Telemark Ski Tips

These tips are sponsored by these national and international sponsors:  Infinity Ski Poles, Backcountry Access, Toko Ski Waxes,  Rossignol,  I thank them for their assistance.                   

If you have a ski technique that you would like help with then send me an email at     knicol@swgc.mun.ca  Also if you are a manufacturer/distributor of a product that nordic skiers might use then let me know.

My qualifications include: Level 4 CANSI Trail Instructor, Level 3 CANSI Telemark Instructor, Level 3 CSIA Alpine Instructor and Level 2 CAA ( Canadian Avalanche Assoc. Certification). At the present time I hold the highest overall CANSI certification in Canada. I have taught in the largest Masters Camp in Canada at Silver Star, B.C. and have helped thousands of skiers from beginner to expert improve their nordic skiing. As well I have been on 4 Canadian INTERSKI Nordic Skiing Demo Teams and run the Winter Outdoor Pursuits Programme at SWGC.  Check out the Links above to find CANSI's, INTERSKI's  and related WEB sites.

NOTE: The MPEG videos are fairly large, and are best viewed on computers on campus.  The MPEG video may appear to be choppy if watching from home. If you would like to watch the video on your home machine, try watching the WMV version.

A great way to learn the skill of angulation is to do airplane turns. Image that your arms are the wings and that they need to be parallel to the ground. The wide arm position helps with balance and this drill really helps you get your body weight over the outside ski. I learned this exercise at a Level 3 CANSI Telemark seminar at Sunshine Ski Resort last November and it is works very well. I get my whole class to pretend they are pilots and off we go. This drill works wonders for anyone wanting to quickly feel how angulation helps get the body weight over the outside ski.

Stance is crucial

For people just starting out with telemarking-learning the correct stance is key. Being comfortable with the tele stance and having it second nature is crucial to a smooth progression up the learning curve. The actual stance will depend abit on snow conditions but usually for hard pack most skiers will choose a stance similar to that shown here. For powder, many skiers adopt a lower stance, which produces  more fore and aft stability. It also helps to keep you arms forward and round your back slightly as shown in the photo.  No I am not wearing high heels--the gap you see are the G3 risers I have installed which allows you edge the skis more dramatically.

It often helps to be slightly open to the hill or 'anticipated' as instructors refer to this position. Anticipation means that you don't have to move your upper body so much in the turn since it is already slightly open to the new turn. To feel this, hold your poles as shown in the photo and at the end of each turn you should feel that you offering a tray of drinks to a table of customers just below you. Then rise up and as you make the next turn keep your upper body slightly open while holding your poles in the same position.

Javalin turns require good balance and confidence so don't try this unless you are an experienced telemarker. Javalin turns are a good drill to help promote good open or anticipated stance while balancing on the outside ski. Note that my arms are forward and that my inside ski is slightly angled across my lower (downhill ski). I need to angulate (the ')' shape from my feet to my head over the outside ski) to stay balanced. This drill forces you to be centred over your skis since you are balanced on one ski at at time. 

To advance your tele turn you need to roll both ankles downslope at the same time. In photo 1 you can see me setting up for a turn-I am just finishing a turn in a flexed position and now am getting ready to plant my pole. Note my head is looking to where I want to go. I then extend-stand tall- and flatten my edges at the same time to start my new turn-see photo 2. This simultaneous edge change is crucial to smooth telemarking and requires that you roll both ankles at the same time. I will next begin to slowly flex my legs into the telemark stance as I finish my turn. The rate of extension and flexion will vary with the turn radius-quick for short radius and slower for wide radius turns shown here.

Edging is one of the main skills that will improve your telemark technique-To practice edging find a smooth slope which is also quite steep. Drop into a tele stance and alternately edge your skis and then release your edges by flattening the ski. To edge your skis-simply roll your ankles and knees into the hill while staying balanced over the outside ski (as shown in the adjacent photo). By slowly flattening your ski you can do a controlled side slip. When ever you feel yourself going too fast then increase the edge angle and slow down. Keep your arms forward and out for balance. 

Edging Skills-Part 2 -

Edging skills can really be seen on days when the runs are groomed but not too soft. Simply start across the hill and try to leave 2 parallel tracks as are shown in the adjacent photo. Keep your arms forward for balance and simply ride the edges. With today's shaped skis this should leave a curved path across the snow. It helps to be aware of your edges and try to use them to carve your turns as much as possible. To maintain an edge you will find that you must stay balanced over both skis. 

Getting that 'angled' feeling               

Angulation is a key skill in tele skiing and helps you stay balanced over the outside ski. You can see a 'comma' shape in my body from my feet to my head and this is called angulation. It heaps us stay on top of our outside ski as we turn. Since with the tele turn we slide our rear ski back this tends to twist our hips and cause us to rotate up into the hill. So when we telemark we must fight this tendency and one good drill to try to reinforce this concept is to drag your poles-particularly the down hill pole as I am doing in this photo. This helps pull our body weight over the outside ski.

Hopping between turns helps with a variety of tele skills not the least of which is balance. When you try this for the first time use a small hop as you change edges but be sure to extend up through the centre of your foot. Too far back and you will land on your tails and off balance and too far forward may put you on your nose. Try it with long radius turns first and then with shorter radius turns. Speiss is one of the goals of the advanced skier and involves making short radius turns with a hop in between. It allows you to control your speed on the steeps and gives the quads a real workout.

Skiing Bumps                           

Skiing bumps is a challenge well worth trying for the advanced tele skier. It requires fast feel and and a confident, aggressive stance. It helps to keep the upper body facing down the hill as shown in adjacent image. Try turning on the crest of the mogul with a rapid lead change to get the pressure on to the new downhill ski as quickly as you can. A good way to practice the skills needed for bumps before you actually get into them is to be proficient at short radius turns initially. Once you can manage quick and snappy short radius turns then try small, widely spaced bumps- perhaps those at the edge of a trail. Then as your confidence increases move to steeper and larger moguls.

Short radius turns are the hallmark of a good tele skier. The key to snappy short radius turns is to have a quiet upper body and use lots of leg extension and flexion. It also is important to keep your hands forward and to plant your poles by your boots. A quiet upper body is important since you don't have much time with these turns--they come one after another so the less mass you have to move the better. So think active lower body and quiet upper body. A trick to aid with this is to pick a spot downhill and keep your eyes on it. This will keep your upper body facing down slope.

Powder is the ultimate snow for telemarking--the great fore and aft stability of the telemark stance really comes into its own. For first timers though - what looks easy often isn't. So here are a couple of tips-put even weight on your skis and try to keep your upper body as quiet as possible. Lean back slightly so that your tips float to the surface. Treat powder gently and you will be rewarded with nice clean tracks--but if you are abrupt or off centre--look out--the powder will bring you down. This shot was taken at Purcell Lodge--a great place to perfect your powder skiing.

On the face of it there is not much to planting your poles--but like many aspects of skiing it is the subtle things that count. For longer radius turns as shown in the attached photo I am getting ready to plant my pole near the front of my ski. My hands are already forward so all I need to do flick my basket forward to help set up the pole plant. So that everything is smooth I try to adjust the swing of my basket to the radius of the turn. Quicker for short radius turns and slower for longer radius turns. For short radius turns I plant my basket near my boot which also helps open up my body.

To advance your telemark turn you need to angulate the upper body particularly at the end of the turn. A good way to feel this ‘body shaper’ is to have someone try to pull you off balance while you resist being pulled down the hill. This will cause a "C" shape to form from your feet to your head and this gets your weight over the ski to help carve the turn . If you don’t angulate, your weight will move onto the uphill ski causing a loss of control.