The Telemark ski is a form of skiing in which the heel is not attached to the ski binding. To perform a turn, the skier drops the knee and lifts the heel of his downhill ski, sliding it backwards while the downhill ski remains in a forward position, allowing him to turn.

Telemark skiers are drawn to this form of skiing as it offers exceptional training and is elegant and artistic. Compared to fixed heel alpine skiing, telemark skiing offers many more dimensions to the physics of ski turning, offering the skier a potentially deeper and perhaps more inspiring experience on the mountain. An analogy of telemark skiing to traditional downhill alpine skiing could be to drive an automatic car to a standard gearshift vehicle, as standard driving gives the driver more dynamics to control the vehicle.

The Telemark ski is said to have been invented by the Norwegian Sondre Norheim (1825-1897) in Morgedal, which is located in the Telemark region of Norway. In reality, according to archeology, skiing has been practiced throughout Scandinavia and northern Russia for over 4,000 years on wooden skis for transportation, work, hunting, and military purposes. However, Norheim was credited with developing and introducing a revolutionary union that included a strap around the heel in addition to a single toe. Norheim was known for his graceful dance-style skiing techniques, ski jumping, and fun-loving personality.

Telemark, also called Nordic and Freewheel skiing, remained mainstream throughout the 1920s, with freewheel ski jumping and Nordic combined being the two skiing events at the first Winter Olympics in 1924. While telemark skiing was suitable for rolling hills and flatter terrain in Norway, -heel, or alpine skiing was introduced in the 1930s in the European Alps, as alpine skiing was more suitable for slopes. steepest in that region. Over time, alpine skiing became mainstream skiing as Austria and Switzerland developed the first alpine ski resorts after WWII and Telemark skiing faded over the next few decades.

However, beginning in the 1970s in the United States there was a resurgence in telemark skiing when ski patrol workers in Crested Butte, Colorado found it easier to use lighter freewheel skis for climbing. and go down the mountain to perform avalanche control operations. This soon led to a resurgence of freewheel skiing that swept across the United States, particularly northern Vermont, and into Europe. Throughout the 1980s, Telemark skiers wore leather boots and long straight-edged skis, making turning difficult. However, in recent years freewheel skiing has become much easier on the body thanks to the development of plastic boots and shorter parabolic skis. Today, free-heeled skiers can be seen in most ski resorts “dancing” down the mountain and even performing tricks in terrain parks. Telemark skiing has become popular to the point that it almost has a cult following and thousands of skiers now try it for the first time every year.

Try telemark skiing and discover how fun and rewarding it can be for you.