Tag Archives: "snowboard"

Backcountry Telemark skiing grand opening in Jacques-Cartier National Parc

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It is with great pleasure that we finally saw the Jacques-Cartier National Park in Quebec, Canada, open a 1 sq. km area to backcountry users.RM wood telemark

Mathieu Brunet, Park director, was really please to see the minimum snowpack of 1 meter finally reach Thursday evening. This season was not the most constant with two major rain episode in January and February.

© parc national de la Jacques-Cartier

© parc national de la Jacques-Cartier

After two year in the making, obtaining the environmental approval for this pilot project, , it was finally happening and it produced immediate results, confirming the potential. On the first week end, more than 200 persons went and came back with smiles on their faces.

Having developed the idea and selected the area, I was pleased to hear about that.  Eastern Canada does not have a great deal of backcountry access and the park opening could really be the start of something. Who knows! One thing is for sure, the sport is growing fast and people dream of powder.

plan de carte PNJC copy

© parc national de la Jacques-Cartier

The backcountry area:

With 300 meters of vertical, an average of 30° slope, there is definitely great terrain. It’s a forested area with birch, spruce and fir, it has a moderate density. The top plateau has a 150 meters vertical at 20-25° slope and has a low density, it is perfect for backcountry beginners (i.e advanced skiers/boarders). For more information, you can call the park at (418) 848-3169

© parc national de la Jacques-Cartier

© parc national de la Jacques-Cartier. Red Arrow point at the backcountry area

The Park is 30-40 minutes from Quebec City and the Welcome center is a few hundred meters away for the base of the area so the access is not a problem. We’ll try to have a short video edit shortly.

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Telemark tutorials

Absolute telemark3_16-12-12

Absolute Telemark is in the process of making a tutorial on telemark skiing.

HD quality, well conceive by more than 15 years of teaching experience, each lesson will be 12-20 minutes long and available for pc/mac, Ipod/Ipad, Android tablets and phones

These tutorials will cover subject like:

  • Basic telemark; a series of 3 tutorials will cover everything a beginner needs to know to get started. It even include a fast forward method for alpine skiers or snowboarders, eager to get rippin’ fast.
  • Telemark freestyle; a series of 2 tutorials will cover the new style telemark: switch telemark, snowpark jumps and modules.
  • Mogul telemark, a series of 2 tutorials will cover all the know how from the fundamental to all the advance stuff.
  • Powder telemark, a series of 3 tutorials will cover how to travel the backcountry, tree skiing, and of course powder turnspowder 1

These tutorials will be release for the 2013-14 season.

Just register to our free email updates below. And make sure to visit our telemark tutorial page

Comfy telemark: Helmet, knee pads, socks and butt

2012-03-17 06.38.56

I’m a ski pratroller.

But even before hand, I’m a telemark skier who likes to ski hard. Day in and day out, I’m outdoor. And I like it. Here’s a list of things I wear to stay warm at all times.

Common tips are:

  • Make sure you don’t over dress to start your day,
  • don’t wear cotton,
  • use multilayer clothing system.

You can find dozen of web sites talking about those. Here are my best tips for keeping you warm:

  1. KNEE PADS: Safety is a concern. So I wear knee pads. I would not trade them for any reason now. When I started telemark skiing 17 years ago, I had leather boots and no cable on my bindings. The knee could easily touch the ground. Today’s equipment are much more rigid. To a point that it’s almost impossible for my knee to touch my ski. Still, I feel that my back leg knee is more expose and I still wear my knee pads. Working on the mountain, I still wear knee pads. It’s just so conformable. If your a snowboarder or an alpine skier, you should all be wearing be wearing knee pads. It keeps my knees warm. No joke. And it makes a world of difference.
  2. HELMET: An other smart choice for your safety, of course. But more than that, it’s just so comfortable if chosen right. Bring your goggles to the ski shop and try a bunch. Make sure it’s comfy on the head and for the ears, that it stays in place and that your goggles fit perfect, not leaving any gap around. Helmet is warm but not hot, It’s wind proof but most have vents, and most helmets now do not impair your hearing. Just a no-brainer.
  3. SOCKS: Feet are your link to your skis. Have good ski socks makes a good difference in comfort and in warm feet. Be careful, price doesn’t equal quality. My only choice is Patagonia mid weight ski socks. They are so durable and are unmatched in comfort. And I tried a lot of different models out there. I always have a second pair with me and change them at lunch because I have sweaty feet.
  4. BUTT: Well, if your in cold country, that is Canada for me, sitting on a chair lift is cold. I wear mid weight long johns under my ski pants. In the resort, I don’t wear Gore-Tex pants but rather light insulated ski pants. I add a fleece short for extra warmth. I usually buy a fleece pants that I cut just below the knees.
  5. GLOVES: Of all ski equipment, the glove is the one I like the most. Don’t ask me why, I just like it. For many years now, I always choose Black Diamond Guide gloves because of its warmth vs dexterity. A bonus is that their very durable, a must for a ski patroller ( I change every 2 years and I ski/work an average of 120 days a year). Whatever your preferences, gloves or mittens, make sure you get what you need to stay out. If they are leather, have them treated with a good specialized wax such as Nikwax or similar products. It will make them last longer.

BONUS TIP: If you have cold feet, you can always buy heated soles or foot warmer, but I don’t like either solutions. Heated soles are expansive and you always forget to charge them up. And foot warmer are single use (pollution), bulky and expensive after a while. But boot liners are relatively cheap. Every boots brand sell replacement liners, usually at 1/5th of the price of a boot. Buy an extra liner and change liners when changing your socks at lunch time. Guaranteed warm feet for the rest of your life. When re-selling your boots, you can have the buyer choosing his liner, it will be half as used. Keep the second liner for your new boots.

Enjoy winter, day in and day out.