# telle advice please



## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

im thinking im going to telle this year...ive been poking around looking at equipment...i dont know what to look for...i think ill be a fast learner since im an expert alpiner and boarder and ill be going 1 or 2 times a week...does anybody have any advice for a telle nubbie?


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

wow im pumped...cant wait to be a newbie again...nothing is funner than learning again...


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## wyosam (May 31, 2006)

I got a few tele days in the backcountry last spring, but I'm new to it this year as well. For me it is a way to make the little shitty local hill interesting again, and I definitely like it better touring than my split. I'm a solid skier and snowboarder as well, so I think the new turn should come quickly. Not much advice to offer, but have fun!


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## mgpaddler (May 3, 2009)

Try Telemarktips.com, it's the mt buzz of the tele world. Have fun


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

As far as equipment your feet will have to tell you. Garmont for wide feet, Scarpa for narrower and I don't know any thing about Crispy! Then again my new Scarpa's do seem wider then my last pair. Bottom line is you want a plastic telly boot and you just need to try some on. If you ski hard, you will probably want a stiffer, more buckle boot as apposed to a softer less buckle boot. I do not take my T-race into the backcountry, but I do all my touring on my T-1s. I just keep the T-1s looser when climbing. 

As far as skis, what ever type of ski you liked for Alpine is a good place to start. I tend to use lighter gear for backcountry, but that is more since I use my powder skis for backcountry anyway. My quiver is a mix of Alpine boards and telly boards.

Your Alpine experience is a plus, since your ski reflexes are the same, it is just a different way to pressure your edges. The boarding experience will not help you on your tellies. Your downhill(front) ski stabilizes you while your uphill(back) ski does the turning. Think pressure your big toe on the front and your little toe on the back. Now go out there and have some fun!


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

my advice would be get good boots. hard plastic with at least 3 buckles. the old school soft boots will require much more practice and you will go a lot slower over all.

all the new schoolers are charging with plastic boots with 4 buckles.

also get a flat tail ski. I think it will help you learn the turn, without washing out as much.

and lastly, make sure you focus on the tele turn, not the bent knee'd alpine turn.

Concentrate on dropping your weight between your legs. if you pressure the front ski and trail the back that is not a tele turn.

You will know when you bag some tele turns, you will be spent.

I was good till noon everyday for about a month until my body got used to it

good luck, its so fuckin fun, especialy in the powda! 

PS 6" = faceshots on a tele ski


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

How do you get face shots in six inches of powder, Bob? Oh yea, I have seen you, your talking about your faceplants! They don't count! jk!:mrgreen:


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

thanks...everyone says plastic boots...i got a wide foot...ill try on the garmonts first...now how heavy of a boot should i look for....do all boots work with any binding????if i got a heavy ski wouldnt i need a better binding and heavy boot???


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## Jay H (May 20, 2005)

Hey, just my 2 cents on this--I was up in the air whether to go w/ T-1's or T-2's (I have a narrow foot so I was def. in a Scarpa) back when I was first getting my gear--so I put a T-1 on one foot and a T-2 on the other to compare, and it was no contest I went with the stiffer T-1--and I started out with a pretty heavy duty set up, 185 Atomic snoodaddys with Rottefella R-8 Cobras. I was pretty similar in my alpine and boarding experience, fairly advanced, so I was pretty comfortable jumping into that set-up, and was very pleased with it

That being said though, I have read that a softer boot and less active binding are more conducive to learning better form--supposedly you can't rely on the stiff boot and binding, and are therefore forced to used better form...oh well, I pry don't have the best form, but after 3 seasons I think I've got pretty good technique, so it's kind of a toss-up from the boot/binding stiffness perspective for me--but I went with the stiff boot/binding and a big ski and was really happy

yes--a heavy, stiff boot/binding is better to drive a big, stiff ski--I've got 190 verdicts with 02 bindings now and they are a WORKOUT! But since I've got only 2 days on 'em so far for the season, I'll get used to them once the season really kicks in






NoCo said:


> thanks...everyone says plastic boots...i got a wide foot...ill try on the garmonts first...now how heavy of a boot should i look for....do all boots work with any binding????if i got a heavy ski wouldnt i need a better binding and heavy boot???


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## SSOWDEN (Apr 29, 2004)

NoCo, disregard everything you have read on this thread if you really want to learn how to tele.
Boots need to be leather, buy some extra laces(red and black) as they will break. Asolo makes some good un's, but anything from the dolomite region of Italy will suffice.
Ski's should be about 20 cm longer than your alpines, old noodly bump or slalom skis are best to learn, check out what your local shop is throwing away. In a year or so you can look into some Tua cirques or sweet ruby mountains to help with the kick and glide.
Bindings should have cables instead of just the three pins, you can usually take the cables off for hiking. Voile are the best. Be carefull putting your skis on or you will end up with 6,7,11 holes instead of the three your boots came with.
Backpack should be green or any other earthy color with a side slot for water bottle, compartment for saftey kit and place to stash you shovel.
Showers are discouraged, as well as washing any of your gear. No better plan to get a club chair so you can enjoy your safety kit.
Most of all, you must stop shaving, beards are required and make you look really cool when caked in snow.
Good snorkle and beacon top it all off.

