Telemark skiing

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Telemark sking is a term used for skiing using the Telemark turn which is a technique first developed by Sondre Norheim. It is also known as 'free heel skiing'. Unlike Alpine skiing equipment, the skis used for telemarking have a binding that only connects the boot to the ski at the toes, just as in cross-country skiing. Telemark turns are led with the heel flat on the outside ski, while the inside ski is pulled beneath the skier's body with a flexed knee and raised heel. The skis are staggered but parallel, and 50-80% of the body weight is distributed on the outer ski depending on snow conditions.

1 Telemark
2 The Telemark Revival
3 Equipment
4 Technique
5 Competition Events
6 Trivia
7 See also
8 External links

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Telemark

Image:Telemarker HQ.jpg The Telemark turn came to the attention of the Norwegian public in 1868, when Sondre Norheim took part in a ski competition. Norheim's technique of fluid turns soon dominated skiing, and in Norway it continued to do well into the next century. Starting in the 1910s, newer techniques based on the stem gradually replaced Telemark in the Alpine countries. Newer techniques were easier to master and enabled shorter turns better suited for steeper alpine terrain and skiing downhill. The Telemark turn became the technique of ski touring in rolling terrain.

The technique is named after the Telemark region of Norway, just as the Stem Christie turn was named after Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. For the sake of historical accuracy, it should be noted that not only did Sondre Norhiem and his fellow skiers invent the telemark turn, but they used and refined parallel skiing techniques as well. Thus, while the telemark is part of early skiing's foundation, so are parallel techniques of equal importance.

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The Telemark Revival

The revival in the Telemark technique, after its decline from popularity in the mid-1940s, first started out in United States in the 1970s as a back-to-basics reaction to the high-tech equipment developments of Alpine skiing, and the increasing reliance on crowded groomed pistes (trails). The use of traditional clothing was often (and sometimes still is) part of the Telemark skiing revival.

The revival came to the attention of a larger public with a demonstration by a team from the Professional Ski Instructors of America at Interski, Italy in 1983. It grew to prominence during the 1990s, but is still a minority sport. While some still choose Telemark for its counter-culture or "hip" image, others choose it because they enjoy the grace and beauty of the turn, or for a fresh challenge, or to do downhill or cross-country skiing, on or off piste, and ski-touring, all on one well-chosen Telemark ski, once the Telemark technique has been mastered.

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Equipment

Telemark skis are similar to alpine skis, and many Telemarkers use alpine skis. In recent years, they have been getting significantly wider. Many Telemark skis sold today are more than twice as wide as the skinny Nordic skis used just 15 years ago. Recently asymmetric skis have been produced specifically for Telemark, which reflect the different radii that the skis take during a turn in the forward and back position.

Leather boots are still used by some, but plastic is now the usual choice. The boots have a plastic "duckbill" at the front, which interfaces with the binding. While most telemark skiers use cables to attach boot to binding, the duckbill has three reinforced holes in the bottom to attach three-pin bindings. As a general trend, Telemark boot makers have been creating stiffer plastic boots each year, with more buckles.

Bindings hold the Telemark boot to the ski by the toe only. Three-pin bindings are now rarely found, having been overtaken by cable bindings that have a spring-loaded cable to hold the boot in the binding. These usually have a heel throw to attach the cable assembly to the back of the boot. Also available are hinged plate bindings, combining the lateral stiffness of a traditional alpine binding with the flexibility of a traditional Telemark binding. Telemark bindings have followed the trend of boots, becoming more performance-oriented and stronger to stand up to the large, stiff boots and skis.

For those taking to the wilderness, climbing 'skins' (synthetic or mohair rather than sealskin) are used on the bottom of the ski to climb uphill. "Harscheisen" (ski crampons — also called "couteau" or "cortelli") are sometimes used to assist when skinning on hard, icy surfaces.

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Technique

Image:Powder telemark.jpgThe edges used in a Telemark turn are the same as with a parallel turn, but a Telemark turn involves leading the turn with the outside ski while trailing the inside ski. When initiating a turn, the skier edges the outside ski (which becomes the downhill ski at the completion of the turn) with a flat heel while simultaneously lifting the heel on the inside ski to shift the ski to the back of the Telemark stance. Through the turn, the skier's weight is shifted onto the outside ski by a ratio of 50/50 up to 80/20 depending a snow conditions, and rests primarily on the toe-half of each foot--even the outside foot which has its boot heel in contact with the ski. Inexperienced Telemark skiers often find it difficult to place enough weight on their trailing, inside ("heel-up") ski to force it to turn, or "carve" in unison with the outside ski.

While there is universal agreement that a Telemark turn must involve staggered skis, there is no agreement on how much the skis should be staggered. Increasing the stagger (the fore/aft separation of the ski tips and therefore also, boots) increases the amount that both knees are bent and brings the skier's torso closer to the snow. Some Telemarkers enjoy an extremely low stance with the trailing knee almost in contact with the ski top, while others prefer a taller stance, with a consequently smaller stagger, that allows quicker transitions between turns. It is, in fact, possible to make parallel turns on Telemark equipment, which is why penalties are assessed if the boots are not staggered by at least a boot's length in FIS Telemark competitions. This element of technique is up to the skier, although a very low stance is to be avoided where hard uneven snow might cause the lowered knee to collide with the ground.

Accomplished Telemark skiers, like accomplished alpine skiers, keep their torsos vertical and oriented downhill while linking turns, thus avoiding turning too far. This position also allows greater control over the fine tuning of weight distribution. Also when skiing in thick powder it is very important not to lean too far forward. The lack of a fixed heel means that it is quite easy to go headfirst into the snow if one hits a hard patch. Poles are optional. With or without, the skier's hands should be in front of the body. Some Telemark skiers continue to ski with a single long pole or "lurk" held in both hands in traditional style. The lurk should only contact the snow on the inside of the turn.

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Competition Events

As a competition event, the sport is governed by the International Ski Federation Telemark Committee. The Telemark disciplines are:

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Telemark Giant Slalom

Similar to Giant Slalom, but including a jump marked for style and distance.

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Telemark Classic

Classic involves a Giant Slalom section, a jump (with time penalties of up to 7 seconds for errors), a 360° turn, and an uphill sprint.

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Telemark Sprint Classic

After completing a downhill section, the skier turns 360° and sprints for around 200m using the classic cross-country skiing technique.

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Mountain Telemark

Telemark competitions in unprepared snow. Gates and "reipelykkje" (360°). Telemark equipment. Backpack (5 kg senior, 3 kg junior), helmet. Free style. Most famous is the Norwegian Tinderittet, host of the first Norwegian championship ever in 2005, and Galdhøpiggrennet, both in Jotunheimen, Norway.

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