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PeteC
climber
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Oct 29, 2013 - 12:41am PT
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Telemarktips is closed for the same reason that telemark equipment sales have fallen off dramatically in recent years. In the late nineties telemark gear was superior to alpine gear in lightness and comfort-- there was much alpi-marking done by people who just liked the hike-ability of tele gear. Recent advances in tech bindings and AT gear have made it clearly a more powerful option-- boots that climb technical ice, weigh 1/4 the weight and ski well. In the last few years there has been a mass migration (including myself) from tele to rando gear because it's clearly superior for the gnar. This is not an arguable point. Neither snowboards or tele are as practical/fast/safe/bombproof. Yes, the tele turn "feels awesome" and that alone is a good reason to ski that way, but the gear is inferior for the big mountains, and the bar much lower for performance. Ironically I think that telemark is now best suited for the resorts and AT for the BC. Who would have thought...
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i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
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Oct 29, 2013 - 12:51am PT
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rando does have a very slight advantage in skiing the gnar but really negligible, and i'm not sure what you're talking about in regards to snowboarding. the top level snowboarders do all the same sh#t that the top level skiers do, and as efficiently. setting up a splitboard no longer requires anything but splitting the board with the addition of dynafit toe pieces between the bindings
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Oct 29, 2013 - 12:54am PT
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Ironically I think that telemark is now best suited for the resorts and AT for the BC. Who would have thought...
That is a very interesting thought, going to think about that for awhile....ummmmm
Susan
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:04am PT
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I used to laugh at high performance tele gear.. it was like they were just reinventing heavy alpine gear and basically locking down the heal in a pinch with stiff springs. There is a reason a tele skier has never won a world cup slalom. Never even been attempted... lol .. it would be rediculous.
Now Alpine gear is as light.
Never has a Tele skier been better on Tele gear than he is on alpine gear. Like I said it's akin to using sandals (I mean like Tevas or flip flops)for rock climbing. Sure some folks can do it superbly but they still do better in rock shoes.
Powder snow is not a good medium for comparing perfomance of equipment.
Like I said the only place snowboards excel is if they are not in contact with snow.
None of this matters much.. do what you like.. but them r fax
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aguacaliente
climber
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:05am PT
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I liked telemarktips. Even if you didn't telemark, if you were interested in BC or XC ski touring there was a lot of useful information. I enjoy TGR for what it is, but the attitude farm is not for everyone, and the skiers there shred much harder than I do. Lightweight or XC skiing was more at home on teletips.
telemarktips didn't die because telemarking is stupid (or dead), it became rancid, in my opinion, because the forum owner was absent/unable to approve new members, and so it turned into a small number of people rehearsing old forum grudges. Imagine Supertopo with only the people who like to flame each other onboard. This is in no way a complaint on Mitch, who ran ttips for many years out of nothing more than his own generosity towards its community of users, I think.
Hopefully once the snow season is underway people will start to make Dostie's forum at earnyourturns.com into a worthy replacement.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:09am PT
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Is Dostie still in Truckee?? We once long ago fairly seriously bantered about trying to ski the Wickersham together.
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i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:13am PT
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I used to laugh at high performance tele gear.. it was like they were just reinventing heavy alpine gear and basically locking down the heal in a pinch with stiff springs. There is a reason a tele skier has never won a world cup slalom. Never even been attempted... lol .. it would be rediculous.
Now Alpine gear is as light.
Never has a Tele skier been better on Tele gear than he is on alpine gear. Like I said it's akin to using sandals (I mean like Tevas or flip flops)for rock climbing. Sure some folks can do it superbly but they still do better in rock shoes.
Powder snow is not a good medium for comparing perfomance of equipment.
Like I said the only place snowboards excel is if they are not in contact with snow.
None of this matters much.. do what you like.. but them r fax Nor has has a world cup slalom ever been won on randonee gear, or fat skis.
Powder snow is the ONLY place to compare equipment designed for powder snow.
None of the forums discussed here are for racing or carving technique, that would be epicski, now owned by Vail.
And your comments about snowboards and snow are ludicrous.
Them are the facts.
