Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Cesare over at Earn your Turns proved that a couple of years ago...just look at pictures it will tell the story...If athletic stance goes to the balls of your feet and a plastic boot can't do that then the entire foundation of athleticism is void...We ski by feel which is not something plastic grants you...leather is better....If you want Alpine then go to plastic....Feel and or the Tao of Tele is on leather boots... As far as being on large skis tried them waaaay back and they don't lend themselves to Hardwood forests....They work at ski areas and wide open slopes out West but not in the tight places we ski....Plus, Man who wants to have heavy stuff out in the gonz?...TM

I don't know what boot you are referring to when you say that you can't get on the ball of the foot because it's clearly not the case with my Excursions. I was just out in sloppy spring melt on 3-pins/Excursions and I'm pretty sure I was on the balls of my feet! Also, they are actually slightly lighter than my leather Asolo Extremes and very waterproof which came in handy today! Like I said before, I respect your tele opinions TM, but I think your arguments against soft plastic boots would hold more validity if you have actually skied some a few times.

Teleman wrote: As far as being on large skis tried them waaaay back and they don't lend themselves to Hardwood forests....They work at ski areas and wide open slopes out West but not in the tight places we ski....Plus, Man who wants to have heavy stuff out in the gonz?...TM

Well, my 'wide' skis lend themselves just fine to the tight hardwood forests that I live in and ski frequently. Yes, the skis/boots that I like to ski are a little heavier than your touring skis/boots but not so heavy that it takes away from the experience IMO. I get it that your clan is into using leather and skinnies in the woods. It seems like you guys really really enjoy it. It's a little odd that you can't accept that there's other folks out there enjoying basically the same thing that the KTB are enjoying, except they are on slightly different gear. I don't often hear people saying to you that the KTB are doing it wrong but you are pretty firm in your opinions and statements that if people are on different gear than you, then they are doing it wrong. There's lots of other skiers besides the KTB out there that enjoy skiing as much as you do and in a very similar way. Whatever though. It's not really important as long as you are skiing and enjoying it!

I'm not much for "technical" stuff...Like breaking down a film or mathematically trying to link things...but....when heading the skis down on steeps plastic boots don't compute...The plastic will not allow you to keep the balls of your feet on the trailing ski...Doesn't happen...With plastic your toes put pressure on the trailing ski...They just cant flex like leather...Again look up Caesar at Earn your Turns...As far as fat and generally short skis...the STYLE of the individual is...INDIVIDUAL....but we tend to head the slicing skinnies DOWN not across the fall line...That leans itself to arcs rather than turns....Turns bleed speed as do arcs but arcs to a much lesser degree...Just style differences but they LOOK way different...Couple of KTB's have plastic for ski areas...but we make mucho fun of them!!!!!...Telewheels has Vectors and switchbacks and it allows him to hang in there and turn well on the steeps and moderate slopes....Again it makes a big difference in technique and tends to be more of an alpine turn rather than an arc...The tracks don't lie... This year we all got our widest ski out for the deeeeep powder but generally we all like the skinnier, lighter stuff...Our background is Gulf of slides on 210 e99's....hit a lip air turn 180o drop 10 feet repeat or from the lip at Tucks three high speed wide open rooster tailing arcs which jacked up the rocks crowd...Waaay done with that but it was fun while it happened....Finally for us...thrill junkies skiing skinny is always a MAJOR THRILL....no matter the degree of slope....So as you said it's about fun and if wide short gets you out there and you have fun, then there it is....TM

Like connroy said... I have a pair of leather Merrel Fuzion that are stiffer than my Excursion! I tried both on skinny skis (Glittertind) this week at the resort. I had to adapt to the free flexing feeling of the Ex at first... Then it was alright. I could easily feel BOF pressure. Teleman, Cesare is not talking about that kind of plastic boots. You should be more nuanced... Sorry but you are not talking out of experience about that one... Doesn't matter: I like your skiing anyway...

Thanks for the reply TM. I get what you are saying, but I must insist that you are wrong about the plastic boot thing. On steeps or anything else, the ball of my trailing ski is most definitely on the ski - especially with the 3-pin bindings. I truly think it's cool that you guys can ski what you do on XC gear but I just don't think that you need to diminish what other skiers are doing because it doesn't match your exact experiences.

Teleman, please be aware that anyone reading or participating in Ron's Nazi forum is also participating, tolerating and encouraging hate, violence, degradation, disgrace, intolerance of differences and utter disrespect. Anyone doing so and thinking this is funny is not welcome here. Please leave immediately if you think what Ron is doing is cool and entertaining.

Back to skiing, I have no problem pressuring the BOF on my TX Comps. Let's have a look at this video... Here's some of the very best telemark skiers on the planet. Non-CANSI skiers, non-PSIA skiers. Look at their back foot, look how much pressure they put on the BOF... And they ski with the stiffest plastic boots on the market... (They are also doing all sorts of cool funny things, like dragging their poles, throwing them in the air, Cock Grabs etc...) My kind of skiing!

[video][/video]

You mean the guy doing a modified parallel?....Looks on the flats about anybody can make fake it....Put him into the steeps and see where his weight is....Bye now....TM

He seems to be able to manage well on stiffer gear also.

[video][/video]

Teleman wrote:You mean the guy doing a modified parallel?....Looks on the flats about anybody can make fake it....Put him into the steeps and see where his weight is....Bye now....TM

Whatever TM. You need to get out more. If you did, you might just realize that there's LOTS of GREAT skiers out there and not just the ones in the northern corner of VT. AND there's lots of great techniques and gear, not just what you deem acceptable. You know, it's OK to be wrong about something ski-related, right? Because you are wrong about plastic boots and modern skis. What, did your mind snap closed sometime in the late 70's? Never mind, I think I know the answer to that.