Telemark skiing is dead.

[Peruvian]

Attachment 401062Ripped out a ten year old hammerhead mount today. I have dreaded this day. I ski alone all the time but today ullr blessed me with a mag. Jaxon was there to carry my carnage to the bottom since this happened a couple turns from the top. Thanks again my new friend.

Inserts.

[Core Shot]

NTN Is awesome.
Unless you’re a deep knee bender.

Better edge grip. Easier entry exit. No leashes.

Welcome to the new millennium

[MagnificentUnicorn]

It occurred to me overnight that my bomber plates might be a solution. I hope I still have them. They would be mounted on my next most modern setup so I think I would have kept them.

I’ve got a helicoil kit. Let me know if you want to use it. They will work great with the existing holes unless the core is really rotten.


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[Peruvian]

NTN Is awesome.
Unless you’re a deep knee bender.

Huh?



Scarpa TX Pros and Meidjos.

[Core Shot]

Ouch. That’s so low it hurts to look at it.

Decades ago in crusty butte I learned the tight skirt method of tele.
Once you squat to pee you might as well wear the skirt.

Being serial. The folks that hated ntn when it came out were all benders like you. I love ntn. But I can’t get down like you.

[ripvw]

I don’t know. I’ve always been a low rider and think NTN is great. Most people I know that weren’t into it came off super active bindings (ie: HH on 5) and weren’t accustomed to actively weighting the back ski. My transition from my old 7tm’s took a couple of runs and haven’t looked back since.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Telemark may not be dead but I was hoping that the high/low discussion was


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[jmedslc]

I definitely get low sometimes on the outlaw but damn I haven’t been able to flex the Lynx enough to even make decent turns much less get low on them. Things are way to stiff for me but maybe I should take them to the resort and try to break them in more. Nice rig Laps!!

[bio-smear]

Been on NTN for 11-12 years or so (was somewhat early adopter) and they rule. But lately I've been going to opposite direction. Bought some Rossignol BC80 with NNN-BC and Rossingol BC X-6 boots, and have been trying to ski them with only marginal success.

I realized that our freeheel ancestors like Sondre Norheim developed the telemark turn not just because free heels, but because sloppy, floppy, shitty boots. After driving those NTNs hard with big stiff boots for years, trying to relearn a true tele turn to control a long skinny ski with a soft boot has caused some introspection. Realized I was backseating my downhill ski even though i was good ball pressure on the uphill ski. Started to adapt to kinda pressure both balls (heh heh) for better stability. Still can't edge them worth a shit but it's been fun trying.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Been on NTN for 11-12 years or so (was somewhat early adopter) and they rule. But lately I've been going to opposite direction. Bought some Rossignol BC80 with NNN-BC and Rossingol BC X-6 boots, and have been trying to ski them with only marginal success.

I realized that our freeheel ancestors like Sondre Norheim developed the telemark turn not just because free heels, but because sloppy, floppy, shitty boots. After driving those NTNs hard with big stiff boots for years, trying to relearn a true tele turn to control a long skinny ski with a soft boot has caused some introspection. Realized I was backseating my downhill ski even though i was good ball pressure on the uphill ski. Started to adapt to kinda pressure both balls (heh heh) for better stability. Still can't edge them worth a shit but it's been fun trying.

Try pins and a soft wide ski. Great to feel the freedom again. Excursion or T4


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[jackstraw]

Mo-mo? Ummm - you can fuck right off little guy. Just keep us posted on her “progress” as she flails around on that shitty gear. Chump.

Been on NTN for 11-12 years or so (was somewhat early adopter) and they rule. But lately I've been going to opposite direction. Bought some Rossignol BC80 with NNN-BC and Rossingol BC X-6 boots, and have been trying to ski them with only marginal success.

I realized that our freeheel ancestors like Sondre Norheim developed the telemark turn not just because free heels, but because sloppy, floppy, shitty boots. After driving those NTNs hard with big stiff boots for years, trying to relearn a true tele turn to control a long skinny ski with a soft boot has caused some introspection. Realized I was backseating my downhill ski even though i was good ball pressure on the uphill ski. Started to adapt to kinda pressure both balls (heh heh) for better stability. Still can't edge them worth a shit but it's been fun trying.

