News & Events
Telemark Stance vs. Turn
This year’s Tony Forrest Telemark Festival was a great learning experience with enough surprise outcomes that its theme emerged: ‘I learned a lot - what was the question’. One lesson I’d like to share is the debate between telemark as a turn vs. telemark as a stance. With contemporary shaped telemark skis, Tony emphasized that it is the tipping movements that generate turns not lead changes. With contemporary skiing, telemark is a stance that is progressively assumed in the finishing phase of the turn.
That said, there are still times when older equipment or racing situations dictate a swifter, earlier lead change and an earlier assumption of the telemark stance a.k.a. old school. It’s fun to play with the new-school, contemporary lead change and then go back and try an older-school lead change. Tipping or edging movements are what makes it happen on the new gear so lead change is a variable that can be experimented with and still lead to functional turns.
Conclusion: telemark is not a turn – it’s a stance.
