tele skiing grew out of all that. Some cross country skiers loved the idea of being able to get up into the mountains easily, and also (and very importantly) loved the 'feel' and 'style' of the telemark turn, and wanted gear that could do all that on steeper and bigger (read 'nastier') runs. And so the gear changed. Skis got fatter and fatter, plastic boots were eventually designed in the late 80's/early 90's that could actually flex at the ball of the foot, and bindings got stronger. Nowdays, the difference between alpine and tele skis comes down to graphics (marketing) and a teeny difference in flex that most skiers wouldn't even notice. Alpine and tele skis are made in the same molds. Our boots are different, but only the part in front of the arch of your foot. Bindings are very different.

 

Telemarking is not really about touring around the back country. It's simply about ripping up big lines (just like alpine skiing and boarding). Some tele skiers never go off piste, most probably do. If we're heading back country, it's not for a sightseeing tour around the mountains, it's to get into some good steep runs with fresh snow.

 

There is one other group that you could lump in with the cross country - tele confusion. You also have the nordic racers who are abnormally fit freaks racing (generally) flat courses on super skinny skis. They're the guys you may see training in summer on skinny roller skis, up and down flat cycling tracks. If only I had their fitness and lungs! You can take that same gear down to your local park and have a bit of a walk/ski around as well if you're less competitive. Some oldies in Japan are really into plodding around the park that way for some exercise. Credit to them for being active, I say! In Sapporo, you can borrow all this gear for free at the local park (nakajima koen). It is either a relaxing way to spend a morning, or a great way to build aerobic fitness, depending on how you approach it. Some ski resorts do have groomed trails for this (Rusutsu, for example - yeah, they do publicise it), but since these 'nordic' trails have to be pretty darn flat, you probably won't stumble onto one without asking.

 

'Nordic' is a bit of a loose term, that has been applied to many forms, but generally it now refers to the super-human racers on their super-skinny skis, or those gliding around their local park on skinny skis.

 

 

RMD - Thanks. If the question is 'why don't they publicise the courses suitable for tele', it's because any run suitable for boarding or alpine skiing is equally suitable for tele. It'd be like publicising runs suitable for boarding, or runs suitable for alpine skis for that matter. We all shred, and we can all shred the same things, it's just that we shred in different ways.

 

 

That was rather comprehensive, wasn't it? Hope it clears up a few things. If you're interested in finding out more about tele (on piste, back country, or in the park/pipe), have a look at http://www.telemarktips.com/ It's pretty much the online hub of telemark skiing.

 

There's beauty in diversity. I ride a lot with boarders, and a bit with alpine skiers. I love the way we each ride somewhat differently, and we read and use the terrain differently. We learn from each other and watch each other improve. For me, that diversity is another dimension to the fun I have.

 

Ride on!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Could be right on that one Miteyak, but I believe the telemark "turn" was invented back then (and there). I was kind of refering to 'telemark skiing' as a snowsport subcategory. Good point, though - it does get a bit messy in definitions. I was trying to keep it relatively simple.

 

For history's sake, I think the telemark position first caught the public eye when someone landed one of those huge jumps (think olympic ski jump) in a tele position. Of course, they still land that way for front-back stability. (Have you ever seen their skis? They're FAT!) Paul Parker's instructional book has a chapter on the history of tele.

 

By the way, no insults intended above for the cross country guys. I started out in cross country. And I should say that cross country itself has moved on a long way from the popularly held image of it.

 

Can you tell I'm not busy at work today?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, but i'm flat out... (laughing smiley here)

 

Must get back to me Paul parker book (love the short stories)

 

I think your version is the U.S. revival one, which, by default I guess I'm part of, as my mentor was an ex freeheeling skibum from ... er... some freeheeling capitol in the states... crusty creek or something similar (more smileys...)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah. I was up in Niseko one day when I read the short snippet about him and Yvone Chuinard skiing Niseko pow. Freaky. That was in an older (borrowed)edition. You're right. I have a newer edition.

 

Paul was a guest on the Couloir forum a few weeks back. I posted to let him know that some of the locals still talk fondly of him. He is a bit of a legend I guess. He replied saying he'd love to come back for a visit.

 

The best thing about that link above, aside from about a million pieces of trivia you could pull from it, is that you can see Sondre Nordheim's wife's knitting! Sick dude!

 

"by default [you] think [you're] part of" the U.S edition? Please elaborate. I hear great trivia alarm bells ringing if I'm reading your message correctly. Was that your Andy Warhol moment?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Two messages in one. I was refering to how I got into teleing, no book reference. The genre of telemarking that belongs to your version of events, ie. the growth of freeheel in the states swept up my mentor, followed by me through him.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, major anticlimax Miteyak.

 

Thanks me jane. Not sure what it's worth, but I appreciate the sentiment. OK, I just rated you too. Mostly because you're interested in finding out about other forms of riders, because I have a healthy disrespect for such ratings, and because I'm feeling kind of groovey.

Link to post
Share on other sites
×
×
  • Create New...