Author Archives: "Rene-Martin"

Season Debut Telemark Ski Patrol

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I’ve got a few nice clips of the work I do as a ski patrol I thought I would share with you, the Absolute Telemark Community (you can subscribe below). And this will give you an idea of the quality of snow we get up North.

How is this related to a telemark blog?

Well first, most of what I have learned about how to telemark comes from working on my skis. In the clip L’Ancrage, I ski with a few signs and some bamboo poles. Although this may look easy, It’s quite a challenge at first in powder. I learned from carrying stuff how my upper body have a huge influence and how my skis are reacting, especially my hands. You obviously don’t need to be carrying stuff around. You can start by skiing taking your poles at half the shaft or without poles. Try to move your hands in different directions and see what happens

Again, Telemark skiing is an ongoing learning process. At the start of the season, my confidence is not always really high. This will cause mistakes that I wouldn’t normally do. Sitting backward or unweighting my front leg like shown in this picture give me a confidence that I will not trip over some hidden rocks. The draw back is a more physical ride, greater chance of falling, and so on.

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And some fun along the way

LIKE the music: http://bernadettemusique.bandcamp.com/

I really like working on my Telemarks. It really helps getting around the mountain easily, It’s always fun, it can be a challenge if I want to, or it can be just as easy going, linking a few Alpine turn.

Telemark Movies 2014

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This is the time of the year.

Snow is upon us  and we like to get pumped for the season

Telemark is a small community. But we are tighly bounded and we  to stick by each other. That’s how these incredible independent movies come to life. Please support your community and buy the movies

Here are favorite action movies…

The VI Group

buy movie ad buy movie ad

 

This film is produces by the VI group and is partnered with Telemark Skier Magazine. The skills and quality of the shoot f this movie makes it a must see for fall 2013. Above that, the spirit of freeheel skiing is expressed like nowhere else

See their website here: http://www.thevigroup.org/

 PowderWhore

 

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This is a well respected ski film company. Through the years, they have produced some amazing telemark segment and this year is no exception. With segments from Jake Sakson and Paul Kimbrought, two of the best Freeriders in the world, this film is a must see. Note that this film as ski and snowboard scene as well as telemark. It’s all about the backcountry. http://www.powderwhore.com/

 

Telemarcoeur

I can’t wait to see a french production made by the Telemarcoeur Crew.

This is the preview

 

 

 

If you have seen one of these videos, what is your favorite segment?

 

 

Like and share the freeheel love

Fast track to telemark

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Telemark Lessons Fast Track to learn Telmark skiing for alpine skiers and snowboarders HD

here is a new trailer for our web tutorial series:

This tutorial is for intermediate alpine skiers or advanced snowboarders that are transitioning to Telemark.

Our experience have showed that the knowledge developed skiing or snowboarding is  going to make a positive difference in learning Telemark.

This comprehensive course will enable you to progress faster and better. We will go from beginner to intermediate skills  and even how to get started in moguls.
This is a step by step tutorial, with drills for every skills shown along the way .
This is also THE tutorial for telemark skiers that are stock in their progression with an Alpine like position. It will unlock the skills to go in harder terrain such  as steeps, powder or moguls. Note that this is NOT a tutorial on moguls, steeps nor powder. We develop here the skills that will enable with to approach this types of terrain.
Never before a tutorial as been set up like that. We skip the classic approach and give you the best for your buck package.

This tutorial will be available November 8th 2013. Preorder your copy now in our Telemark Lessons section

This tutorial is part of our tutorial video series. If you would like to learn specific thing about telemark technique, leave us a comment below.

Big news, follow us, subscribe to our mailing list, a special Webinar event will take place for our November 8th launch. Sign up below

where to look

faceshoot on where t look

Where to look when we telemark is crucial in our ability to analyze the terrain and react.

Simply said, looking in front is a good start, of course. But there is more to it. Not only is it one of the most important skill to develop but one advance skier can become an expert by changing the way he looks at his surroundings.