Help out buzzards, what did I miss.
The decade????

lmao

KIR


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

well i already got the no showers thing down...now do i need an ego to go with it or is easy going ok...i only shave once a week anyway so stopping will be easy...now i need a pack shovel probe and beacon for the bunny hill...that would be cool


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

Don't forget the team of Huskies to pull you up the hill! You know, Ski Dog Joring FTW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK4dys4EiEY


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

SSOWDEN said:


> Help out buzzards, what did I miss.
> The decade????
> 
> lmao
> ...


The Asolos are great boots but for performance, especially with the reinforced ankle in the Extreme Pros. But if you've got the bucks, the new "Merrill Super Comps" are what you really need.

Now for what SSOWDEN missed - the hat - it has to be the Norman Nordic type - gray wool with a Scandanavian design, with ear coverage and strings to tie it on with. Your gloves need to be ragg wool gloves or mittens with sturdy leather outers. You'll need Army surplus wool pants from Boulder Army Navy, with the big pockets on the sides for granola bars. In addition to not showering, you'll need to start working on those dredlocks. Big long dredlocks thick enough for anerobic bacteria to grow in them. You should also go vegeterian and if you have carnivorous roommates in that house you're sharing with 12 other guys and 14 dogs, you need to leave notes on their sandwich meat saying "meat is murder," "this is heinous" or other things. You'll be high powered for skinning up the hills on oatmeal, quinoa, and cabbage and don't worry, your roommates won't mind you using their seasonings and spices to make that shit edible. 

And if any of your roomies are downhill skiiers, make sure to razz them about their plastic boots, plastic skis, and how anyone can ski in all that plastic gear and that even though you only get in one run a day, its out in the backcountry and in sweet waist-deep powder - sooner or later they'll come around to *The Way *and thank you for helping them realize the error of their plastic-loving, artificial life experience, trust me. That reminds me of the attitude you'll need: to be a true tele skiier, you'll need to have smugly self-righteous demeanor, and remember to look down your nose at the guy next to you as he steps into his downhill bindings at the lift. For that matter, you shouldn't even be riding lifts. If you REALLY want to learn to tele, you need to be out in the backcountry earning your turns. You want to be a long way away from the industrialized, mechanical, noisy, crowded clearcuts they call ski areas. If you're going to follow all this advice, you'll want to be a long, long way from where there are other people. A really long way. Please.


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

I thought an affinity for Patchouli was required as well?


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## SSOWDEN (Apr 29, 2004)

drop the knee not the bomb, yepaaaaa


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

ok i found some scarpa t2s fit great so i picked them up...i dont know how to size up my poles...how big of a ski should i look for...bindings???i like the funny replies keep them coming but i need some advise here...i got an old pair of 184cm carvers...there pretty fat too...will these work???


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## SSOWDEN (Apr 29, 2004)

t2's are good noco, take them to a shop and get some custome insoles which I need to do. Get some adjustable poles. lots of opions and dependent on use but I feel tele skis should be little longer than your allllpines, I have the full on t2 setup with the rossi t2's to go with my scarpa t2 boots. Carvers probably not great for tele setup in that I like more flex, old bump or slalom boards work great. Lot's of newer binding technology, be sure to learn how to change out the cartridge and carry a spare one with you. Hope that helps or at least doesn't hurt.


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

found an ad here for 188cm k2 ak enemy skiis with rotterfella r8 cobra bindings...im 6' 185lbs...what do you guys think...this guy is asking 100 for them...they sound allittle beat but i dont really mind that being a beginner...do you think that would be a good learning set up???


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## Burns (Feb 16, 2008)

All of these are great tips! My 2 cents after you got the concept down pay the money for a lesson or two it will help. Ohh so does Advil and a bottle of my favorite Tennesse whiskey!


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## ZGjethro (Apr 10, 2008)

bobbuilds said:


> my advice would be get good boots. hard plastic with at least 3 buckles. the old school soft boots will require much more practice and you will go a lot slower over all.
> 
> all the new schoolers are charging with plastic boots with 4 buckles.
> 
> ...


What he said is pretty much right. Don't weight your outside ski alpine style and lift your back heal like a fairy. The tele (not telle, telly) turn came from needing stability since the heal is not fastened. If you need an example, put one foot in front of another and bend both knees. If someone was to push you forward or backward you could resist the force. If your feet were parallel you could be easily pushed off balance. If you weight your outside ski in an alpine stance while telemarking, your only means to resist going forward is to extend a leg backwards in a balancing motion. Not to dynamic. You are better off using your muscles to resist a force than the mass of your anatomy.

