This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web. We have fun here, come on in and be a part of it.
I was able to get out again today. The place I went to looked great on Caltopo, but unfortunately it was absolutely ravaged by snowmobiles. Apparently it's the go-to spot around here and Silverton Powdercats stages their rentals right next to where I wanted to ski. Obviously I'm not going to try and ski into a snowmobile rut.
I did find a few slopes to play around on. This one is steeper than it looks (videos make everything look flat) but it was 45 degrees today at 10,500 feet of elevation and I was basically skiing a 7-11 slurpie, which explains why I'm sliding so slowly.
I was in my stiffer leathers on my k2 shes piste skis with voile hardwire bindings. Tighter stance in this one.
You look very well positioned fore/aft!
Also, it looks like you varied the angle of the edge of your trailing foot in order to control your turn (going from slightly "knee in" to slightly "knee out"). That "feathering" of the rear ski edge is a good skill to have.
I'm happy to hear anyone's critique of my skiing. I'm definitely open to experimenting and learning new techniques. I think the main value of my post is to help people realise that their own skiing conditions couldn't possibly be as mediocre as mine, here in Scotland. Nevertheless, we take what we can get, and the scout group I was with sure had a brilliant time.
I'm on a pair of Fischer GTS Telemark, with Xplore, hard flexor and Alfa Free. It looks to me like I don't have as much weight over my rear foot as I felt I did, and I also appear to be lifting the ball of foot off the ski at times. This might be partially due to the flex characteristics of the Free, which don't lend themselves perfectly to the telemark turn. I also think I might be overly hasty with my lead change... Not sure, it looks more 'stridey' then I would like it to be. Comments welcome.
Link here:
First of all, your perseverance in pursuing this under those conditions is pretty impressive!
And your cheering section can't be beaten!
I'll defer to others with more experience on similar gear to chime in, but you look good to me.
Your pole plant, unweight, lead change, knee drop, timing /execution - including the durations of each - seem about perfect. I don't get the sense that you don't have enough weight on the back; except maybe on the last left turn, but I think that was an aberration rather than a flaw in technique.
As for feeling as though the ball (of the rear foot, I assume) of your foot is coming up, sometimes I've felt this as well.
It feels like it's an issue of not enough weight on the back foot, and that could be part of it but in my case, it's more an issue of weight not properly applied. If you drop the rear knee by pressing the rear cuff (more subtle on your gear, for sure) your rear BOF may feel more "planted" and less likely to come up. If your lead change is more of a "pull the ski back" for the lead change, BOF down on the ski tends to have less force anchoring in that position.
I noticed @Brynski something that may help.
I learned one of the most important position lessons way back in my alpine skiing days. It’s the simple mantra, shins to the boot. Basically it means you flex your knees so your shins pressure the front of the boot. It is applicable and necessary in every boot from 4 buckle alpine boots, to my soft Alaska 75 mm leathers. Shins to the boots, changes the way your weight is distributed.
If you never wore a pair of plastic boots, and bent your knees, and pressured your shins into the boot cuff, I highly recommend it. There is No leaning forward when this is done.
Now I think this was what @Montana St Alum meant when he said
“of weight not properly applied. If you drop the rear knee by pressing the rear cuff”
I believe he meant with the shin, not the calf.
Regardless shins to the boot, is necessary for proper stance.
I could say, I believe your stance is tall. However that isn’t the issue. When you make “shins to the boots” part of your skiing, your stance will not be so tall, but being tall isn’t the issue, just a tell.
If I’m not clear, please feel free to ask questions. Good luck!
I noticed @Brynski something that may help.
I learned one of the most important position lessons way back in my alpine skiing days. It’s the simple mantra, shins to the boot. Basically it means you flex your knees so your shins pressure the front of the boot. It is applicable and necessary in every boot from 4 buckle alpine boots, to my soft Alaska 75 mm leathers. Shins to the boots, changes the way your weight is distributed.
If you never wore a pair of plastic boots, and bent your knees, and pressured your shins into the boot cuff, I highly recommend it. There is No leaning forward when this is done.
Now I think this was what @Montana St Alum meant when he said
“of weight not properly applied. If you drop the rear knee by pressing the rear cuff”
I believe he meant with the shin, not the calf.
Regardless shins to the boot, is necessary for proper stance.
I could say, I believe your stance is tall. However that isn’t the issue. When you make “shins to the boots” part of your skiing, your stance will not be so tall, but being tall isn’t the issue, just a tell.
If I’m not clear, please feel free to ask questions. Good luck!
Thanks @Montana St Alum and @Fisheater for the input. I'm familiar with the feel of plastic alpine boots, and I can certainly visualise how they are driven by the shin. It was partly the discomfort of such a rigid boot/binding/ski interface that drove me (fairly recently) towards telemark. I started telemarking in fairly burly gear, and am only just beginning to figure out how to ski the lighter end of the tele spectrum.
I have more trouble with visualising how to make shin pressure work with the lower cut and softer boots. My interpretation would be that in order to drive more with the cuff/shin of the rear boot/foot, I would need to flex both ankles and knees a little more, basically sinking lower into the stance. Is that what you mean?
If this is correct, then my next question would be how to do this without getting all spread out? I have noticed that it's easier to keep the stance compact if I don't bother trying to go low. It's also much less tiring to ski tall (for me).
@Brynski, Maybe look at the Telehiro thread and videos for tips.
He skis tall.
Not for you to copy his style, but just to see if there is anything that resonates with you and the way you want to ski.
@Brynski, Maybe look at the Telehiro thread and videos for tips.
He skis tall.
Not for you to copy his style, but just to see if there is anything that resonates with you and the way you want to ski.
I respectfully disagree. While some people have done well trying to duplicate Telehiro’s “B” Telemark style. I do not see it as a superior technique to traditional Telemark skiing. Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t recommend “B” Telemark as a way to begin.