Continue reading »

Telemark South America: All you need to know

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This is the complete guide to choose your ski destination in South America

Today we meet with Serge Berthiaume, A French Canadian living and skiing in South America. I first meet Serge more than ten years ago; ski bumming his way all over North America. I was not surprised when I heard Serge’s plan to ski South America over the summer; it was a bit of a shock when I heard he would go back every year. Saving money, working winters back home just to go back to ski the Southern Winters. After all, most of us were doing the opposite. Serge now lives full time in Chile and skiing is still his main occupation.

Tell us the story behind a Canadian who lives and work in the ski industry in South America

It’s been 10 years since we started our history here in Chile, that was in 2003. When we arrived to Santiago after saving up our money (for a
 whole winter), we understood that what we did was the 
best choice, skiing 30 inch of fresh snow on our first day.

The first days were hard! Trying to figure where the best lines were, the best happy hours, the best restaurants…
well, the best setup for us! Two months after our 
return to Canada we realized that we loved our trip so 
much that we didn’t’ spend a day without talking about it!
 It was done: we were addicted. We had to come back, we never miss a ski season in Chile ever again!

What’s so special about skiing in South America?

943253_10151695118028900_556224209_n Continue reading »

Telemark stance: high or low

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Telemark skiing is a fluid a dynamic movement.

I often related to it as dancing down the mountain. I like the flow and the freedom freeheel telemark gives me. And it’s all about that feeling.

Different styles can be seen and two skiers can easily approach the same terrain differently. One big question remain: Should I go down all the way or should I stay high in my telemark stance ?

Moguls telemark competitionMt Edouard-4

Above: high stance and low stance in moguls.

There’s no easy answer to that. It is generally said that a higher stance limits your efforts and gives you a quicker response should you lose balance. So telemark instructors have preached with a higher stance. Good reasoning. And that’s what I tend to do.

But a lower stance also have lots of advantages:

  1. it’s fun;
  2. it lowers your center of gravity, making balance easier;
  3. it enable you to stay in movement for a longer period during your turn. I call this dynamic balance. If you are moving, dancing, you can stay with the rhythm of the song more easily. The analogy relates to the terrain dictating the technique. We have to adapt to it. If, on the contrary, you pause and change rhythm constantly, making short movements, it will be much harder to stay balanced, especially if there is an unforseen obstacle that creates an unbalance. The slope is not constant, other people around you are not constant, the snow is not constant. Keeping your body in motion is one key to staying balanced and in control. Telemark skiing offers that freedom more than alpine skiing or snowboarding because of the equipment, because of the freeheel. Momentum is an advantage. Getting low sometimes gives you the extra motion you may need.

Getting low, staying high, both have advantages. There is no one way. I teach to stay as high as possible when you can and to get as low as possible when you need. Also, a common mistake is that people will try to stay high all the time and have never experienced to go low. You need both in your tool box.

Finally, telemark skiing is a lot about feeling. Stay up to save energy, respond quickly and get down in technical, unpredictable terrain.

And get some style for the show…

Oh by the way, the guy with the green pants is by far the fastest telemark skier I’ve ever seen in moguls :)

What’s your approach? Leave us a comment below

Newschool telemark

telemark NEWSCHOOL 2.3

Telemark skiing is an art form that peacefully integrates you with your surroundings. You eat granola, drink herbal tea and good craft beer, and bearded men and strong women are the norm. If your backpack has a name and you can’t go skiing without your dog, you’re a telemark skier.

True but there is another side of telemark: Newschool telemark.

These youngsters are all about jumping and grinding in the park. They look the same as the rest of the park rats and spend hours perfecting their spins.  At first it looks like a completely different sport.  They don’t appear to be turning, but seem to be simply jumping around. Don’t be fooled. These young skiers are just as passionate about our sport, and are as dedicated as most of the traditional crowd. Best of all they call themselves telemark skiers.

