Telemark 101, The Stance

[consular_ship]

Here’s an oldie. Tight stance, but those long poles got a go. When I’m making turns I like my poles at 120cm or 110 is even better. I’m 5’10”3378F177-8891-4B04-AB7B-E21F6F8D9A4D.jpeg

I’m 5’9” and like mine at 115. Some of the canonical tele books mention shortening poles and I’ve found that helps get the rest of the upper body to commit to the turn better. Your style is timeless!

[Lo-Fi]

I'm with you @lowangle al and @consular_ship, 110-115cm with your hands low, in front, shoulder width and quiet, really helps.

[Stephen]

Actually, many will say that it is once they are riding that rear ski under them that the tele turn magic happens. Rather than the 50/50 it happens when it feels like you are more 60/40 (rear/front).

I'm suggesting with the pictures though, that on more downhill oriented gear, you ideally want that more over-the-back-foot stance vs more forward foot or behind you foot stances. I've often seen that skinny ski stance by skiers on meatier equipment and perhaps they might benefit from tucking the foot under more.

I’m on the front end of the learning curve and this rings true for me.
Coming from the light side to NTN, I had to really work on getting the back foot under my butt and sitting on it (figuratively).
It seems like dropping the inside hip and developing angulation at the waist for edging also helps.
Difference between inclination and angulation.

[tkarhu]

@Lo-Fi Thanks for the answer! You sure know more about tele & gear than me because it seems like you have lots of experience on different gear. I just bumped into this other post:
viewtopic.php?t=5096&start=10

It is hard for me to tell without skiing heavy plastic boots how the photo tele stances actually feel. What rear leg muscles are active in the stance variant with hip flexion (knee pointing forward & down)? Does it feel like squatting?

With plastic boots and strong binding resistance, maybe you can lean against the boot, whereas in same posture your rear leg would be passive with nnn-bc, without the support.

[Rodbelan]

Yes, you want weight on the “rear” ball of foot but how you get it there and feel it there is really important. THus, the tele stance is tricky(and highly debatable) but can really define your turning success.

I’ve tried to grab a few images that represent the stance that I aim for and I think looks modern and optimal. I must add the caveats: one guy’s humble opinion; the stance doesn’t necessarily look like this at every moment, nor in every condition; there’s no intention to disparage anyone’s style or opinions…

The better stance tends to have the rear foot tucked under you a bit more, (maybe better illustrated by a deeper stance- butt cheek to Achilles at the lowest bottom), shoulders closer to over the hips, and this almost guarantees more weight on this inside/rear/“under you” foot:



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The “lesser” stance with the rear foot behind you, with the weight and balance too forward on the front foot or tilting the upper body and or front knee too far forward over the front foot:

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Yep, and in other words, we have to be careful about the stiff front leg! Most stance here show an ankle flex in the front leg. Very important. I see the stiff front leg in many vids about telemark... (not yours Lo-Fi!)

[lowangle al]

All of my gear is 75mm and my biggest boots are T4s. Since I have the same range of motion with the T4 as with leather boots my stance is basically the same for light or heavy gear. I'll change my stance more for the type of turn I'm doing or the terrain. With tall stiff boots it isn't as easy to weight the rear foot.

One difference between light and heavy is that with skinny skis I might be a little more open side to side to make up for their lack of lateral stability. This will prevent a lot of falling to your side. Another difference is that you need to be a little more deliberate with weighting the rear foot.

My stance is the same with either 3 pin or cable bindings. Active bindings can make the rear ski work better while putting less weight on it, so it can compensate a little for not having the rear ski weighted properly. You don't want to rely on this though.Like LoFi said try to overweight the rear ski.

For pole length, at 110 when I hold my poles in front of me at a comfortable height they clear the snow surface without having to lift them to a less comfortable height.

[greatgt]

For lift served short poles are what they are. BUT In the Bush, you need to use them to cruise and on the steep up you won't get there as easily with short poles. When earning your turns going up long is really good. On the down a tap here and there is good for balance but mostly they are for bashing whips and need to be out of the way. TM

[lowangle al]

Whatever works for ya GT. 130cm is as long as I go, even for an xc tour. No more 145s for me.

[Montana St Alum]

I have a friend, Lisa, who rips in a low stance. Her poles look like drumsticks. I'm 5'8" tall, and I run 127cm all the time for resort skiing, but that length just seems to help keep me high up in my range of motion.

[mca80]

I'm 5'4 and my swix mtn touring are 135 and I think that's good for straight xc skiing. Since my adjustable asnes poles broke I bought some silicone stretch tape from the hardware store (couldnt find any foam tape and needed a solution pronto, though in the future I may order some bike handlebar tape) and put it on the fixed swix poles starting at about 107 or so for a lower grip for downhill. Maybe shoulda gone higher? I saw a video of Gamme where he held his arms with elbows at side and hands straight out at 90 degree bend. Which is what landed me at 107, but given the pole will go into snow a bit I may add some more tape higher up.