 Poster: A snowHead
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I have skied downhill for just under 10yrs now (since i was 10) and i am quite good (que arrogance related abuse).
I wanted to try another discipline simply so i could spend a whole day on the mountain but going at a pace that my less experienced friends and older relatives can keep up with. Also tele looks damb cool.
Is this enough motivation to learn, or am i being naive?
Also I was looking into Tele Tuesdays at Chill factor (Manchester) anyone got experience with this, or any advice on how to get started?
Or should i just be more mainstream and snowboard?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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i would suggest snowboarding, as your ego quotient will be way too high to free heel  (you did ask for it! )
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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skimottaret, If there was a smiley for bowing my head in shame i would use it. Blame my dad for giving me any ego 
But do you recon (in all the worlds non bantering seriousness) that it would be too much of an ego crash for someone who is confident on the mountain.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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its great fun and helps your balance and alpine skiing as well. get some lessons as it is kinda foreign at first, we have a little club running at hemel doing a kinda self help lessons with the experienced free heelers helping out us newbies. you do make pretty quick progress and i would defo give it a go... have fun
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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jwhiteley1, no - it really isn't as hard a sit looks.
If you are already a reasonable alpine skier I'd hope you would be fine to tele- after all you can use all your alpine techniques as well.
I am 40+, allergic to exercise- rubbish at most other sports, 14 stone / 5'8" and I can do it- so anyone can.
Learning and getting past a week can be a bit tricky- and tiring (for me- but I carry weight) but like alpine skiing once you find your balance it gets much, much easier. You will however fall over- possibly face first and this can be painful! You will also get very very tired- and possibly fear imminent death (I certainly did). At first it can feel very, very unstable- just wobbly everywhere- forwards, backwards, sideways- up- down- everything. But this does go- especially I found once I got up the courage to go a bit faster and straighter.
I came on lots over Christmas having swapped my tele skis- previously longish Movement Freeheels (not really suitable for a beginner at all) to my old Salomon foils- which have been great mounted with tele bindings. I can now ski the blues in Chamonix at Brevant reasonably fast (as fast/faster than most of the folk skiing alpine on the same slopes and just a bit faster than my 8 year old son) and the red runs without falling over and at at least an average pace (but still only just a bit faster than my son). I do find ice hard- I wobble and end up touching the slope with my uphill hand- and also tracks- as I generally make wideish tele-turns- wider than most tracks- this is tricky and some thing I need to work on a bit- I have been going straight- holding an edge and slipping sideways- or going up the side and trying to shred some speed that way- which is all a real thigh burner. Obviously the answer is to go faster and straighter - but I fear my ability to stop/avoid other people especially kids go straight and fast. Strangely easy bumps are possibly easier on tele skis than alpine and on moderate slopes you really can just walk down the slope- which helps with putting weight on the back foot I think.
In my unbiased opinion it is way cooler than snowboarding! Grace, rarity value- and it looks f**king hard (but isn't really). Frankly most snowboarders seem to spend the day sitting around in unhelpful places and sideslipping down things that are too hard for them- why bother?
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I'm also considering this, can you keep your alpine boots, and if so what's a 'cheap' price for a 2nd hand tele rig???
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| kitenski wrote: |
| I'm also considering this, can you keep your alpine boots, |
You can keep them, won't have much use out for them though.
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kitenski, the main downside of telemarking is getting new gear; boots, bindings, skis and quite possibly telescopic poles.
ebay is a good starting point- but quite often the skis that come up are not ideal- old fashioned tele-specific skis or old style alpine skis- too long and too narrow. There are usually leather tele boots on ebay- I guess as army surplus- again not at all ideal unless you want to tour nordic style- which is unlikely.
Plastic boots turn up every now and again- but pot luck regards size/ fit.
I bought some tele skis and bindings from ebay for about £100-120- Movement freeheels and rotefella cobra 6s- neither that suitable really. However- I got the stiffer springs for about £25 and then swapped the bindings to my old foils (£15)- great for me. New boots- expensive- £300 ish I think. All tele gear is now v expensive as all priced in euros really.
No real answer there I'm sorry- second hand gear might not be ideal- a good place to start for bindings- perhaps on some unsuitable skis- swap them to a ski you know. Boots expensive.
telescopic poles handy to vary your stance.
New back also useful so you can lug around an extra pair of skis/boots/bindings at airports.
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FAQ
Tele is 
snowboarding is 