Once you get the hang of it, hopefully you will return to your alpine roots. It is where all the performance lies. Thats what I did. Plus hippie tele chicks drive me nuts. They never learned to alpine and they suck at tele (usually)! You spend all day waiting.


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## Proslackass (Jun 26, 2007)

ZGjethro said:


> What he said is pretty much right. Don't weight your outside ski alpine style and lift your back heal like a fairy. The tele (not telle, telly) turn came from needing stability since the heal is not fastened. If you need an example, put one foot in front of another and bend both knees. If someone was to push you forward or backward you could resist the force. If your feet were parallel you could be easily pushed off balance. If you weight your outside ski in an alpine stance while telemarking, your only means to resist going forward is to extend a leg backwards in a balancing motion. Not to dynamic. You are better off using your muscles to resist a force than the mass of your anatomy.
> 
> Once you get the hang of it, hopefully you will return to your alpine roots. It is where all the performance lies. Thats what I did. Plus hippie tele chicks drive me nuts. They never learned to alpine and they suck at tele (usually)! You spend all day waiting.


These Great suggestions! I would add... Remember the basics of skiing i.e. shoulders face down hill and keep the upper and lower body separate (quite upper body) and look up.

I perfer my poles to be a little shorter then my Alpine poles. I found that the longer pole was pushing my up hill shoulder around and was causing me to rotate (bad form i guess) and then my tails would wash out. 

Good luck and have fun.


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## T-Boss (Sep 17, 2008)

u can have the worst or best equip. out there, if you cant freeheal, its all useless. telewhacking is like running downhill, punch out your turns, as in emphasize the pole plant when you go into a turn. put your back heal under your ass, you should be sitting on your heal when you make a turn. lots of beginners are too loose and far apart, stay compact with your turns, like i said, heal under the ass, not way out behind you. dont bring your uphill/back ski back to bend the knee, on the contrary push your front ski forward and then naturally bend and squat on the back leg w/o bringing it back. ski agressive, not passive. have some fun. follow these tips and you can style it on 2x4's if you wanted


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

I second the shorter poles, and the set up your looking at would be fine.


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## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

I would ask why? If your reason is to try something new at the area, then demo gear for a while and try it before going for the big investment. If your reason is to get in the backcountry, I'd say go with a Dynafit binding set-up and stick to alpine. It's by far the best backcountry set-up. (This is coming from someone who has nordic downhill skiied for 20+ years and is contemplating changing back to Alpine, just because the Dynafit set-up is that good.)

p.s. Telemark is a turn not a sport. You don't hear people saying they are into paralleling or stem-christie or snowplowing.


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

Well if Telemarking is just a turn, please explain how you are going to pull off a telemark turn on your Alpines!


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## SSOWDEN (Apr 29, 2004)

free the heel, free the mind.
you don't want to demo because, (s)he who dies with the most toys wins. lmao


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## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

Snowhere said:


> Well if Telemarking is just a turn, please explain how you are going to pull off a telemark turn on your Alpines!


 The same way you'd do a toe side turn on your alpines


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## SSOWDEN (Apr 29, 2004)

hey noco, did you get your gear?
Ever been to the yurts at the top of cameron?

casey and sno are going to debate what defines a sport vs a move. roflmfao


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## rayaker (Feb 13, 2008)

Not sure if you are looking for skis and bindings but I am selling my 177 G3 Reverends with Black Diamond 01's. I only skied them about 3 times last winter and they are in great shape. I'm asking $600. PM me if interested. I'm in the Golden area if anyone wants to take a look at them.


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## Butsee1 (May 1, 2009)

NoCo - I have a pair of 188 K2 World Piste's with Voile CBRs on them that I could part with. The setup was bought new in 2004. They are a great all around ski, and I found them easy to turn. PM me if interested.


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

Butsee1 said:


> NoCo - I have a pair of 188 K2 World Piste's with Voile CBRs on them that I could part with. The setup was bought new in 2004. They are a great all around ski, and I found them easy to turn. PM me if interested.


hey some things broke down for me late this week...wasnt able to get the boards yet...how are your skiis and how much are you looking for??? and for the demo guy...i would have never got my roll with that logic...i've been skiing for almost 30 years...i learned to board for the same reason i want to telle...fun...and all ive bought so far is boots...the one piece i know never to skimp on...sorry butsee i dont know how to pm anybody... im a dinosaur i finally got a cpu this summer...???

thanks for the advise everyone...keep it coming im listening


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## Butsee1 (May 1, 2009)

The Skis are in good shape, I skiied on them for three seasons I think. $200 for the setup would be reasonable for both of us I think. New was around $600-$700. I'm a little ways from Ft Collins, but I will be in Laramie on Nov 6th and maybe the 7th. You can email me at [email protected] if you would like.


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## possumturd (Jul 13, 2006)

NoCo said:


> nybody have any advice for a telle nubbie?


Go to the gym everyday and do lunges until you shit.


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