Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

So really enjoying my crispi Antarctic boot with falketind ski and Voilé traverse binding. Been using it for skimo type skiing at local resort and it is way better uphill than any plastic boot I have used.

However on the downhills I feel jittery and struggle to hold an edge in the typical east coast conditions. Cruddy snow in particular was tough. Wondering if it is the narrow waist of the ski or the leather boot (I am probably intermediate tele skier with strong cross country background).

Wondering if anyone can comment on leather boot skiing on steeper terrain and skis they have enjoyed. I love the uphill and “leather” aspects of this setup but would like something more stable on the downhill.

Has anyone paired leather with say a blizzard zero g or voile type ski for light resort setup?

Thanks!

Are you talking about the Asnes Falketind at 62mm underfoot?

If so, going from that to an 85mm underfoot (the narrowest of the Zero G's as far as I know) with leather boots would be a big step.

There are limits to what you can wring out of some gear.

OTOH, I knew a guy in college that skied upper Bridger Bowl on gear less capable than what you're on. Of course, he also went on to be an Olympian, so lots of things are possible with enough effort and skill!

I haven't skied Blizzart or Voile, but I've also used my Heierling leathers and Voile cable bindings paired with Rossi BC110s at some resorts in the Laurentians. The BC110s have about a 15mm wider profile than the Falketind 62s except but the tail (only 10mm wider there). After a couple of cautious warmup runs I had a blast for the rest of the night. Mind you, the grooming was good.
If I can offer some advice (from someone who is also coming from an XC background), make sure to really take your time bending down into the turn and make the biggest turns you can in the beginning. As you face straight down the fall line and your feet are together, don't whack down into your tele stance all at once, but smoothly bend more and more through your ankles and knees until you are at the apex of your turn and fully compressed. Now smoothly stand back up and unweight your skis to initiate the lead change. You can stand back up more quickly than you compress, since a faster extension helps switching edges and lead feet.

Here's a video from Rene Martin that I find useful. Skip to 4:20 (blaze it) to see what he has to say regarding a smooth and steady turn.



Coming from an XC background I think we're prone to:
a) sticking out our back foot unweighted just for show. Coming from skis with zero sidecut and zero edges, the only way we've been able to tele turn is to fake it. And;
b) pivoting early in the turn, since the only time we skid on XC skis is to get around an obstacle or a bend quick. I'm trying to break the habit of pivoting early and scrubbing all my speed at the beginning of the turn, sort of like the woman Rene uses as an example in the video above.

Hope this helps! The most important thing is to just. keep. skiing.

last time I used leather boots on groomed trails was when modern plastic boots didn't exist. I was also skiing skinny skis that were probably 210's or so, and were full camber. if you are used to burly modern tele gear, you will need to learn to finesse your turns by reading the snow and terrain. you cannot simply bulldoze through it in leathers. back when I skied in leathers there was nothing to compare against. it "just was". by todays standards, I would say it was much harder because I was always super aggressive and the equipment wasn't( see thread about adding Nordica uppers to leather boots)

Thanks regarding posts!

I realize people use to tele ski with the equivalent of Europa 99s

I am not trying to recreate the past! However it seems leather boots are superior to any AT setup I have tried for uphil and traverse and am trying to get a ski that is light for uphills but a little more forgiving for tele on the downhills at resort-which is where all our snow is now! Basically looking for a tele version of the light AT setups until scarps get a better boot!

I thought you were just trying to stay with the same boot/binding set up and change skis.
But I'm also not sure what "skimo type skiing at local resort" means.
I think you have 2 choices.

If you're willing go to a slightly stiffer boot, I think it would be easier to control your current skis more effectively in the conditions you describe.

Or, I suppose a wider ski could help in those conditions with your current boots (I think I misunderstood your concern initially) but I think you'll end up needing a stiffer boot to drive them.

There must be something between your current boots and a T2 Eco, for example, that you would like.

Everyone who has replied so far is a WAY better skier than I am.
I have limited experience on the FT62, and would say they are great in powder but don’t seem to hold an edge well on firm snow.

The FT is a light backcountry ski. It isn’t good in snow cone till, crud, or chunder. It doesn’t have a huge effective edge because of rocker, so when it gets icy you need to turn the speed down.
Now when the snow is nice, either powder or groomed, the FT is a lot of fun. The ski is capable of holding an edge with confidence going fast on advanced terrain. I will add this is my assessment, with my much stiffer Alico Ski March boots.
Unfortunately for you, the ski you really need has not been made in quite a few years. You want a mid 70’s waist ski. Here is a link to some used options:
https://www.freeheellife.com/collection ... kis?page=2

I don’t keep up with the new gear, but if you want to ski with Antarctic’s, you would do better with a mid-70’s waisted ski. If you get some powder, the Falketind will be fun. When it turns to mank, go to another ski.

Thanks! That is what I was wondering. I have heard that a ski that is closer to boot width feels more stable perhaps one of the wider asnes skis would work? The blizzard zero g 85 seems popular as a light AT setup but I haven’t heard how something like that does with a 3pin leather. I’ll check out the used stupid link you sent.

I started my journey into tele with a used set of fairly stiff 75-mm leathers, Karhu Ruckits, and Hammerhead bindings. I knew nothing about telemark skiing, other than it looked cool, and I was able to purchase this used package for about USD$20.

I use the following logic for procuring my gear:
IF I think I am ready for more advanced gear,
...AND there's a super sale on gear that my wallet can agree to,
......AND i am mildly less ignorant about the gear compared to the previous purchase
.........THEN new gear is authorized for purchase

OR

IF gear is damaged beyond repairable functionality,
...THEN new gear is authorized for purchase

ELSE keep gear as-is.