Telemark Skiing

The other day, I was watching a particularly agile telemark skier ballet down a narrow double black chute. The ease with which he was making speed controlling tele turns on such steep terrain made me want to learn more about the art of telemark skiing.

While you see more and more skiers on telemark gear each year, it is still a specialty fringe of downhill skiing and tele skiers are a culture bound, tight knit group. I wanted to find the best person to explain the why and how of telemark to a novice, so I asked the tele skiers who to talk to. I was unanimously pointed to one of the Deans of Eastern free heel skiing, Peter Kavouksorian.

Peter K. has been free heel skiing for close to forty years and, with his wife JoAnn, has run the Rutland, Vermont based Mountain Travelers Free Heel Ski and Hike Shop since 1976. The business was started as a basic cross country skiing shop until Peter got the urge to take the skinny cross country skies uphill, after which he it was only a matter of following the industry’s evolution to the telemark ski. Here's what you need to know about telemark skiing. And take a look at our photo gallery, which includes telemark skiers, boots, skis, and bindings.

Photos © Mountain Travelers