Telemark Voices

[JackO]

Hi all - hope all are having a great end to the summer

I have recently decided to try and bring my mostly invisible blog out of the shadows - https://www.telemark-voices.com/. I hope you all check it out and find it meaningful.

A few pieces I've recently posted:

One Man Saved Telemark - A piece on EarnYourTurns.com and its creator Craig Dostie: https://www.telemark-voices.com/post/on ... d-telemark

Why Can't Telemark Still Be Heady? - diving into telemark's pariah status and what that says about the outdoor culture's treatment of the esoteric - https://www.telemark-voices.com/post/wh ... l-be-heady

Affiliate-Link Influence and the Demise of Independent Outdoor Journalism - looking into AllGear Digital's purchase of WildSnow and the ramifications of the blending of written content with 3rd party advertising. https://www.telemark-voices.com/post/af ... journalism

You can also find the blog on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550053726700

I'd love to have more contributors, and incorporate more gear, trip reports, opinion pieces, and especially photography of great telemark skiing into the blog. Get in touch if any of that strikes a chord.

Thanks all

Jack

[Manney]

Some great writing there, Jack. Loved the piece on the demise of independent outdoor journalism. Lots of insight.

[JackO]

Hey everyone - just wanted to plug for my recent post on what gear newcomers should look into.

https://www.telemark-voices.com/post/it ... u-start-on

I want to thank Tom M. here for giving me some great insights into XCD, as well as Craig Dostie and Josh Madsen for graciously giving me quotes for the piece on more downhill-oriented thoughts.

Thanks all
Jack

[Manney]

Just finished reading the post. Well written. It touches on some of the issues raised in the thread “What if TTS had been…”. The best post in that thread was from tele.skier who nailed down the nexus between history, skill, and cultural trends.

https://www.backcountrytalk.com/forum/b ... post124399

Your post, and that of tele.skier, should be required reading for people new to the sport… so they can decide on whether they pursue skiing seriously or gear seriously. There seems to be some confusion in the community atm about which is which and it’s killing tele faster than you can say “Alpine Touring”. LOL.

In terms of jargon or descriptions, a balanced way of describing tele skiing might help untangle the definitional messes we’re currently in atm.

Light/Heavy descriptors should be restricted to matters of slope (%) and technical difficulty (groomed vs natural). It’s a cojones and experience issue. That’s the skier.

Whatever suppositions come from gear choice should be left at the base of the hill or mountain. We’ve all seen people meadow skipping on so-called heavy gear (lame), shredding on light gear (impressive), and vice versa. This should tell everyone that set up doesn’t have any connection to skill. But it doesn’t. And that’s precisely the illusion that’s ski industry wishes to project.

So perhaps the alternate descriptors should be “NTN-tele”, “TTS-tele”, “NN-tele”, “XPlore-tele”, “NNN BC-tele”, which are descriptive enough without drawing (often incorrect) assumptions on ability. This takes care of the gear part.

These descriptors can be combined if one so chooses. “Heavy NN-tele” or “Light TTS-tele” paint a very complete picture of what’s actually happening on snow… skier ability + gear.

[Lhartley]

Haha the "fakemark" term. I don't ski active bindings. Just haven't got into it, or haven't got the right deal on the equipment. I've seen the Instagram accounts making fun of "floppy" cable bindings as well, implying that skiing aggressively requires active bindings. Like which is it, which requires more skill, a minimalist non active system, or heavy active system?

[JackO]

Hi all - A quick plug for a couple of new pieces on https://www.telemark-voices.com - Do You Need to Hoard A Telemark Boot Quiver? Parts I & II - background info in both parts is probably known to folks around here, but maybe not so much to the scene at large:

Part I - While we continue to turn blue holding our breath for news of the new Scarpa telemark boot, innovative free-heel skiers have taken to cobbling together fleets of DIY footwear to quench their needs. Is it time for you to start collecting?

https://www.telemark-voices.com/post/do ... iting-game

And Part II - To take part in the breadth of free-heel skiing may now forever require a collection of boots, but telemark innovators have in mind consolidation and standardization. Is the industry listening?

https://www.telemark-voices.com/post/do ... lity-blues

Thanks to bobbytooslow and Craig Dostie for providing some background info for the pieces.

Onward with telemark long form! I plan to do a few XCD pieces coming up, including a profile on Steve Barnett if I can track him down! Thanks all

[JohnSKepler]

I like what you're doing, @JackO. I've thought about capturing some of my thoughts on a middle-aged man with two compromised knees, heck I'm technically a cripple, delving into what many consider an 'obsolete' style of skiing. For whatever reason, Tele has a... 'Zen' feel that Alpine skiing lacks. Maybe that's what I want to explore as much as anything else? I don't care anything about 'Zen' but I do appreciate things that capture a spirit of transcendence and, dare I say, enlightenment, thought not as in The Enlightenment which is oxymoronic in that it was dis-enlightenment. Falling into melodrama when discussing such things is always a real danger to be avoided at all costs, but there are things of value to be gained that go beyond turns, and effective waxing, and going down hills fast. Things that we seem to lose more and more of with each new technology that gives us a new edge while at the same time separating us a little more from our past and from nature itself. And... there's that melodrama...

[JackO]

Thanks @JohnSKepler.

Feel free to send something over for consideration if you'd ever like to contribute. In my dreams the blog has lots of different voices.

Cheers