Category Archives: "culture"

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

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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

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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

telemark medical survey

medical survey

Is telemark safe for your knees?

Is telemark more strenuous?

Is telemark more prone to injuries?

We talked about it in this post: trying to awser it the best, but we are missing knowledge. The research I found was from Scotland, limiting the accuracy of the data. We need a truly worldwide research.
Photo-Axis slopestyle 2007 ski knee injury
 

Here’s your chance to contribute to the knowledge

Dr. med. Kai Fehske and Theresa Hardörfer are conducting this research and your input is crucial for the accuracy of the survey.

Here an email I got this week end

Dear Mr Trudel,

my name is Theresa Hardörfer, I`m studying medicine in Würzburg, Germany.
While searching on the internet I found your website.
Last year we started a survey about risks and injuries connected to telemarking. Our aim is to conduct the world`s most comprehensive study about injuries connected to telemarking.
The survey is neither supported by economy nor by the pharmaceutic industry; at the end the results will be accessible to everybody of course.
So far the survey goes on quite well in German speaking areas, but I didn’t have much success in English speaking (and other language speaking) countries.
That’s why I`m writing to you. I want to please you, to help me forward this link to as many telemarkers as possible. Thus I wanted to ask you whether you could post this link on your website or if you have other ideas to reach as many telemarkers as possible.

 

There you go Theresa…
here is the link to the study https://www.soscisurvey.de/ski/?q=ET

I did the survey and it took my a big 6 minutes.

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Telemark freeski competion at Grand Targhee

Big-Mtn-Telemark-Comp

February 22nd, Grand Targhee will host the Telemark freeski competition. One of the biggest event on the telemark scene for sure. Check out the Facebook page for more information

Big-Mtn-Telemark-Comp 1200Here’s what organizer Jake Sakson has to say about it:

3 reasons to come to the Grand Targhee Tele Comp:

1) Have one hell of good time

Its always fun when there is a bunch of telemarkers in one place

2) Meet a bunch of rad telemarkers

You’ll never be without a couch to crash in any ski town again.

3) Challenge yourself as a skier

Competitions require all the fundamentals that make for good freeskiing. Technique, line choice and focus. In the end it’s a learning environment and a great place to put your skills to the test or bounce ideas around with fellow freeheelers.
Venues are looking good! Should be an awesome contest. I look forward to seeing all y’all freeheelers out there.
Contact: jake.sakson@gmail.com with lodging questionsDay2Day1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some serious telemark skiers are gonna be there but the venue is more than that. Weather you are trying to prove the world your abilities or your just trying to have fun with a good crowd, don’t miss your chance.

Here’s a video of Klara Wholers who finished 2nd last year

And here’s Mark Robbins who finished first

Have fun every one

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What creates a great telemark community

Moguls telemark competition

Telemark skiing, unlike main alpine sports, have the opportunity to have a strong community. This is a subculture, a community of interest. A telemark community is like no other.

If you haven’t tried telemark and would like to, one thing you need to know is that there is absolutely no advantages to telemark. Technique is harder, equipment is as heavy or heavier and it’s more strenuous to name a few.

But once you try it, it’s a whole new story. The fun, the feeling, the flow are just out of this world. And the community is different.

Recently, at a telemark festival I attended in La Réserve, I met some newbies. Smile on their faces told the day they just had. They told me just how incredible the people were, sharing tips, helping them as they go. After so many years in the community, I had forgotten that it was something other riders don’t have. Perhaps the Freestyle Park Rats have the same, I honestly don’t know. But telemarkers really have a way to make it happen, to be accessible.

Then I looked around me. It was a telemark festival I had never been. I didn’t know most of the people around me. I realized that I had skied the whole day meeting people, going in crazy places, having fun without a second thought on this being normal or not. That moment, I really had a special feeling about all this: being a telemarker, sharing the sport I like.

The next week, two of my good friends were just back from a ski trip in Utah. The spark in their eyes was intense, the ski had been good. But far more, the people they met, where they got to go with locals, just because they were on tele, really stood out from their stories.

It made me remember my trip last winter to the Alps. The people I met were just incredible, the telemark scene was small but everybody knew each other, told stories, invited us for apres ski… I never thought French skiing would be like that. The mountains, the food, and most of all, the people I met.Nanou smiling on tele

Last weekend was the Rendez-Vous Telemark at my local mountain, Le Massif. It was my turn to welcome people. You then realize that you want to give back as much as you can. Get people to have a great experience. Unfortunately this year, mother nature was not on our side and the skiing was not the greatest. But the weekend was still great. What really made the difference was this community, the warmth of the people at the event, the awesome after party. People shared more than the daily experience and they were easy to speak too. And again I met some folks who weren’t used to all this. It was my turn to smile.

I can’t wait for the next rendez-vous, Absolute Telemark will be at a few more during this season.

What is your favorite cultural story on telemark? Share it below.

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