You're proving my point. All these kooks think they're making a tele turn, when the reality is they're relying on plastic boot and super binder to keep them upright. And sure, if it's fun who cares, but don't kid yourselves. You're not that good. Real tele skiers ripped the fuck out of every nook and cranny on leather shit and pins....and real hills like the village and taos.

And mo-mo, I'm really proud of you. 17yrs on plastic tele gear. You must be almost pro bro.

[tuco]

What point?
If you could rip leather and pins, the ante definitely got up'd w/ plastic boots and better bindings. If you're weighting your back ski more, that's just shitty technique.
Every ripping tele skier I knew benefitted from the intro of plastic.
Solitude was full of ripping tele'rs back in the day.

[Conundrum]

What a reflection of today's society... Used to be a tele skier would screw in a light bulb and all the other tele'rs would watch and comment on how great the turns were. Now, even the hippies are divided.

[bio-smear]

Try pins and a soft wide ski. Great to feel the freedom again. Excursion or T4


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Went to this setup for 90% flats on untracked for this big frozen lake I live in. Starting to think I should have gone pins, but the longer I'm away from them the more i despise duckbills.

Have you seen this new Rotte Xplore system?

Hippie infighting is a funny concept.

[Danno]

If tele is dead I guess I can get rid of my last free heal binding. Do any of you walking anachronisms have an interest in a pair of lynxes?

Have a pair of the blue and red scarpas too (27).

I'm keeping my patchouli oil.

blue and red scarpas are TX Pros, right? I will need new ones eventually...

[bodywhomper]

ripping the shit means different things to different people. (Is a bidet involved?) it's a pretty silly conversation. it's true that rick wyatt skied the grand in 3 pins and leathers. the last time i saw him, he was having fun noodling on AT gear. the team that designed the cable tele binding in the late 80's and early 90's included part of the team that previously beefed up the 3 pin binding. the cable binding was released when leather boots were the only things available, but they were designed to be used (and be more fun) in the Terminators.

i learned in mammoth in the mid-90's using rental asolo extreme's, 200 kazima (somethings), and voile cable bindings, and i was cruising runs off the top in perfect corn on my first day. i got my first set-up the following year after that: voile CBR, plastic asolo telepro's, and tua couloirs. i got a free lessons on a bulletproof day at Bear Mtn in big bear, which was a foundational experience for me.

In the late 90's, i used to take out their rental E99's and snowfields to mammoth, climbing the maintenance road to the top of chair 23, and making laps in the wipeout and dropout chutes for an afternoon. super fun and challenging. these days, i now have some madshus glitterand's and beefy salomon sns-bc boots (xadv8) for goofing off on a lightweight set-up (and poking around in the woods with the family). i haven't used them at the resort in a a few years because the skis are too slow to keep up with my kids and they're useless to me as a work ski. but they are fun for making turns. I have a different mindset of how to approach a ski hill depending on the gear that I am using, be it lightweight gear or just different skis from my quiver. i ski deep snow on my full camber mantras and my l138, but ski the same runs differently.

I'm a new NTN convert, thanks to the help from PB for clamps and groomer zoomers (Thanks again!!). my boots are TX Comps. Super fun. These will get a lot of use as my work skis. Sooner than later, I will be converting the rest of the quiver (5-6 other skis). It looks like other ntn bindings are currently sold-out/back ordered through my means of purchasing (which is good for my wallet and life budget), so i'll be switching between 75mm and ntn systems depending on conditions and attitude or if i am touring. My 4-buckle 75mm boots are garmont ener-g's. i bought them barely used a few years ago for a song. they are still holding up and not yet too floppy.

i held out from diving into ntn for years because of cost, because i kept finding barely used garmont 75mm boots (gara or ener-g) to replace the last worn-out pair, and, finally, because of the "promise" of those scarpa boots that still have not materialized.

[BCMtnHound]

If you drop a knee in the forest, and there is no one around to see, is it really a tele turn?

3pins and leathers are cool. Even my classic XC set-up is still leathers and voile mountaineers. Only my XC skates have 'modern' SNS pilot bindings. I've tried to carve a tele turn with them, but that toe pivot really sets me off my game.
I don't even try backcountry tele turns in the current waist-deep powder with my leathers though. Current rigs are either TTS or NTN (old freedoms) with TX Pros. Or switchback X2's on my metal-edged alpinas. I haven't used my old red T2X shells in several years, probably should pass them along.

