# Is Telemark Dead?



## thetrailboss (May 9, 2017)

POWDER just posted an opinion piece in which they think it is dead.  Now that they mention it, I have only seen a relative handful of them the last few seasons....even at Alta.  

http://www.powder.com/stories/opini...508_sf76415412#sf76415412#4XFPlvAK8ZXrqmuv.97

What do you think?


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## Hawk (May 9, 2017)

It is still alive and well at sugarbush and Mad River in the MRV.  But we are all hippies here anyway.  ;-)


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## teleo (May 9, 2017)

Getting harder and harder to demo gear.  But we're not dead yet  at least mot in the MRV.

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## Scruffy (May 9, 2017)

The new light AT gear, that's actually not so new, it's been on the market for some years now, sure put a dent in the tele proposition of: skin it, and ski anywhere, on the same light gear. The AT gear has just gotten so good there's no need to learn and maintain tele skills for a lot of people. Alpine turns are quicker and stronger in a lot of situations. Tele "can" offer better for-aft balance in tricky (i.e. sticky, junk, rotten) snow, but it's a small advantage for a lot of xtra work and sacrifices elsewhere. But, of course, YMMV; plenty of skilled skiers killing it on tele, and they wouldn't have it any other way.


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## Smellytele (May 9, 2017)

I find tele easier in bumps and trees - flatter groomers are not as easy and actually tire me out more than on alpine skis.


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## Riverskier (May 9, 2017)

Always looked like a lot of work, and not a lot of fun. Never understood the appeal... I have always been a skier, but would sooner switch to snowboarding than tele. To each their own...


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## dlague (May 9, 2017)

Free the heel!  Got a used set up last year but have not bought boots yet!  So I will be giving it a try!


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## abc (May 9, 2017)

Must be a boring day at Powdr! That opinion piece is not new. It's a rehash from February!


dlague said:


> Free the heel!  Got a used set up last year but have not bought boots yet!  So I will be giving it a try!


Went the same route (used skis), with new boots 2 years ago. But last year snow was so poor here in the northeast I only tried it out for 1 run!

Did take it out a few times at Abasin and Keystone last month. Kind of fun change of pace. 

On an alpine forum, everybody ASSUME tele is for BC. But that's not the only place you can use it. You can use it like a beefy xc system that allow you to do "in between" terrains: terrains that goes up and down along a ridge. AT would be a PITA having to switch back and forth between climbing and descend mode. Granted, that's a very small segment of skiers. Never mind you'll never see them in resort!


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## ironhippy (May 9, 2017)

abc said:


> Must be a boring day at Powdr! That opinion piece is not new. It's a rehash from February!
> 
> Went the same route (used skis), with new boots 2 years ago. But last year snow was so poor here in the northeast I only tried it out for 1 run!
> 
> ...


It's not switching from ski to hike that takes time, I can do that with my pole, it's putting on and taking off skins that that slows me way down

I'd imagine you'd have that same problem with tele skis...

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## abc (May 9, 2017)

ironhippy said:


> I'd imagine you'd have that same problem with tele skis...


No. 

There're skis with fishscale bottom that can climb moderate grade without skins. Much like waxless crosscountry skis. 

I don't know if you can use them with AT bindings... I've never seen one setup like that.


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## Not Sure (May 9, 2017)

Lots of talented Tele people at Elk , guy with the orange pants can rip moguls better than most skiers


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## SkiingInABlueDream (May 9, 2017)

Siliconebobsquarepants said:


> Lots of talented Tele people at Elk , guy with the orange pants can rip moguls better than most skiers



But can he ski Big Walls?


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## Not Sure (May 9, 2017)

SkiingInABlueDream said:


> But can he ski Big Walls?



I'm sure he can but he prolly does'nt feel the need to pound his chest.


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## Jully (May 9, 2017)

Definitely don't feel it is dead. Telemarking is more common than manual transmission in automobiles... but I view them as similar in terms of a comparison.


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## BenedictGomez (May 10, 2017)

Riverskier said:


> *Always looked like a lot of work, and not a lot of fun. Never understood the appeal..*.



