Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I saw a fellow telemarking down a big steep bump run today. It looked very hard but he was getting down it.

Do people regularly tele on bump runs or was this guy just loony? And what special techniques would you have to master?

My coworker is an old timer and amazing skate skiier. She can ski bumps on nordic skis with skate boots. Thats how she has skiied for 50 yrs.

Yes, all the time.

Practice. Practice. More of that. I love it. So satisfying, such a challenge.

This guy has many great videos

I love skiing bumps on tele gear. Generally, I'd say try to stay as upright as possible so that you can carry more of your weight through your skeleton, rather than by use of muscle alone. To help with that, I have adjusted the forward lean on my boots so that I'm one notch more upright than "stock". Additionally, I've lengthened my ski poles which drives me to a more upright position. That really reduces the degree to which my upper body bends forward. That helps reduce pressure on my 69 year old lower back!

To the extent that you can, try not to drop down into the troughs between moguls. Dropping into the troughs creates a lot of force that you have to absorb, so if you can turn outside of them, you can save a lot of energy. It's the difference between non-stopping a medium length run, and stopping every hundred yards or so.
And, if you stay in the troughs, you're allowing the mountain to dictate to you where you turn. Philosophically, I just don't find that very enjoyable.

Of course, if you're an 18 year old with 4% body fat and a BMI of under 20, you have the power to do whatever the hell you want!
If you want to maintain a low, classic tele position, you can, it's just more work, and because your body (up and down) and skis (front to back) move through a greater distance, it substantially slows down the quickness, edge to edge.


If you are on a fairly neutral binding (think the old Hammerheads on 2 or 3, Vs. 4 or 5) stay neutral. A more "active" binding/setting can relieve some of the energy you need, but it's at the cost of quickness from edge to edge.
Shorter, narrower skis don't hurt when the bumps get tight! They absolutely require a tighter stance, though.

And just go out and have a good time. You'll flop around, and tomahawk, for sure, but skiing bumps competently on tele gear is a worthy goal!

The most important thing is to be centered over your skis. You can get by on most other terrain not being perfectly centered but not moguls.

Many people skied for years being heavy on their lead ski. They did well, even ripped but for the most part they are now AT skiers.

Rene at Absolute Telemark released/uploaded two or three new videos on skiing moguls on his YouTube page last week.

His stuff is great.

This isn't mogul skiing, but there are so many skills that are worth pursuing I thought I'd throw it in.
Carving well in a telemark stance, for me, has been a continuing effort to master. This guy gives me something to aspire to, even if I never get there.

I keep my ears & eyes open particularly for this topic.
Haven't found the right balance of carve and pivot... among other things.
Grace continues to evade me on moguls.

joeatomictoad wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:48 pm

I keep my ears & eyes open particularly for this topic.
Haven't found the right balance of carve and pivot... among other things.
Grace continues to evade me on moguls.

Well, there are skills, like skiing moguls, that are aspirational. As long as it's something that is rewarding, keep at it. It's nice that there are soooo many activities in this category! There's a Nordic term "arbejdsglæde" that captures the joy of a job well done. For the tour and XC aficionados here, I can see it (even the joy of a camp fire built well!), and it applies to trying to conquer any skill, I think.