Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

So today I decided to take a few runs on a rare day off, with my crampy scarpa t2 boots, I managed about 6 runs which included 1 from the summit and a few from the face lift at whiteface, I am fairly comfortable turning, however this afternoon all the fresh snow was packed into moguls/bumps which was alright to, I found that sometimes when I change my lead the back foot sometimes fall way too far back, or cross over and I end up peeling out once in a while what should I do do help address this issue guys? I'm really working on my foot work being parallel, and stopping ever hundred yards or so to assess my turns. Thanks in advance guys

The front and rear tires of a vehicle don't track parallel and neither do skis. Focusing on weighting the rear ski with the pinky toe is a good exercise.

What is your binding? Is it active enough for your purposes?

I don't have a lot of experience but I find that my garmont energ (medium heavy 4 buckle plastic boots perhaps similar to T2) with my 01 BD bindings "talk to me" far more when the rear foot slides back...versus my old floppy leathers & 3pin bindings (with or without cables).

The old school gear provides much less feedback, or resistance in this way. And so, if my rear leg slides too far aft, the balance becomes biased such that a spinout is hard to avoid.

I can make my heavier gear spinout as well, using the same body position, but getting into that position requires me to overcome quite a bit of resistance from the boot/binding system. By contrast I can get into pretty much the same position or even further back with my old school gear with almost zero resistance.

I prefer my heavier gear for the alpine "resort" slopes because it gives me a lot more confidence.

I betcha can hone yourself to perfection with the monomark drill. I think it's intended to assist with this very condition.

Thanks for the reply guys, today was much better, learning on groomers, and a non icy day despite the fresh snow some moguls and I've had built yesterday, today I was able to let my skis off the leash a little, and hauled butt pretty well with what I thought were controlled stable lead changes. Despite my horrible fitting old school t2s that cramp horribly I'm excited today after getting a call from high peaks cyclery that my t2 ecos came in, and they're a hundred times more comfortable than what I was using. Thanks for the help guys! I hope to be out again soon

I've been having trouble when turning right, right leg back, uphill side. Catching the edge sometimes on the back 1/3 of the ski, like I'm not rolling it over enough with my little toe (uphill side) to force the boot and ski around.

A ski instructor friend also helped me with upper body position - keeping core facing the fall line, as well as not dropping my hands as I come around... both of those things helped, even though it had little to do with my feet.

Still one of the best lessons, making Skiers practice keeping upper body facing downhill and quiet, ie without exaggerated movements.

I've been doing some half assed drills where I weigh my rear ski/pinky toe and lift my lead-changing ski off the snow to step into my next turn.

I'm not sure if this is a real, beneficial drill to be doing but it's definitely helped me focus on where/when to weigh and drive that rear foot, especially in more challenging snow conditions where it's easy to get out of shape if you get too stretched out

My advise is pretty general. Keep a tight stance(for and aft) shoot for less than a boot length. Keep your knees close together and keep the heel of the trailing boot close to the ski.

By having a tight stance there is less movement needed and it is easier to get weight on both skis. Same goes for keeping the rear heel low. Your rear foot should be under your butt, not behind it.

If you want to keep your skis more parallel, try opening them up to almost shoulder width apart and while keeping a tight stance weight and edge both skis equally. This may be easier said than done but by opening up the turn it is almost impossible to not get enough weight on rear ski to make it work. This is also a good turn on narrow icy trails where you need to go so slow that momentum won't keep you upright.

Said this one before, try always stopping with your weak turn and making it pretty/solid. We naturally stop with our strong side, working on the other helps immensely.

lowangle al wrote:

If you want to make your rear ski work, try opening them up to almost shoulder width apart and while keeping a tight stance weight and edge both skis equally. This may be easier said than done but by opening up the turn it is almost impossible to not get enough weight on rear ski to make it work. This is also a good turn on narrow icy trails where you need to go so slow that momentum won't keep you upright.

As far as I know you won't find this advice in any book, nor read it on any forum, it is something I came up with on my own. I think it is a way to "find" your back foot. Because of the physics involved with having your skis wide apart with your weight centered between them from side to side it is hard not to weight both skis. The turn relies on being in the stable "athletic position"( like for playing tennis)with your feet staggered for and aft just enough to to give some stability.

This turn forces you to have weight on both skis, which will help in learning to get the rear ski to work. Once you know how to get the rear ski to work you can bring your skis closer together like a more typical tele turn.

I was out with a friend last season who had no skiing experience at all. He was on his brand new T4s and S98s and I showed him this tight open turn. It was a poor visability day with less than ideal surface conditions and I was surprised that he was able to link turns on his first run.

I would appreciate it if anyone out there were to give it a try and see if they feel what I am talking about and report back.