Check out this link to see what I mean.

Progression has no limits. Be open minded

Mike Douglas, known to many as the godfather of Freesking has raised the bar for skiers. He and other free-spirited skiers have changed the look of skiing by taking what the snowboarders were proving was possible and adapted their styles to skiing. Telemark skiing is already seeing a similar make over.

Continue reading »

Telemark skiing: weight distribution

weight distribution

The telemark stance define the sport. This split squat creates the turn and stabilize the skier.

 A lot of the modern telemark technique and equipment is influence by the alpine ski technique. Balance and weight distribution are no exceptions._X7A5648

How much weight should you put on your back ski?

It use to be really clear: 50% on each skis. At all time. When parabolic skis came on the market, that’s what the alpine world did too. Get both skis to carve is more efficient. For the past few years, alpine has come back to 80% on the outside ski. They say that it reduces the chance of falling on the inside ski. And people are winning world cup with that technique.

What about telemark weight distribution? Continue reading »

Life: Backcountry Telemark

Life backcountry

Telemark creates a community and backcountry is a place where time and space are different. People are different. Hiking for your turns, on a good powder day, you hear it all over.

On a good crew, you’ll hear all sorts of them. We all get incredible feelings from the face shoots, nice flow on long arc turns, a clean line with a few hits. Seeing your friends ski and getting good snow, we all cheer once in a while. Or more.

What is your backcountry cheers.

Are you a loud backcountry lad?

My favorite basic sounds are: Youp youp youp. Whiiiiiiiii. Yeah wouhou yeah wouhou. But you also get full on cheer like a buddy of mine yells stuff like: Awesome, Get some cheese! Solid! MASSIVE! My favorite all time is a friend of mine going:

To all the friends in the backcountry; HIIIIII HAAAAAAAA

You can have some folk signing. From Divas like Celine Dion to Austrian yodeling (special greetings to Pierrot Lortie who can really sign all the Yodeling in the repertoire) to the latest music hits from your favorite ski movie and so on.

Continue reading »

Where to wear your Avalanche Beacon

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Where do you wear your avalanche beacon?

For more than a decade, I have not asked myself the question. Where to wear your Avi Beacon? Companies provide a web system especially for strapping it around your torso (shown here). And that’s what I have learned to do, strap it around and never remove it.

But to my great surprise, more and more experts, avalanche technicians and forecasters, guides and everyday backcountry ski bums wear it in their pocket; ‘as long as it’s attached with a sling’, I’ve been told.

Why, or why not.

When you do something for years and never ask if it’s right because that’s all you’ve ever known, it can be a trap. So I asked Dominic Boucher, director of the avalanche center in Quebec’s Haute-Gaspesie, what he thought about both options.

Most of the forecasters where their beacon in their pocket he told me, himself for 8-9 years now.

First reason he told me was comfort, the beacon was in the way with the chest harness, is back pack and his bibs. Then, to wear it under all the layers of cloathing was limitationg in case of a search he told. Have you ever search in real terrain condition he told me. No, I never did thak God. Well, having your jacket open when you search, walk in avalanche debris and shovel is not the greatest idea…

But I was told that an avalanche could undress me and that I should not wear my beacon in my clothes. And never to put it in my jacket in case you remove it.

To that, Dominic answer was to the point, he wears his beacon in his pants, not jacket. And secondly, if you get caught in an avalanche to tear your pants off, good luck not been buried so deep your chances of survival are limited. And he specifically chose his pants to accommodate his beacon. A nice side pocket with a leash, always handy when you need both hands.

Final words…

In everything, changing habits requires a trigger. In safety more than anything, we need to keep sharp and take nothing  for granted. If last year was the chance I took to ask questions about where to wear my beacon, it had been a couple of years that I notice to change, but I didn’t feel the need to question my habits.

Never take for granted that you know what you are talking about. There will always be a better way. Has for me, I will try a new beacon set up this year and see for myself the end result.

 

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