Same here.    The other thing is, as a skier who is no longer in his teens or even 20s, I'd like to keep my knees and ligaments intact for as long as possible so I can hopefully become one of those older skiers I occasionally see.


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## BenedictGomez (May 10, 2017)

Jully said:


> *Telemarking is more common than manual transmission in automobiles... but I view them as similar in terms of a comparison.*



I get that, and I like it!


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## deadheadskier (May 10, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Same here.    The other thing is, as a skier who is no longer in his teens or even 20s, I'd like to keep my knees and ligaments intact for as long as possible so I can hopefully become one of those older skiers I occasionally see.


I have a very good ski patrol friend who trashed his back working as a stone mason in his 20s.  He switched to tele in his late 20s and found it to put dramatically less strain on his back compared to alpine.  He's maintained a FT ski patrol job ever since and says he would have had to retire from ski patrol if not give up skiing all together had he stuck with alpine.

I also don't necessarily feel that tele puts your knees at any more risk than alpine. I'd put that in the "myth" category kind of like how some say bump skiing is worse for your knees than carving groomers. If anything I'd say the risk is less as those who participate in tele tend to be in much better physical condition than your average alpine skier.

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## Smellytele (May 10, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Same here.    The other thing is, as a skier who is no longer in his teens or even 20s, I'd like to keep my knees and ligaments intact for as long as possible so I can hopefully become one of those older skiers I occasionally see.



As I have mentioned on here before Tele is easier on your knees because with the heel free it puts less pressure on your knees. It spreads out the twisting and pressure to other things besides your knees.


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## teleo (May 10, 2017)

Agreed.  I've found Tele to be easier on knees and back due to the above and less banging.  Need much stronger legs, but that helps protect other things.  

Of course I haven't alpined in about 15 years, so what do I know.

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## Jcb890 (May 10, 2017)

I still see a decent amount of people doing it wherever I go to ride.  It never seemed all that popular, but I don't think I really see less of them.  It looks like a lot of work, so much respect to the people who can rip moguls and whatnot with the teles.


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## fbrissette (May 10, 2017)

abc said:


> No.
> 
> There're skis with fishscale bottom that can climb moderate grade without skins. Much like waxless crosscountry skis.
> 
> I don't know if you can use them with AT bindings... I've never seen one setup like that.



There are some Alpine touring skis with fishscale bottom for skinless touring.   Can't see them becoming mainstream however.   If you do Alpine touring, you want access to the good stuff, and the good stuff is steep and most ascents will feature steeper pitches where such skis are useless.   

They could be a special ski in a quiver for long rolling approaches (you would still have to carry skins once you reach the good stuff) or on extreme avy days when you just want to go out on mellow terrain.


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## abc (May 10, 2017)

fbrissette said:


> There are some Alpine touring skis with fishscale bottom for skinless touring.   Can't see them becoming mainstream however.   If you do Alpine touring, you want access to the good stuff, and the good stuff is steep and most ascents will feature steeper pitches where such skis are useless.
> 
> They could be a special ski in a quiver for long rolling approaches (you would still have to carry skins once you reach the good stuff) or on extreme avy days when you just want to go out on mellow terrain.


*You're still speaking from the alpine perspective. 
*
I was a xc skier before taking up alpine skiing (though that was 20 years ago). I still prefer xc skiing over alpine whenever condition is favorable for xc. So for me and my cohort, going places in rolling terrain IS what we live for. Not something one does in high avy days!

In the circle I hung out, telemark binding on fishscale skis is still the hottest fashion people are after. 

Granted, it's a very small community compare to alpine ski. The whole xc ski circle is a tiny portion of the skiing world, never mind the BC segment of xc. That segment is neither dying nor thriving. Just going steady and strong as it has been since the introduction of these new tele gear.

What I think maybe dying is the in-resort use of telemark gear, which burst onto the scene some 10 years back and is now pretty much run its course. Back then, a lot of alpine skiers tried tele for various reason. Or at least thought of trying. 