I have an old pair of military fritschi FT-88 binders that I really want to mount on an old pair of skis, and use them with my mountaineering boots, just for kicks in the spring. Bout as close I will ever come I think to locking my heel down.

[jackstraw]

What point?
If you could rip leather and pins, the ante definitely got up'd w/ plastic boots and better bindings. If you're weighting your back ski more, that's just shitty technique.
Every ripping tele skier I knew benefitted from the intro of plastic.
Solitude was full of ripping tele'rs back in the day.

My point is that you can still ski in leather boots, especially a beginner that's meadow skipping...and they'll be a better tele skier starting that way. If they advance and think they want to do it more often then buy new plastic gear and your mechanics will be dialed. Or don't, start in plastic and just have fun.

I've been a tele skier for a long ass time and overall tele skiers as a group are the biggest buch of opinionated kooks. One way only!!! Who's still got the double extra long pole plant going!?

[frorider]

No need for false binaries jack. Plenty of tele skiers have beefy plastic setups and light weight 3 pin waxless fat xc skis … similar to what we learned on back in the day. I’ve got a zone literally across the street that is fun to rip turns on with the light gear. But when there’s 30” new and the resort is the avy safe zone, I’m bringing the heavy metal.

[frorider]

Just saw your last post. How many people have you taught to Tele ski? I’ve taught people on modern beefy gear—a good alpine skier can learn the technique in a day—and then encouraged them to try that turn on the floppy meadow skipping gear. Have you found your reverse approach works better?

[dschane]

I definitely get low sometimes on the outlaw but damn I haven’t been able to flex the Lynx enough to even make decent turns much less get low on them. Things are way to stiff for me but maybe I should take them to the resort and try to break them in more. Nice rig Laps!!

They are smalls, and the feel is much different than 75mm. Skied them in middle position last night, will go neutral today. The adjustability and touring are fkna sweet on these binders.

Lynx is sweeet. Light and robust, and 22D has been tinkering to iron out the kinks. This year, I think the best improvement is a better cam stop so the claw is more robust (doesn't grab while touring and then does grab when transitioning to ski mode). For the large, there will be softer flex plates soon and that should help those who find it too stiff. The new cam also means you shouldn't need to use power spacers. To me, those things made the binding too stiff.

As noted above, the small version already has options for softer springs and softer plates, though you may have to ask 22D for them as they're not (yet) available on the website.

[tuco]

My point is that you can still ski in leather boots, especially a beginner that's meadow skipping...and they'll be a better tele skier starting that way. If they advance and think they want to do it more often then buy new plastic gear and your mechanics will be dialed. Or don't, start in plastic and just have fun.

I've been a tele skier for a long ass time and overall tele skiers as a group are the biggest buch of opinionated kooks. One way only!!! Who's still got the double extra long pole plant going!?

Never said leathers were unskiable.
I just don't think you're going to make someone a better tele skier by starting them off on 30+ yr old gear that don't have the same control or power transfer!
All you're doing is further handicapping that beginner that's already on handicapped gear.

[Core Shot]

I agree. Trying to get someone into tele with leathers is more likely to have them quit.

Also. Anyone that has never skied leather should give it a try. It definitely hones your skills and balance.

[XXX-er]

Never said leathers were unskiable.
I just don't think you're going to make someone a better tele skier by starting them off on 30+ yr old gear that don't have the same control or power transfer!
All you're doing is further handicapping that beginner that's already on handicapped gear.

this ^^ leather sucks

On lighter gear like alico double boot vs T3 really the only difference I found between plastic and leather is that the bellows travel of plastic is more linear while the bending of leather is more progressive


I got some asolo extremes for 50$ and taught 14yr old junior to tele in 3 short T-runs, I told him to put right foot forward 12 inches and leave it there while making turns to the bottom, the next run put the left foot forward 12 inches leave it there while making turns to the bottom

On 3rd run OK now alternate sides and now yer telemarking, he pops off a jump and sez ok lets go skiing

he did already know alpine skiing so it was quick study but then he has always been a pretty good athelete

[Harvey44]

I'm a big NTN fan. Really helps me keep up with my buds who are rippers. IMO much easier to get proper weight in the trailing leg too.

Unsoliticed advice: be very careful about taking NNN bindings into the BC. Especially when it's very cold. They can freeze and leave you stranded. Scared the hell out of me one time.