Telemark Skier Magazine Archive 2003-2022

by Craig Dostie Pure Tele binding includes a heel stabilizer.   Interest in telemark bindings with a tech toe gained more advocates last week as fourteen writers and photographers from around the world tested beta versions of Moonlight Mountain Gear’s new telemark tech binding. Conceptually there is nothing new with...

The Lurk Myth by Josh Madsen The lurk, or single large pole, probably isn’t what you think it is when it comes to telemark history. According to Tarjei Gjelstad, a traditional ski maker and telemark historian, “Skiers from Morgedal and Telemark only use a short pole, unlike the lurk, because...

by Jeff Eckhouse // Photos by Kjell Ellefson // Modeling by Athena Brownson There are a lot of weekend warriors who dream of snow and check weather reports at lunch. If that sounds like you, harness your excitement and try this exercise in the break room. This month, we’re focusing...

by Tony Gill // photos by Kjell Ellefson Everybody knows what college is really all about: meeting the coeds, partying and, perhaps most importantly, getting a serious shreducation. The fine academic institutions listed here will ensure you get out on the slopes as much as possible. Just be sure you...

How a Suburban Couple Relaxes on the Weekend by Alessandra Bianchi It is 10 degrees and blowing a 30-mile per-hour northeast gale and I am staring at my husband’s butt. Not a full moon, just a discreet sliver of cheek on his upper right thigh—where his Calvin Klein tightie whities...

  *This originally appeared in TS#16

Connecting The Three Tele Hot Spots In The Midwest by JT Robinson For people outside of the Midwest, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan might not be the first place you think of when you want to take a ski trip. But with tons of snow every winter, there’s an interesting...

How Paul Kimbrough, the son of an avalanche forecaster, became the Telemark World Champion It’s April in Alaska and Paul Kimbrough is dropping into the biggest line of his life, a narrow, diagonal couloir hanging like a piece of thread above a 300-foot high cliff band. If he makes one mistake or gets caught...

One telemarker finds out the hard way how to treat frostbite in the backcountry by Megan Michelson Last April, Paige Brady, fresh off her victory at the 2010 Telemark Freeskiing World Championships at Alyeska, Alaska, flew into the Hayes Glacier in Alaska’s Tordrillo Mountains. She went with a couple of...

“M-O-R-G-E-D-A-L,” I repeat as if I were teaching a young child a new word. The Norwegian girl behind the ticket window looks perplexed. It isn’t that I’m pronouncing the name wrong; she simply doesn’t know where Morgedal is. I try not to show any signs of distress, but in all...

Four Tips on how to Punch it in Steep Couloirs on Telemark Skis by Weston Deutschlander     Shaun Raskin in the La Sal Mountains, UT | photo: Ross Downward Telemark steep skiing is a blast. It’s challenging, exhilarating, dangerous, and nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment when looking back up...

Legendary Ski Maker Karhu Is No More.by John Dostal [caption id="attachment_2015" align="aligncenter" width="640"]XCD: Cross Country Downhill. Karhu Skis 1978-2010. | photo: Simon Peterson[/caption] “What’s the Sioux word for ‘Day to Die?’” Tom Carter bellowed as he walked through the front door of his renovated miner’s cabin in a hamlet of...

    4 New Hampshire Gems To Uncover This Season by Holly Crimmins Once you get to this rest stop all bets are off. State Liquor Store the letters read, and in smaller letters, State Safety Rest Area. On winter mornings, the pilgrims traveling north-bound are skiers. Young men pull...

by Joe Penacoli He’s been around long enough that when he picked up freeheel skiing at age 10 he wore leathers and used flip-flop cable bindings. As the equipment progressed, so did Ty Dayberry and for the better part of the last decade, Ty has been leading the forefront of the younger...

4 Easy Steps To Making Better Telemark Turns in Bigger Terrain by Eric Hendersen | illustrations by Scott Howard A telemarker walks into a bar after a bell-to-bell day. The bartender quickly yells, ”I suppose you want a Wobbly Knee.” The telemarker shrugs and responds with a smirk, “Do I have a choice?” The truth of the...

Padding the Turn by Rob Bohn There’s no padding the truth: Telemarking hurts. It hurts knees and ankles; it hurts toes and hips; and it bruises egos. I fell into tele—metaphorically and literally. I didn’t get downhill. Keep centered and forward; stay out of the backseat; it made no sense....

The modern stance for fat skis by Mickey Stone Telemarking has taken on a whole new look the bowlegged look. Skis spanning 100-135mm underfoot are common, and while it takes some technique adjustment, they can make short and long turns with equal prowess. Here’s how. To drive fat skis, you...

Near Death Experience Gives Tele Pro Hope Beyond Skiing by David J. Rothman On September 30, 2007, professional telemark skier Max Mancini and his girlfriend, Molly Jackson, were involved in a horrific, three-vehicle accident on Colorado State Highway 285. According to the Colorado State Patrol report, the accident occurred about...