A few took to it but the majority never put in enough time and effort to see whatever the benefit that got them started. And most of those who thought of trying never did. It's funny all the excuses came up by those who never tried. 

AT gear had been around for a long time. Very popular in the Alps. It's finally getting the attention it deserves in north America. Alpine skiers who want to go back country now have the right solution. So there're far fewer of those "misguided" alpine skiers trying out tele these days. Not good for development of tele product. But that's how it should be anyway.


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## jimk (May 10, 2017)

I've never tried tele, but very much admire a good teleskier when I see one.  Are there ski areas in New England/NY that have a higher ratio of telemarkers than others?  In the mid-Atlantic there is one standout, Timberline, WV.  T-Line has a very decent tele crowd, maybe 10-15% percent of those on the hill.  At other mtns near me the ratio is lower.  There is a Nordic ski area very close to Timberline (WhiteGrass, WV) with good hike-to terrain and that is where many develop their skills before hopping on a chairlift.  Some tele people I know switched to it out of boredom after mastering alpine on small hills.  I have to admit in my wide circle of older personal ski buddies there are only about three that do tele, but they are skilled and except for one who is age late 70s, can stay with or out-ski most alpiners.

R:  Blue Knob, PA 










T:  Snowbird, UT


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## mbedle (May 10, 2017)

Its got more life and support than alpine snowboarding... lol


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## jimk (May 10, 2017)

One tele-buddy of mine depicted in earlier photos has an old snowboard fitted with telemark bindings.  He uses a bamboo pole for a lurk to help balance when in this mode:


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## Smellytele (May 10, 2017)

jimk said:


> One tele-buddy of mine depicted in earlier photos has an old snowboard fitted with telemark bindings.  He uses a bamboo pole for a lurk to help balance when in this mode:



this is not an old snowboard - it is a teleboard created by the Fey brothers - http://www.telemarkdown.com/


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## fbrissette (May 10, 2017)

Smellytele said:


> this is not an old snowboard - it is a teleboard created by the Fey brothers - http://www.telemarkdown.com/




Teleboard...  Just when I thought I'd seen it all.  Why ????


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## Jcb890 (May 10, 2017)

Haha holy crap that's weird looking.  How would that even work in terms of snowboarding technique?


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## mbedle (May 10, 2017)

fbrissette said:


> Teleboard...  Just when I thought I'd seen it all.  Why ????



That is a good question!


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## Smellytele (May 10, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> Haha holy crap that's weird looking.  How would that even work in terms of snowboarding technique?



It wouldn't work with snowboard technique


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## fbrissette (May 10, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> Haha holy crap that's weird looking.  How would that even work in terms of snowboarding technique?



Yep.  Cant figure out how it would work in terms of physics.  Just watched a few videos on youtube and it's beyond me why would anyone pick that up (beside the 'look at me' factor).

All the disavantages of telemark, skiiing and snowboarding all merged into a single piece of equipment.


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## jimk (May 10, 2017)

Action shot of him in the middle of the crowd in this photo:




He only breaks it out once in a while for fun.


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## Scruffy (May 10, 2017)

fbrissette said:


> Yep.  Cant figure out how it would work in terms of physics.  Just watched a few videos on youtube and it's beyond me why would anyone pick that up (beside the 'look at me' factor).
> 
> All the disavantages of telemark, skiiing and snowboarding all merged into a single piece of equipment.



Tele boards, are nothing new, been around for a long time, but yeah, they didn't really take off.  The idea was similar to a hard boot carving board for those that tele ski. One boot for ski and board. Plus if you tele ski you're use to pressuring the ski with the ball of your foot, so with the same bindings on the tele board and tele ski, you'd use a lot of the same techniques as tele skis, without changing which ski is fore or aft, and without changing stance. With tele skiing there is a concept of mono-mark; you keep the front and back feet in the same position for right or left turns. Tele-board is like a mono-mark all the time.


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## jimk (May 10, 2017)

Informative tele talk here.  I'm learning things.  This board has a decent representation of telemarkers!  What about my other question?  Are there a few northeast ski areas especially known for a lot of telemarkers??  And why?


