Telemark skiing is a

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

technique that combines elements of

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is named after the

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

region of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, where the discipline originated.

Sondre Norheim Sondre Norheim, born Sondre Auverson, (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) was a Norwegian skier and pioneer of modern skiing. Sondre Norheim is known as the father of Telemark skiing. Background Sondre Auverson was born at Øverbø, a little ...

is often credited for first demonstrating the turn in ski races, which included cross country, slalom, and jumping, in Norway around 1868. Sondre Norheim also experimented with ski and binding design, introducing side cuts to skis and heel bindings (like a cable).

History of Telemark skiing

19th and 20th centuries

In the 1800s, skiers in

challenged each other on "wild slopes" (ville låmir); more gentle slopes were described by the adjective "sla." Some races were on "bumpy courses" (kneikelåm) and sometimes included "steep jumps" (sprøytehopp) for difficulty. These 19th-century races in Telemark ran along particularly difficult trails usually from a steep mountain, along timber-slides and ended with a sharp turn ("Telemark turn") on a field or icy lake. Telemark skiing (colloquially referred to as "tele skiing" or "tele-ing") was reborn in 1971 in the United States. Doug Buzzell, Craig Hall, Greg Dalbey, Jack Marcial, and Rick Borcovec are credited with reintroducing the style after reading the book ''Come Ski With Me'' by

Stein Eriksen Stein Eriksen (11 December 1927 – 27 December 2015) was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Norway. Following his racing career, he was a ski school director and ambassador at various resorts in the United States. Background ...

. Telemark skiing gained popularity during the 1970s and 1980s.

Telemark skiing today

The appeal of Telemark skiing lies in access: long pieces of synthetic fabric, known as skins, can be attached to the bottom of the skis to allow travel uphill in the

backcountry In the United States, a backcountry or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access. Terminology Backcountry and wilderness within United States national parks The National Park Service (NPS) ...

. With the invention of light-weight

alpine touring Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the u ...

(A.T.) skis, however, telemark skiing has decreased in popularity in the backcountry. Telemark skiing uses a specialized type of equipment. Generally, Telemark skiers use flexible Alpine skis with specially designed bindings that fix only the toe of the

ski boot Ski boots are footwear used in skiing to provide a way to attach the skier to skis using ski bindings. The ski/boot/binding combination is used to effectively transmit control inputs from the skier's legs to the snow. History Ski boots were lea ...

to the ski, thereby creating the "free heel". Oftentimes the heel is attached to the front of the binding by a hinged cable, which holds the ski boot firmly in the binding. These bindings are often non-releasable.

Releasable Telemark bindings

Rottefella Rottefella is a Norwegian manufacturing company of winter sports equipment, more specifically ski bindings. The name "Rottefella" refers to the three-pin binding invented by Bror With in 1927, inspired on a couple of rat traps he had seen in a h ...

created releasable telemark bindings and called them NTN. NTN is an acronym for "New Telemark Norm". The NTN binding is considered by many as a revolution in telemark bindings providing: 1. Superior edge control for the skier.
2. Improved safety with a sideways release system and optional associated ski brake.
3. Ease of manual binding release when inverted (i.e. in a tree-well) compared to conventional, heel-release systems, enhancing self-rescue in potentially life-threatening situations. NTN Telemark Bindings

Telemark racing

Originally made popular as a mode of backcountry transportation, Telemark skiing is now a World Cup sport focused on

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

. At its core, the Telemark discipline combines elements of Alpine racing, Nordic skate skiing, and

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

. World Cup Telemark is offered in a number of race formats, including Classic, Sprint Classic, and Parallel Sprint. A typical Classic Telemark race involves a jump that must be landed in a lunged position, a series of gates, a skate section, and a 360 degree banking turn known as the reipeløkke. Telemark Racing was governed by the ''International Telemark Federation'' (ITF) until 1995, when Telemark skiing was officially recognized by the ''Federation International de Ski Telemark committee'' (FIS). The first FIS Telemark World Championships were held at Hafjell, in Lillehammer, Norway. Today, Telemark Racing is organized by FIS and by national sport committees such as the United States Telemark Ski Association, and the British Telemark Ski Team.

Olympic bid

The FIS Telemark Committee have announced that their proposal for Telemark Parallel Sprint and Team Parallel Sprint is to be included in a FIS proposal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The proposal was approved by the International Ski Federation (FIS) at the Congress held in Costa Navarino (Greece) May 2018. However, in a July ruling, the IOC voted not to include the Telemark Parallel Sprint in the 2022 Beijing Games.

References

{{Authority control Cross-country skiing Nordic skiing Sports originating in Norway Snow sports