What is the benefit to telemark skiing?

The main (and classical) advantage of telemark skiing is not when you're going downhill, but when you want to travel on skis. Telemark skiing goes back to the days before chairlifts, when the ski was a flotation device used for ascending as well as descending. The free heel (and a set of skins or scales) allows the telemark skier to skin up a hill much like in randonee(AT)¹, cross-country skiing, or even snow shoeing using a natural motion. Contrast your ability to walk in telemark skis with downhill(alpine) skis where your ankle and heel are fixed in position.

As for the fancy telemark turn (with the big kneel/dip at each turn), it's because the soft telemark boots without heel tension (think plain three-pin bindings with leather boots) can't efficiently transfer the force to the ski's edges so the dip helps transfer some of that energy. It also imparts greater stability during the turn. Essentially it is a way of finessing the ski through a turn vs the alpine approach of powering/driving through a turn. Modern telemark gear often uses rigid plastic boots along with bindings that provide some tension/resistance on the heel. These improvements transfer more energy to the edges and give greater stability. Which in turn results in less of a need to use a traditional telemark turn. They also diminish some of the benefits traditional telemark gear gave in terms of traveling on skis.

_{1: Telemark skiing is very similar to randonee except with randonee gear you can lock your heel back in place to go downhill. In this fashion randonee captures the strengths of both telemark's natural walking stride with the stability and power of alpine gear. This mash-up is reflected in the alternate moniker; Alpine Touring.}

posted about 12 years ago

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furtive‭

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Alpine Skiing, also known by it"s more common misnomer as "downhill skiing" is performed with the heels affixed to the skis via a alpine binding, while Nordic Skiing is performed via a toe binding. However, at one time, all skiing was done on free heeled bindings. The separation only came about in late 1930s after the development of the ski lift. Prior to this invention, all skiers had to climb the mountain in order to ski back down, hence the need for free heels. Alpine skiing, with heels locked down was developed during the post lift era. The Telemark technique was first developed during pre-lift era by champion modern ski pioneer, Sondre Norheim of Norway, and named after his hometown of Morgedal,Telemark, Norway. He is known as the father of modern skiing and the Telemark Turn, He also created the slalom and christie turns. The Telemark was predominately created in 1868 as a deep powder turn where-by the skier separated his skis to make them into more of a mono-ski to more easily turn in deep powder. With the rise of Alpine Skiing facilitated by the further development of ski lifts and alpine bindings, the Telemark was all but forgotten except to cross-country and back-country skiers. But in the 1970s and 80s a Telemark revival occurred via skiers in the western Rockies who became disillusioned with the huge crowds and expensive ski resorts and wanted to escape the crowds and explore the challenging vast uncluttered solitude offered in the pristine mountain terrain. From this attitudinal change, came the re-discovery of the Telemark, which ultimately spread across the nation. As for the original question, "why do we do it?" The answer is best said with the answer Mallory gave as to why he wanted to climb Everest."Because it's there".

Ezra Burgess Former Nordic Advisor to the Eastern Div. National Ski Patrol

posted about 5 years ago

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Ezra Burgess‭

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Telemark -- where the toe is attached, and the heel is free to rise up and down -- allow skiers to skin up back-country slopes with a more natural and efficient stride. However, AT (or randonee) rigs allow skiers that ability while doing alpine turns on the way down.

So, in this day and age, why do people still Telemark:

• A different way to enjoy the mountain: The telemark turn is totally different form an alpine turn. The fluidity, the rise and fall, the total compression and release of the spring of your legs comes as close to flying as one can get and still be attached (at least part of the time) to the ground.
• More stable knees: from personal experience, since I started telemark, the knee pain I experienced chronically as an alpine skier has completely disappeared. I assume this is since my knees are bent in a position of stability, and my center of gravity is closer to the ski and ground during the hard-torque carving of a turn.
• More athletic way to ski: since you are essentially doing lunges down the mountain, your thighs, hamstrings, glutes, and core get an amazing workout.
• A new challenge: For me, after decades of alpine skiing, telemark offered (and continues to offer) a new challenge. (By comparison, I got board on snow-board after a few weekends, whereas telemark keeps me on my toes...)
• Chicks dig guys who telemark: and guys dig chicks who telemark. 'nuff said.
• Style: Watch expert telemark vs expert alpine skiers. To perfect an alpine turn is a skill. To perfect a telemark turn is an art.
• Flow
• Zen

In short, yes to all points in your question. It is different, requires more control, has more room for style, and is a hell of workout. But beyond that, and beyond back-country access, it is pure, unadulterated, fun.

"Free your heels and your mind will follow."

posted about 12 years ago

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Lost‭

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The two main skiing traditions are nordic & alpine.

What we now term alpine skiing was refined in europe, even though there is concrete evidence that it may have originated in asia. Alpine skiing has gone through many changes in technique, but generally speaking: the boot is fixed to the ski at the heel and toe, and turns are performed with the legs parallel which is why they are called "parallel turns".

Telemark was originated much later in Norway, and is basically a turn that exists as an adjunct to the "classical", or "diagonal stride" cross country technique, also known as "kick and glide". ALL TELEMARK IS NORDIC- and the defining factor is that the heel is ALWAYS FREE.

Most people differentiate two types of nordic skiing: "cross country" and "telemark". Cross country is ideal for covering all grades of terrain in a straight line, and telemark is itself a turn used to gracefully arc down a mountain. And just as a light cross country set up with either wax or scales can get you UP a mountain, so can a modern telemark set up with either wax, skins, or scales.

Whether someone is a "cross country" or "telemark" skier is primarily based on the personal choices of what type of terrain a person wants to ski (mountains, rolling, or flat), and whether they want to focus on covering distance in a straight line or making turns. The new "adventure" or "backcountry" skier inhabits the demarcation zone between "classical nordic", and "telemark", and many spend as much time climbing up the mountain as they do shredding it on the way down.

posted about 9 years ago

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Cheri‭

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Because it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car fast. Or... I really like how comfortable it all is... Or, I just like how connected to the mountain makes me feel-- why rush down to the lift line when you can make such nice turns!

posted about 6 years ago

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Attila Plasch‭

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Telemark skiis are much more suitable for cross-country skiing than Alpine skis. Having the connection only at the front of the boot allows you to walk and cover long distances very efficiently across flat snow.

But even in cross country-skiing, you will sometimes need to ski downhill, so the style of skiing with one dropped knee on corners was developed to allow for controllable steering. You can't easily ski normal downhill style with a free-floating heel.

So people with Telemark skis will do this for practice, and for fun.

posted about 12 years ago

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roryalsop‭

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The benefit to telemark sking is being able to go anywhere you want easy and skiing down sick lines. You can tele turn or alpine turn on tele's. You can fly off back country cliffs then hike back up and do it again. Plus all the gear is lighter. Then after you ski, whether it's the back country or the ski area, you can go après ski in your boots then drive home in them. I put my boots on at home in the morning ski sick lines all day then drive home or go out without changing anything. Why would anyone want their heel tied down in the mountains? Especially when you can ski it all with a free heel. Bumps steeps powder groomers it's all easy on tele's. Free the heel free the mind!

posted almost 9 years ago

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Rusty Rodeck‭

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