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## fbrissette (May 10, 2017)

jimk said:


> Informative tele talk here.  I'm learning things.  This board has a decent representation of telemarkers!  What about my other question?  Are there a few northeast ski areas especially known for a lot of telemarkers??  And why?



Very few telemarkers at Jay.  And they appear to ski almost exclusively under the jet chair.


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## abc (May 10, 2017)

jimk said:


> Are there a few northeast ski areas especially known for a lot of telemarkers??  And why?


I know MRG has a pretty significant present of telemarker skiers. Closer to me, Plattekill also has a few resident telemarkers I see from time to time. 

I can't answer the question of why. But both of these mountains are non-mainstream, retro'ish mountains.


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## Jcb890 (May 10, 2017)

fbrissette said:


> Yep.  Cant figure out how it would work in terms of physics.  Just watched a few videos on youtube and it's beyond me why would anyone pick that up (beside the 'look at me' factor).
> 
> All the disavantages of telemark, skiiing and snowboarding all merged into a single piece of equipment.





jimk said:


> Action shot of him in the middle of the crowd in this photo:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm failing to see how that really works well.  I would think I'd prefer to just telemark, or ski or snowboard.  I can't imagine combining them into one terrible amalgamation.  Interesting looking though if nothing else.


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## jimk (May 10, 2017)

The only time I skied Wachusett was a pretty day back in March 2006.  One side of the 10th Mountain Trail was moguled-up good.  There was a young telemark skier in a train engineer type hat who caught my attention for a while on this day because of his blazing repeat laps through the moguls including some nice airs.


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## Abubob (May 10, 2017)

Tele's not dead. It just smells funny.


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## Teleskier (May 10, 2017)

jimk said:


> Are there a few northeast ski areas especially known for a lot of telemarkers??  And why?



To me, the genuine/rooted soul of MRG mates very well with the genuine/rooted soul of teleskiing. 

In short: it is mecca. Double-camber skis and Leather boots optional. 

From MRG website: 

Mad River Glen offers some of the finest lift-served telemark skiing in the East. Uncrowded trails, natural snow, award-winning terrain and great tree skiing have always attracted telemarkers, making the skier-owned mountain New England’s Telemark "Mecca." Skiers at Mad River Glen will notice a greater concentration of "free-heelers" than can be found at almost any other ski area in North America.


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## Harvey (May 10, 2017)

thetrailboss said:


> POWDER just posted an opinion piece in which they think it is dead.  Now that they mention it, I have only seen a relative handful of them the last few seasons....even at Alta.
> 
> http://www.powder.com/stories/opini...508_sf76415412#sf76415412#4XFPlvAK8ZXrqmuv.97
> 
> What do you think?



I think Powder was desperate for content.

IMO tele will always be a minority of skiers.  That doesn't make it dead.


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## Smellytele (May 11, 2017)

fbrissette said:


> Very few telemarkers at Jay.  And they appear to ski almost exclusively under the jet chair.



You don't see them because they are in the woods and down low.


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## Smellytele (May 11, 2017)

Harvey said:


> I think Powder was desperate for content.
> 
> IMO tele will always be a minority of skiers.  That doesn't make it dead.



My fear is they stop making tele gear.


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## fbrissette (May 11, 2017)

Smellytele said:


> You don't see them because they are in the woods and down low.



In 300 days of skiing at Jay I only recall seeing one telemarker in the woods.   That's OK, there are not a lot of them and you don't see that many people in the woods anyway.  However, you don't see them under the Bonnie (CanAM, Office) or the Flyer (Exhibition).  But I see them all the time under the jet.  Just curious.   I guess they like icy groomers.


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## teleo (May 11, 2017)

At sugarbush you don't see that many jan-mar, but in Nov and April when the masses leave, MRG closes and the woods and backcountry are not skiable, we come out of the woodwork, and you notice a lot more proportionally.  

