Telemark skiing

[Hughman]

OUCH!!

done right, of course, it's elegant. Today I tried an icy hill with backcountry skiis (read: soft sdges)

So, I now sport an extra butt cheek where I fell on an ice hump. TMI most likely, but I am sitting with an ice bag down my shorts.

So, hows your day?? :eek:

[Bruce Hooke]

Well, even with the bump I think I'd have taken a day outside skiing over a day sitting on front of a computer.

Hope your posterior is feeling better soon!

[Pete Dorr]

No telemark for me - one broken kneecap about 22 years ago that has never been right and some torn miniscus a few years ago.

I did get randonee ski gear after 15 years on a snowboard and I'm having fun with it.

Last week in VT we enjoyed the 4' of new snow from the Feb 14 storm.

[Mrleft8]

I hate telemarketers.....

[Vince Brennan]

Since I walk on snow with reluctance and haven't gotten onto anything designed to move on snow or ice since I was about 12, I need a little education here: Telemark is the term for what.... cross-country type where the toe is clamped/ locked but the heel is free?

At any rate, I'm sorry for your pain! Having landed a couple of times on various dorsal portions of the anatomy (usually with great and painful, although mostly temporary, damage to either my person or my non-existant dignity) from attempting to walk (slip/slide/totter/panic) on ice or other slick surfaces, I can sympathize with you. Astounding how fast the ground comes up to meet you, innit?

[Mrleft8]

My father now wears what he calls "Creepers" when he comes up here in the winter. I call 'em "Crampons", but he thinks that sounds dirty.....

[Vince Brennan]

Got three different kinds... full sole (climbers), half-sole and instep... the grocery store people went bonkers the last big ice storm we had when I came clomping in on about thirty needles.... them little boogers work, too! If they were still legal, I'd have studded snows as well. I like things that don't wanna move on ice.

[J P]

icy ... backcountry skiis (read: soft sdges)


Backcountry skiis - with "soft edges"? As in not metal? ouch

Pete Dorr, I remember your post here last Fall when you were shopping for your AT gear. Did you make it to the event?

[Hughman]

Backcountry skiis - with "soft edges"? As in not metal? ouch


Yup. looong skinny waxable skiis with cable bindings and a deep camber designed to be used with a heavy backpack. Telemark technique is useful for getting you down the mountain safely..[ahem..], rather than as a sporting excersise. Not in the olympics, right?

does take practice, though. Best learned in soft snow.

The corss country skiis with metal edges are mountianeering skiis, which would have been the choice for yesterdays conditions. 220cm skiis are very fast on ice!! :eek:

[Pete Dorr]

JP - I survived the race - but it was hard - http://life-link.com/raceresults_sugarbush.htm

[Hughman]

Vince, the bigger we get, the harder we fall.

I found some creepers called Stableicers that I like:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39161984&memberId=12500226

http://www.campmor.com/images/footwear/larger/33020_l.jpg

[jtb]

sounds like the wrong gear, where were you? I used to teach and ski on tele gear till around 1990 or so. Tele skiing is fun and is good to know how to do.I'm on AT gear now and spring skiing on Mt. Washington is coming-thinf snow on the rockpile!

[Hughman]

Here's an interesting page on technique:
http://www.telemarktips.com/FSurmasStance.html

"Telemark skiing is challenging. You've heard the slogan, "If it was easy, it would be called snowboarding". Well here's a new one: "if there was only one way to do it correctly, it would be called alpine skiing!" Part of the appeal of telemark skiing is that it is much more than just a functional way to get down the mountain. We make telemark turns rather than alpine (parallel) turns not always because they are more functional or efficient, but because they feel good. Telemark skiing is an art - like dancing. Unlike hiking or marching, dancing is beautiful, not utilitarian."

[J P]

We make telemark turns rather than alpine (parallel) turns not always because they are more functional or efficient, but because they feel good. Telemark skiing is an art - like dancing. Unlike hiking or marching, dancing is beautiful, not utilitarian."

I use both techniques, telemark and parallel, but my experience is just about the direct oposite of that statement - parallel feels more efficient and 'feels good' whereas tele is utilitarian. Dance to different music I guess. Not being very good at telemark might have something to do with it too. :o I use it when I have to and parallel when I can, even on tele gear. SWIMPAL is a good tele skier.


Pete, congratulations, looks like you did better than just 'survive', but even that would be an accomplishment. The two animals that placed 1 & 2 of the race division - wow! - 3 hundreds of a second apart and 14 minutes ahead?!

[Vince Brennan]

Vince, the bigger we get, the harder we fall.

I think I resemble that remark!
http://www.frayedknotarts.com/images/bellropes/TamRope/VinceRopeS.jpg


I found some creepers called Stableicers that I like:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39161984&memberId=12500226

http://www.campmor.com/images/footwear/larger/33020_l.jpg

Gwine check dem puppies out!

Garcias, Senior!

[skuthorp]

I do both also, alternative turns sometimes as you only have to move your upper body differently. I have almost given up 'alpine' skiing aas I find it a bit boring, yo-yo skiing, not to mention crowded. But I do enjoy a 1/2 day on the tows as a training exercise to sharpen up my packed snow and ice technique. We get a lot of ice here!
I use different skis for different conditions, wax, checker base, and my favourite French army pattern with a short steel edge centered on the foot. I use Skilom rat-trap bindings with a ridged plate under the heel and medium boots. An injury to my hip when I was 19 means that skating, and snow boarding incidentally, is painful and can incapacitate me the next day.

[Bob Myers]

My daughter and her family live at a ski resort and my grandsons started cross country skiing soon after they could walk. The 18 year old is an excellant telly skier, where as the 14 year old prefers the terrain park, so he can do the jumps and ride the rails. I tried it about 20 years ago, but really didn't take to it. I was past 40 and already had a couple of knee surgerys when I started skiing. Every spring, when the passes open they'll head up, climb for several hours, so they can get 3,000 vertical ft. of skiing.

[Hughman]

I thought about posting a photo of the spectacular bruise, a la Grasshopper...[Norm!], but I'll respect your delicate sensibilities. ;)

[Ron Williamson]

Why not?
You don't get hit in the ass by a planet everyday,do you?
R

[katey]

I like YakTrax for walking on ice. Instead of studs, they have metal coils wrapped around stretchy rubber lines that run under your sole. Think tire chains rather than studded snows. They make storekeepers much happier than the other types, and they work well. I have the "professional" model, with a velcro strap that runs over the instep to keep them on.

Katey

[Hughman]

Why not?
You don't get hit in the ass by a planet everyday,do you?
R

ROFL!!:D

[rbgarr]

I was reading 'The Last Place on Earth' and came across a passage about Roald Amundsen telemarking (is that a word?) down the Axel Heiberg Glacier on the way back from the South Pole. An 8000 foot drop in altitude in one day, I think.

He was guiding sled dogs and a sledge with lines tied around the runners to slow them down at the same time... after 1100 miles and many many weeks on the ice. Those guys were gods.

[Hughman]

Why not?
You don't get hit in the ass by a planet everyday,do you?
R

NO! And I'm very glad of that!

[Ron Williamson]

As much as I don't like looking at man-ass,it's hard to look away.
IMPRESSIVE.
I've taken several spills,including one from the gable end of a two storey house,where I've landed HARD,and have never had anything nearly that large and bright.
R

[adampet]

OUCH!!!!!

Adam