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bergbryce
Trad climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:17am PT
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Dostie, yes. We are in touch. He might even chime in on this thread.
Agua nailed it. T-tips died due to lack of moderation/management. New users couldn't get in and users who needed to be shown the door never were.
I don't understand why the torch was never passed as there were literally dozens of site users willing to take over the day to day running of the site, which is what it really needed.
While there have been drastic changes in the performance of AT gear (I have a dynafit setup myself) I don't think lack of interest in telemark skiing is why that site died. There is no shortage of people out there who are well aware of the primary problem with any AT setup, that you cannot make a telemark turn with it, still exists.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:18am PT
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Let me try another angle.
Give me one example performance wise that telemark or snowboard gear is superior in performance to alpine gear.
I can give you one for each.
But neither involve actual contact with snow.
I can make very sweet telemark turns on Randone gear :)It's a fun party trick
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:22am PT
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but don't boot my nice skin track.
That's why I carry two ice axes.
One for walking up couloirs.
One for hitting snowboarders.
Never has a Tele skier been better on Tele gear than he is on alpine gear. Uh... I can't even ski a groomed black diamond slope on alpine gear, but I've dropped the Mountaineer's Route couloir on skinny skis and 3-pins.
In the last few years there has been a mass migration (including myself) from tele to rando gear because it's clearly superior for the gnar. Here's a great video about AT vs. Tele that was filmed at my old stomping grounds:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:22am PT
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NO!!!! IT'S WAR I TELL YA!!!!!
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i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:23am PT
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I never said it was superior. In fact I said terms of performance telie gear is slightly below that of alpine. If you define performance as ability to allow the user to have fun on snow, they are all equal. In terms of riding performance in pow, i would give snowboards a slight edge. The firmer it gets, the more an alpine set up has an advantage. if you look at high level mountaineering, the top level snowboarders and skiers are on very comparable terms
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:28am PT
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Snowboards cannot equal the performance of alpine gear in powder at top speeds or bottom speeds..are approximately equal in the mid range.
If the measurement of fun is the stick.. hell a sled will do ya
The only place tele and snowboards excell is in the air. tele=distance snowboard= maneuverability.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:37am PT
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Snowboards cannot equal the performance of alpine gear in powder at top speeds or bottom speeds..are approximately equal in the mid range.
If the measurement of fun is the stick.. hell a sled will do ya
The only place tele and snowboards excell is in the air. tele=distance snowboard= maneuverability.
This is of course based on YOUR aptitudes... eh?
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:44am PT
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Nope.. I never was particularly exceptional skillwise.. say 5.13 in a 5.14 world. Truly gifted athletes were a solid notch above me. Regardless of platform
Just a serious student of performance though.
Do you know why the top speed on a snowboard is so slow compared to alpine or telemark? Hint assymetric wind drag
Why is a snowboard less versatile in powder?.. hint surface area is constant.
Why is a telemark setup less maneuverable? Hint forward support.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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Oct 29, 2013 - 06:36am PT
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Who cares how fast,how cool,how rad,it is about getting after it.All of it.
Like Ekat said it is about having fun.
"I will leave no turn unstoned"
slr,we gotta get out some time!
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Oct 29, 2013 - 08:24am PT
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You guys and gals crack me up, love the banter of the season.......it's all good when winter returns to your range of choice and provides us with a magic carpet. Winter is renewel and a time that gives the mountains a rest and a good cleansing, it can transform and overused landscape back toward wilderness, I love it all.
So in the interest of good fun and banter, what did the AT skier say to the Tele-skier on top of the mountain? "See you at the bottom hippy!" Enjoy the season everyone, let's hope it's a big and safe one for us all.
Berg Heil,
Charlie D.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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Oct 29, 2013 - 08:32am PT
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Nice CharlieD.
What did the tele skier say to the AT skier in the BC," Stay calm,the ambulance will be here shortly". HA HA HA .
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Oct 29, 2013 - 08:35am PT
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^^^ now that's funny wilbeer!!!!!!
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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Oct 29, 2013 - 08:47am PT
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All in good fun,Charlie.
Hope you like those new boards,just took some new ones out of the press,100mm underfoot.I will post up soon.
Berg Heil,indeed.
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