I've seen a Tele board a couple times, maybe your friend, but never had the urge to try.  I now see the comparison to monomark.  But different mounted at an angle.  Toe edge has to be tough.

BTW monomark is just one example of the variations available on Tele gear.  That flexibility is why I Tele exclusively.

Smelly that is my fear too. 

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## cdskier (May 11, 2017)

teleo said:


> At sugarbush you don't see that many jan-mar, but in Nov and April when the masses leave, MRG closes and the woods and backcountry are not skiable, we come out of the woodwork, and you notice a lot more proportionally.



Yea, I've noticed that...


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## Hawk (May 11, 2017)

I have at least 10 friends that ski tele at Sugarbush.  Not a lot compared to the overall count but I keep seeing more and more people doing it.  So for the sake of this conversation I would say no the numbers are not declining.  They are maintaining.


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## jaytrem (May 11, 2017)

There seems to be high percentage of tele skiers on this forum for some reason, including myself.

Seems like I've noticed a lot of tele skiers this year.  Might be because I was more often on apline skis while teaching my girls to ski.  Made me jealous.

How about NTN equipment?  Never seem to see much of it out there except for 1 friend.  Seems like most people stick with the 75mm stuff.  I could see NTN dying out.


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## Domeskier (May 11, 2017)

There are some nice shots of Ryan Saunders ripping steeps and bumps on tele skis in this video and others in the series.  The whole video is worth watching.  He and his brother are great skiers.


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## Teleskier (May 11, 2017)

I always see a fair number of lift-service teleskiers at various New England mountains, but then again, they do stand out to me right away (see them way up or down the trail immediately) vs my alpine or snowboard colleagues judging from chair rides. There are probably slightly more teleskiers than people are actually noticing. Not that it matters either way.

But I do let out a little internal cheer when I see another teleskier somewhere, no matter their ability level. 

And of course NATO Telefest's (and others) have a soul satisfaction akin to a normally-alone pilgrim going to mecca and being surrounded by "a whole mountain" of their similar kind.


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## Smellytele (May 11, 2017)

I actually have seen a decrease in snowboarders - is it dying?


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## dlague (May 11, 2017)

Smellytele said:


> I actually have seen a decrease in snowboarders - is it dying?



Definitely slowing down - excerpt from Time Magazine.

Snowboarding is no longer new, no longer extreme, and—now that your mom knows how to ride—no longer quite as cool. No wonder snowboard sales and snowboarder visits at mountain resorts are on the decline.

Once all the rage among the young and active, as well as pretty much everybody else who was a newcomer to winter mountain sports, snowboarding appears to be past its heyday. Using data from SnowSports Industries America, the Los Angeles Times noted that sales of snowboards and snowboard gear have slumped 21% over the last four years.


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## bigbog (May 12, 2017)

abc said:


> *You're still speaking from the alpine perspective.
> *
> I was a xc skier before taking up alpine skiing (though that was 20 years ago). I still prefer xc skiing over alpine whenever condition is favorable for xc. So for me and my cohort, going places in rolling terrain IS what we live for. Not something one does in high avy days!
> 
> ...



I don't know how many people here in Maine, Bangor area to be specific, are xc people....but much of the terrain here & out in the woodlands is made for it...and one can spot evidence of those who use the trails.  It's that gap of AT through the flat and low rolling terrain..and back to the elevation and AT gear that is a sticking point for more than a few of us up here.  Pack the xc boots with boot warmers and wide-xc skis...and likewise with AT gear when traversing the flat & low rolling land.   A little hassle of packing and carrying the _other_ skis...but at least it works...


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## ironhippy (May 12, 2017)

dlague said:


> Snowboarding is no longer new, no longer extreme, and—now that your mom knows how to ride—no longer quite as cool. No wonder snowboard sales and snowboarder visits at mountain resorts are on the decline.



A lot of my friends have given it up and claim it's because 
a) skis ski a lot better than they used to, especially in powder 
b) skiing/riding has changed a lot, and now they want to ski untracked snow in the woods. It's a lot easier to traverse on a pair of skis than in a snowboard.


