What is freeheel or Telemark skiing?

Telemark skiing is a Nordic skiing technique that uses bindings that only attach at the toe, allowing the heel to lift. This creates the distinctive lunging turn that characterizes Telemark skiing. BASS has been teaching Telemark technique since the 1990s.

Is Telemark skiing still relevant today?

Telemark skiing remains popular among those seeking a challenging, elegant form of skiing that combines Nordic heritage with alpine performance. The techniques described in this guide form the foundation of modern Telemark instruction.

Archive article — British Alpine Ski School - BASS,English speaking ski schools

Freeheel Skiing 1

by Hugh Monney, BASS website 1999

Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20000709103552fw_/http://www.britishskischool.com/articlesf.htm

To see the white text against your white screen you’ll need to highlight the page - or just read the clear text here:

Fred has impeccable timing.

He knows exactly when to say `Do you fancy a beer?' and `Will you write an article for ESC News?' So it was that he chose a quiet moment, when I was emptying the snow from my shirt / goggles / hat / ear, to ask me if I would write an article about the similarities between Alpine and Free heel skiing.

He and I had spent a Spring morning on Telemark skis, on the magnificent open slopes of Ciste Mheared, Cairngorm. Fred had never before set leather boot to Rottafella Super Telemark binding, but within seconds he was performing elegant parallel turns, just as if he knew how to perform elegant parallel turns. Which, of course, is the point.

So, on with the article. I'd like to start by thanking Alan Jones for his interesting report on `Telemarking and ESC' on the Nordic pages of the Spring issue of ESC News. Naturally, he presented a Nordic perspective, but I would like encourage all of the Alpine Skiers out there by highlighting the similarities between their sport and Free heel skiing.I don't really want to start a debate about whether Telemarking is an Alpine or a Nordic discipline, largely because pigeons have a habit of flying out of pigeonholes; but I can say that the skills acquired by Alpine skiers transfer readily from fixed heel to free heel equipment, as illustrated by the account of Fred Foxon meets skinny skis.

So, just what can Alpine skiers expect from trying out Free heel skiing? Firstly, every technique that you have mastered on Alpine skis can be used on Free heel equipment. Parallel turns, Short swings, compression turns, skating step turns, they're all there to be used. Just stay in balance. Which is the other point.

Modern Alpine equipment (heel bindings, stiff boots, etc.) has not really been designed to make skiing `more precise' or to offer `better edge holding', or whatever else you read in the equipment brochures. Modern Alpine equipment has been designed to `let you stand up, even if you're not really in balance' and `give you better grip, even if you can't feel your feet'. To a certain extent Alpine equipment can frustrate the development of sensitive, accurate performance. Clumsy, inaccurate performances can be rewarded by a certain degree of success.

Free heel equipment, on the other hand, offers skiers a beautifully simple and honest Intrinsic Feedback Loop: which is to say, when you Get It Right, it feels great and you smile a lot; when It All Goes Horribly Wrong, you eat snow. Fortunately, human beings are very effective at responding to this form of feedback and progress is rapid, Alpine skiers can DRAMATICALLY improve the quality of their Alpine skiing by making parallel turns on Free heel equipment.

The transfer of skill works in both directions. Because you are an Alpine skier, you will be able to ski on the Free heel equipment from the word go (easy terrain to start with, of course). Because you spend some time on the skinny skis, and are obliged to FEEL for centre, grip etc., you develop more sensitivity and accuracy, which transfers immediately to the Alpine equipment.

So, when you try Free heel skiing, all of your existing manoeuvres will be available to you, PLUS a whole heap of Telemark related moves as well. This results in a Truly Awesome form of skiing which extends the versatility of your performance almost beyond the bounds of reason. You might even be tempted to slip on some skins to get access to remote off piste. No problem with light equipment and Free heels.

Powder fields, mogul slopes, couloirs, pistes, ice; no worries! Well, ok, maybe a few worries on the ice, but that's always been the case, so no change there.

When it comes to learning the Telemarking techniques, Alpine skiers will find that they are on surprisingly familiar ground. Dynamic Balance, Pressing, Edging and Turning, central and peripheral momentum, curved trajectories, changing edges, perceptual and emotional development, and so on.

All very familiar stuff. But more of that in a later article. For the time being, consider the possibilities of an alternative to your heavy, awkward skis and stiff clumsy boots. Try Freeheel skiing and discover what James Brown meant when he said `Get Down!'