Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I have been an alpine and diaglal stride cross country XX skier for 50 year and and want to Try telemark.

Question on length. .im 135 pounds. 5’11”. But strong and a skilled skier. I’m looking at used k2 telemark world piste in both 178mm and 167mm.

What will the difference be?
From the logo they seem to be different year. Any aides on hot to tell what one is newer?
I will be skiing groomers this year in the small ski area near my home. Maybe a weekend in VT on them. Unless it is easy to pick up and more fun than alpine I’ll be using rented alpine skis at the big mountains for off piste runs. .

I’ve skied alpine skies from 185-200

My wood XC skis are 210.

I’ll be wearing a leather telemark boot. Old school.

Jfyiii

As a long time K2 skier, I'll suggest that they are usually a sweet ski for light weight skiers. I'm 5'6, 125, and go with 167 K2's here in VT. I'd go 174 or so if out west. While you're in the same weight range, a strong skier, and given your height, I'd suggest 178's... mostly for fore-aft stability.
K2's ski longer that many other brands for a given size (longer effective edge length). Which model are you looking at?

I was a nordic ski racer in VT many years ago, and skis were long. 210. I alpine skied in those days on 200's. my Tele skis now range from 167 - 178. with the all the sidecut on skis now, I prefer shorter lengths. my Tele style is aggressive, quick turns as opposed to long turns.

Since you're an experienced alpine skier, and since you're looking at modern era tele skis that can be sized just like alpine skis, I suggest for learning tele, you use a very similar size ski to your favorite alpine skis (length,width,liveliness, etc.).

For an intermediate (at least) alpine skier with good basic edge and turn technique, the tele turn can be learned very quickly. Especially if you have a tele-skier companion who can accompany and point out a few things. But even if you learn by yourself with lots of youtube instruction before hand, and advice from us--Ha!.

But to learn efficiently, you want to have as familiar a feel to the ski itself as you can have. That's why a ski that feels familiar to your fav alpines helps.

For the same reason, it's also good to learn on supportive full on tele boots that will feel familiar to an alpine skier.

Not your question, but a related comment:
You will meet people who will say you have to learn on long skinnies and low leathers, like I did and like a lot of TTalk denizens did. That approach may yield fine moral advantages but it will be slower. (Plus, you've already been in a position to learn that way if you were going to since you're a long time diagonal strider on freeheel gear.) Back when I learned there were no plastic freeheel boots and really no other way to learn than old school. But I've seen(taught) good alpine skiers learn a solid tele turn, both sides, in one day of practice and focus. Once they know the turn they can transfer the tele skills to lightweight gear, low boots, long skinnies, just fine, if they want.