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Buyer's guide to Telemark, Alpine Touring, and Nordic Skis Telemark | Alpine | Nordic | Go Ski! Since the mid 90's, skiing has gone through a renaissance. Skis have become wider, shorter, and easier to turn than ever before. This trend first started with alpine skiing and has finally crossed into the world to telemark. Leather boots have slowly gone by the wayside and stiffer, more responsive plastic boots have become the norm. With the plastic boots taking over, the simple 3-pin binding of yesteryear is no longer sufficient to drive the new skis. The telemark revolution is here and today's gear is vastly superior to that of just 10 years ago. Boots Companies like Scarpa, Crispi. and Garmont have established themselves as the leaders of the telemark boot world. Both companies make a full range of plastic boots for anything from touring to hard charging resort skiing. Bindings More than anything else, it's the improvements in the free heel binding that have made it possible for us to keep up and push our alpine skiing friends. Improvements in design and materials have made this generation of bindings more stable and durable than ever before. New features on today's bindings range from adjustable pivot points, choices for spring stiffness, switchable touring modes, and even a DIN release to help safeguard against injury. Skis Just like alpine skies, telemark skis have gotten shorter and wider making turns easier and more fun. For someone who used to ski a 205cm straight ski, a new 185cm ski will be more than adequate. Skis today have more "side cut" than in years past meaning the difference in width between the tip and middle of the ski is much more dramatic. This makes it much easier to initiate a turn and "carve", something that was incredibly difficult on the skinny skis of yesteryear. Extra width translates into better float making powder days infinitely more enjoyable. That's reason enough to try the new stuff! Tele skis are no longer the cheaper, flimsier cousins of alpine skis. Many of the construction and design techniques used in high-end alpine skis are also used in telemark skis. The only real difference between your typical alpine and tele ski is the flex and weight. A telemark ski doesn't have to be as stiff for two reasons: your heel isn't locked down and your weight is more evenly distributed over both skis in a turn. In comparison, an alpine skier has about 90% of his weight on the downhill ski ... not true in a tele turn. Reduced weight is the most noticeable difference between alpine and tele gear. Since many free heelers strap on climbing skins to "earn their turns" lightweight gear is a must on long uphill treks. Reduced weight is also a vital ingredient in making quick turns. A good tele turn is dependent on the switching of foot positions from front to back. The lighter the gear, the easier this becomes. The Complete Package With the large variety of gear available the most important thing when purchasing new gear is to make sure it all matches the type of skiing you do. Bindings and boots can make just as much difference in performance as different skis do. Your ski gear must be mated carefully to make sure their strengths work together. For someone who skis mostly at the resort in firmer snow conditions a soft, lightweight boot and a "passive" binding is not a good choice. Conversely, a large plastic boot and a very powerful "active" binding may not the best choice for someone who spends most of their time touring in the backcountry. Information overload? These days there are lots of choices out there, so let us help find what right for you. Give a call, drop an email, or better yet stop by next time your travels bring you to beautiful Southwest Colorado. We'd love to get you on your way to more fun in the mountains! What is "Alpine Touring"? Also known as "AT" or "Randonee", it's a way for an alpine skier to access the backcountry without having to learn the telemark turn. Alpine Touring bindings have a releasable heelpiece that is typically operated by the flick of a ski pole. This allows the binding to pivot in front of the toe for skinning up hill. When this heelpiece is locked the bindings functions just like an alpine binding with a toe and heel DIN release in case of a fall. Telemarkers often joke that "randonee" is French for "can't telemark". In reality skinning up a mountain is much easier on an AT setup. The reason? AT bindings do not flex like a telemark binding when climbing. Instead, the boot and binding are rigid and there's only one pivot point in front of the toe. Telemarkers have to deal with flexing a boot and loading the spring of the binding on the uphill. Bottom line, it's more work. Joke's on them, isn't it? The line between the performance of high end AT bindings and normal Alpine bindings is beginning to diminish. Manufacturers are building stronger and more durable bindings that offer a nice, consistent release. The goal: one binding for on and off the resort. A common question regarding AT bindings is what kind of boots will fit. The bindings we carry from Naxo and Fritschi are designed to fit any alpine ski boot as well as those specifically made for alpine touring. AT bindings by Dynafit offer an ultra lightweight solution, but also require boots built specifically for it. Just ask us and we'll be happy to make sure you get the proper gear for your pursuit. So, what is the difference between a normal Alpine ski boot and an AT boot? Alpine ski boots have a hard plastic sole and are typically stiffer and heavier than AT boots. AT boots have a rubber sole for better traction while hiking. An AT boot is often much lighter weight to aid in long climbs and are not as stiff since they are designed for skiing soft, off piste snow conditions. Stiff boots are important for groomed or hardpack conditions found at ski resort but aren't necessary in softer conditions. It certainly is possible to mount an AT binding on a standard alpine ski, but once again the biggest difference is weight. The best mate for a lightweight binding and boot is a lightweight backcountry ski. Skis made for telemark are often equally suited for AT applications. Sounds like we keep harping on weight, but after a 1,000' climb tell me that those few extra pounds didn't add up. Just like everything else in the winter sports world, Nordic (or cross country) skiing has changed for the better as well. Manufacturers are building more and more skis for the different environments people take them. The basic categories are skate, groomed track, and backcountry touring. Most Nordic skis to day have no-wax bases and "fishscales". The glide zones (the front and rear thirds of the ski) can be waxed with a paste or fluorinated liquid wax but are designed to glide in a variety of conditions right out of the box. This makes them much easier to maintain than skis with waxable bases. Fishscales are designed to grip one way and glide on the other. This eliminates the need to deal with kick waxing the middle third of the ski. Unlike waxable skis, your new skis w/ fishscales will work just as well in 2 years as they did the day you bought them ... all without any extra work or maintenance! Track or Groomed Trail Skiing (Classic Skiing) Skis in this category cannot exceed 65mm at their widest point since that is the width of the standard Nordic track. A track ski can certainly be used on groomed terrain but tends to be too narrow to take into the backcountry. Skis in this category tend to have double camber to increased energy transfer from the kick to the glide, but performance can vary greatly depending on the stiffness. For someone new to Nordic skiing, a soft ski will be a better choice as it will be easier and more forgiving when making strides. For a more advanced skier, a stiffer ski will be better as a soft ski may seem to "drag" too much while pushing. Typically a track ski will be used with a NNN or SNS boot / binding system. The acronyms simply relate to two different boot sole types that are incompatible with each other. Otherwise, the principal of how the system works is identical. With this interface, the boot is attached to the binding at the toe be a single metal bar. This system is very lightweight and with the help of a rubber "spring" mechanism in front of the toe it's very efficient for kick and glide. Backcountry Nordic Skiing Skis in this category are wider and have more sidecut than track skis. The wider profile makes it easier to break trail and provides more float in deep snow. The boot recommended for this application is larger and stiffer than the NNN or SNS system but is still lighter weight than a telemark boot. A 3-pin binding is the most popular for backcountry skis mostly because of increased torsional rigidity when you need to make the occasional turn on the way down. These skis are perfect for hut-to-hut trips or extended tours in the backcountry. If your trips to the mountains focus more on the way down than the tour, a telemark or AT setup with a set of climbing skins is the recommended way to go. If you're not sure where your journeys will take you, a 3-pin backcountry setup is a great way to sample a little bit of everything. To those who sit on the couch from November to April, winter is a long and dark time of the year. Skiing, no matter how you do it, is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and keep you active until the grass is green again. At Backcountry Experience we enjoy what every season offers and want you to do the same. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you out there this winter! |
Backcountry Ski Guide |