JayB Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 As one more familiar with the craft, perhaps you could explain the twin-tip tele phenomenon to the rest of us. I have seen dozens of dudes with the TTT thing going on out here in the east, and have yet to see any of them ski, much less land, switch, and of course if you're doing 99% of your skiing on icy-ass East Coast terrain, nothing performs like an undampened park-ski. Anxiously awaiting the magical bro-bra/sensitive-alterno-hipster synergy that the free-heel snowboard binding will bring to the slopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joblo7 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 wow! where's that grader? er peed his pants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtn_mouse Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I've been tele skiing for ~6yrs now. At first it sucked and I was always bruised. I kept at it, though, sure that once I got the hang it'd be awesome. When I got better but it still wasn't awesome I bought more gear, convinced that was my problem. That helped a bit, but I still get tired a lot faster than I did on skis or a snowboard and I still crash lots more whenever the snow is suboptimal (which thankfully never happens in the NW). Since AT boots and dynafit bindings weigh about the same as modern tele gear but have the advantage of RELEASING, have ready-made ski crampons, and take much less energy and skill to use, I wonder why anyone would learn to tele? It definitely feels cooler to do nice turns, but telemarking just seems contrived to me these days - like climbing a route w/ one hand behind your back... Comments? Let me preface this by saying I have skied on telemark gear for years, and I once felt an overdeveloped sense of superiority because of it. These arguments are made so often now it's a wonder that telemark still retains any "coolness" at all, and that's the problem with the whole deal. Just take a stroll on over to telemarktwits dot calm, and see how many PC sensitive 90's men have fooled themselves into believing they do something "counter culture" and hip. The fact of the matter is, that the average backcountry skier isn't even a GOOD skier. Furthermore, the average SKIER isn't good. The better skiers that you see in the backcountry spent a lot of miles on alpine gear at a ski resort when they were kids in an effort to become technicians of the turn. Lately, a lot of new converts to backcountry skiing have entered the sport drawn by the allure of untracked powder turns and the ability to travel easily through the mountains in winter, their most beautiful season. I think it's great, and the better these people get at skiing over the years, the more they'll enjoy it. However, many new backcountry converts are not very good at the actual TURN, which is fine, skiing in the end, and even more so than climbing, is all about FUN. But it doesn't matter so much, performance-wise, what gear you're on, when you don't have enough miles under your feet to even know how to center your balance on skis as though it were second nature. Arguing that one mode of downhill sliding vs. another is better for the average backcountry skier (safety issues aside) is like arguing that you always use a particular rock shoe (the mythos for instance) because you love the feel, when you're not even comfortable leading 5.6. Skiing is about fun, so let's not fool ourselves, telmark is NOT cool, and AT's performance advantages are most felt by a minority of skiers. BS Retro can be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfeitfake Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 BS Retro- is that some kinda trick the kiddies in the park are doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I agree the whole tele thing is overblown. You should ski on what you're comfortable with. My father started doing backcountry skiing in the 50s, and like most folks from the PNW he used the classic old AT setup with real seal skins. He never shopped for specific bc skis, cause they didn't make them. He had an old pair of Heads that had cable bindings that locked down for downhill mode. It wasn't till the 70s that tele skis came into vogue. There were a few books out claiming that it was a pure form of skiing. Well around here skis that locked down to downhill mode were the, "classic," mode of skiing. In college I got sucked into the idea that I was going to have to learn to Tele. I tried it out for a bit, and it was alright, but suddenly it came to me that all I really needed to do was bring my AT setup to school from home and use them instead of relearning skiing. I ended up skiing mostly with people on tele gear. They would make comments from time to time, but the bottom line was we all had a good time skiing. It wasn't till after I left school that you started to see people going back to AT skis. There are still plenty of tele folks with a superior attitude about their form of making turns. I figure you should ski on whatever makes you feel the most comfortable and ditch your attitude towards others unless it's clearly a joke. As Extremo would say Rip it up dude LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 I think tele is cool, and this is why. One evening, I was taking the very last ride up my lift (I was a lifty at Eldora). The sun was setting over the top of the mountain, and the run under the chair was steep and 2.5 moguls wide. I couldn't understand how the single skier left that high on the mountain was making the most beautiful roster tails I've ever seen. Each one was backlit by the golden sun, each one was perfectly balanced with the one on the other side, and each one splayed out in a flawless spread. I couldn't believe it--the experience was even more strange because there were only the two of us as far as I could see. When my chair and his skiing met, I realized he was teleskiing. I knew right there that I had to learn how to do that. I agree that doing what is comfortable is fun. I've been alpine skiing my whole life. I've enjoyed working on the mountain, running race clinics, and teaching children. But I want to enjoy that whole experience of learning something