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## cdskier (May 12, 2017)

Interesting regarding snowboarding. I haven't noticed it per se, but then again I never thought Sugarbush had a huge snowboarding population to begin with. There are certainly still a decent number of people boarding, but skiers have always way outnumbered boarders there from my memory so it is very hard to judge whether it is decreasing or just staying status quo. Oddly enough it seemed like in late spring that the proportion of people on the mountain that were boarding was higher than during mid-winter.


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## Jcb890 (May 12, 2017)

ironhippy said:


> A lot of my friends have given it up and claim it's because
> a) skis ski a lot better than they used to, especially in powder
> b) skiing/riding has changed a lot, and now they want to ski untracked snow in the woods. It's a lot easier to traverse on a pair of skis than in a snowboard.


I do enjoy boarding and don't know if I would want to switch to skiing, but it certainly seems easier to both get to (traverse) and do tighter trees on skis.


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## deadheadskier (May 12, 2017)

I would agree on the traversing aspect, but not on the tight trees aspect.  Boards are generally a fair bit shorter and quicker to whip around.  You also only need to worry about hooking one tip on a tree vs two.

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## BenedictGomez (May 12, 2017)

dlague said:


> *Snowboarding is no longer new, no longer extreme, and—now that your mom knows how to ride—no longer quite as cool. No wonder snowboard sales and snowboarder visits at mountain resorts are on the decline.*



I think it's also the fact that you can do more tricks and "cool stuff" on skis than on a snowboard due to skiing's much greater range of motion.  The irony of that is the fact that it was snowboarding that took park and tricks to the mainstream / more popular level.


That said, I also think there's going to be a mini-bump in snowboarder numbers soon, because I've noticed the last several seasons that the snowboarding "moms" that you mention are now popping-out kids, who are tykes and tots in kid's lessons.


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## Jcb890 (May 12, 2017)

So you guys are saying I should pick up skiing... alright, who's gonna give me some lessons? :lol:


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## selski (May 15, 2017)

I taught all 3 of my kids to tele when they were young. They love being part of tele and keeping it alive and well. It caught their interest early since they would be skiing among groups of talented tele skiers. Now they are out spreading the gospel. If you want to find a higher number of tele skiers you can go to Plattekill, Mad, Sugarbush and Bromley. All of those mountains have programs in place. I believe all 4 have kids programs as well.


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## mbedle (May 15, 2017)

I was looking at the data provided by Snowsports Industries and the data appears to show an increasing trend for snowboarding participants over the last 8 years. It also show a decreasing trend for downhill and alpine skiing with a significant increasing trend in freeskiing. If you combine all skiing types, you get no trend over the last eight years, but stable. Kind of doesn't match the data presented about snowboard equipment sales, not sure how to explain that. 
http://www.snowsports.org/research-surveys/snow-sports-fact-sheet/


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## dlague (May 15, 2017)

mbedle said:


> I was looking at the data provided by Snowsports Industries and the data appears to show an increasing trend for snowboarding participants over the last 8 years. It also show a decreasing trend for downhill and alpine skiing with a significant increasing trend in freeskiing. If you combine all skiing types, you get no trend over the last eight years, but stable. Kind of doesn't match the data presented about snowboard equipment sales, not sure how to explain that.
> http://www.snowsports.org/research-surveys/snow-sports-fact-sheet/



I noticed that too!  Sales down SB visits up?


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## Smellytele (May 15, 2017)

mbedle said:


> I was looking at the data provided by Snowsports Industries and the data appears to show an increasing trend for snowboarding participants over the last 8 years. It also show a decreasing trend for downhill and alpine skiing with a significant increasing trend in freeskiing. If you combine all skiing types, you get no trend over the last eight years, but stable. Kind of doesn't match the data presented about snowboard equipment sales, not sure how to explain that.
> http://www.snowsports.org/research-surveys/snow-sports-fact-sheet/




Is freeski AT? or just any backcountry? at + tele?


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## mbedle (May 16, 2017)

I think that free skiing is park skiing.


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## Hawk (May 16, 2017)

That was very confusing.  When I think of free skiing I think of not regimented skiing.  For instance it would not be gates, moguls, park or jumps.  More like skiing all the terrain at in bounds or out of bounds at your own will and at random.  But if you look up the definition mbedle is correct. 

"Freeskiing, or new school skiing is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combined with the progression of freestyle skiing"


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## dlague (May 16, 2017)

Hawk said:


> That was very confusing.  When I think of free skiing I think of not regimented skiing.  For instance it would not be gates, moguls, park or jumps.  More like skiing all the terrain at in bounds or out of bounds at your own will and at random.  But if you look up the definition mbedle is correct.
> 
> "Freeskiing, or new school skiing is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combined with the progression of freestyle skiing"



http://freeskiingworldtour.com/ Notice it is not called Off-piste World Tour

Yet the Freeskiing World Tour is Big Mountain skiing hitting natural features (rock mostly), skiing steep faces and chutes.  Where as the The Olympics refers to moguls, jumps, rails and big air as Freestyle.

The definition for both are similar, but Freeskiing is used loosely for Big Mountain style skiing.

I think their definitions are dated.


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## SIKSKIER (May 17, 2017)

Have a number of friends at Cannon that only tele.Didn't think Cannon was a good place for that but thats all they dne is a little over the top and spends many an evening skinning up even though he has a pass.For about 5 years a local inn owner used to tele board quite a bit at Cannon.First time I had seen one of those.Also,for a few years New England Telemark would have demos at a few areas including Cannon where they would give free lessons and free equipment.Dont see anything on their website about that now though.Also,a neighbor Heather Paul is one of the best US womans telemarker and hosts ski clinics all over the world.She is very impressive and actually hosted one at Cannon as she now lives locally after being in Crested Butte for many years.To all these telemarkers,their prefered sliding is not dead and I dont think its going anywhere.


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## Smellytele (May 17, 2017)

why did you think Cannon wasn't a good place to tele?


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## SIKSKIER (May 17, 2017)

I guess because of its "icey" reputation which is probably not what it was now.Thats probably a dumb statement on my part.And maybe my ignorance of thinking tele is is harder to ski on hard surfaces than alpine gear though I believe by watching it seems more skidding is involved than carving.Again.not having tried it I'm probably wrong.But I will say I absolutely love to watch great tele skiers. rip it up.


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## Smellytele (May 17, 2017)

Ice sucks no matter what is on your feet (except ice skates)


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## witch hobble (May 18, 2017)

I'm a Cannon freeheeler. It's a pretty good place.  I'd say pitch and tree characteristics are not as good for glade and off map stuff as at some other mountains that have more open hardwoods to thin.  Many glades and off map stuff at Cannon is like somebody came thru a hemlock or balsam  thicket and just lopped off limbs under 8'. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And there are several that actually have great flow. But many are tight hop turn shots that don't let freeheelers take advantage of our increased running length.


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## luvinjaycloud (May 19, 2017)

fbrissette said:


> In 300 days of skiing at Jay I only recall seeing one telemarker in the woods.   That's OK, there are not a lot of them and you don't see that many people in the woods anyway.  However, you don't see them under the Bonnie (CanAM, Office) or the Flyer (Exhibition).  But I see them all the time under the jet.  Just curious.   I guess they like icy groomers.


Wow.  I would totally disagree.  I have an equivalent number of days at jay and see a double digit percent of tele skiers on most decent days.  The better ones will be in the trees (you've only seen 1???, ive seen literally hundreds). Jay has a loyal telemark clientele and they are out in numbers on the best skiing days.  Truth is, when you telemark you get better feedback from the mountains terrain and become more aware of your edges as you relie on them more for balance.  Having spent many days telemarking I can say most fixed healers should try the discipline as it will make them better alpine skiers.   Don't see the sport in decline although it's growth has moderated.


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## Jcb890 (May 20, 2017)

There's some Tele skiers here today at Killington, couple of them are ripping the moguls better than many of the alpine skiers.  Pretty impressive.


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