new and challenging which builds on skills I already have. It's fun. I like it. And tele is cool to me, I admire those who do it. I don't look down on alpine skiers, snowboarders, or snowsliders. That attitude has nothing to do with the sport, it has to do with the individual. Fortunately, I rarely notice them when I out there enjoying myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Eldora is a fun spot I used to instruct handicapped kids there when I wasn't out ripping it up. That place and A Basin were on my favorite list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 As one more familiar with the craft, perhaps you could explain the twin-tip tele phenomenon to the rest of us. I have seen dozens of dudes with the TTT thing going on out here in the east, and have yet to see any of them ski, much less land, switch, and of course if you're doing 99% of your skiing on icy-ass East Coast terrain, nothing performs like an undampened park-ski. Anxiously awaiting the magical bro-bra/sensitive-alterno-hipster synergy that the free-heel snowboard binding will bring to the slopes. Try finding a "big mountain" or "powder" ski that doesn't sport a twintip. Ski companies hire monkeys to do marketing and graphic design on skis - who else would put WHITE TOPSHEETS on powder skis? (Volkl) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Arguing that one mode of downhill sliding vs. another is better for the average backcountry skier (safety issues aside) is like arguing that you always use a particular rock shoe (the mythos for instance) because you love the feel, when you're not even comfortable leading 5.6. hey, you like mythos, don'tcha? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Eldora is a fun spot I used to instruct handicapped kids there when I wasn't out ripping it up. That place and A Basin were on my favorite list. was e-rock a star pupil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 I am totally guilty of that, but in the other direction. I used the same pair of shoes forever. Finally, I had to break down and get something else for crackclimbing. My abilities increased dramatically--I couldn't believe I'd put it off so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfeitfake Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Man, I went to youtube to find a video of someone doing something cool in a park on teles. All I saw was a lot of falling down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 That was me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I am totally guilty of that, but in the other direction. I used the same pair of shoes forever. Finally, I had to break down and get something else for crackclimbing. My abilities increased dramatically--I couldn't believe I'd put it off so long. i have climbed in the same two kinds of shoes since the mid 90's for everything...mocs and anazasis...no reason to change them for anything else...the shoes outclimb me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underworld Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 i was in utah skiing...well...looking for a ski at the base of about a 8ft drop when we hear "oh shit" from a guy on teles jumping over us. he stuck the landing and hit the next jump saying "sorry dudes" while soaring thru the air. it was proud!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-rock Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Arguing that one mode of downhill sliding vs. another is better for the average backcountry skier (safety issues aside) is like arguing that you always use a particular rock shoe (the mythos for instance) because you love the feel, when you're not even comfortable leading 5.6. hey, you like mythos, don'tcha? I couldn't send 5.8+ without them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfeitfake Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 i9UGGGtVSWE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-rock Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 (edited) Eldora is a fun spot I used to instruct handicapped kids there when I wasn't out ripping it up. That place and A Basin were on my favorite list. was e-rock a star pupil? Do they make sit-skis with releasable seat-mounted dildos yet? If they do, you won't get dragged down in an avalanche, Rudy. Edited March 22, 2007 by E-rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Eldora is a fun spot I used to instruct handicapped kids there when I wasn't out ripping it up. That place and A Basin were on my favorite list. was e-rock a star pupil? I don't remember e-rock but there was this one kid who was huge. I'd take him up the lift and he'd snow plow down the hill yelling, "I'm an awesome skier," at the top of his lungs. Nobody argued with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 That's a good safety concern. As you know, larger particles always rise to the top. R would be drown in avalanche without a chance. Hey, that rhymes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-rock Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 That's a good safety concern. As you know, larger particles always rise to the top. R would be drown in avalanche without a chance. Hey, that rhymes! I thought Rudy was a butterball? I guess even fat midgets are are small relative to a death cookie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfeitfake Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Further gnar. S8o0GpN84ow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 Olympic hopeful for sure. Special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMR Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 That's a good safety concern. As you know, larger particles always rise to the top. R would be drown in avalanche without a chance. Hey, that rhymes! I thought Rudy was a butterball? I guess even fat midgets are are small relative to a death cookie. keep it up and your head is gonna resemble that binding you were just talking about when i sit my fat butterball head on it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 Quick release? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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