Video Of The Week: Smooth Moves With John Olav

Well, officially our season doesn’t finish until May 28th, so we’re still excited to hit the slopes sometime this month for some spring shreddin’.

But for those of you sipping Sangria’s on the balcony while the BBQ is heating up, we have a little video from John Olav Folkestad Førland from Lillehammer , Norway.

His sponsors are Icelantic skis, Bern helmets, Knicken Telemarkwear and Out Of Goggles

As he states: “Im a student trying to ski as much as possible. enjoy my video!”

Telemark Race: progressing, developing and an opportunity for all.

It may be safe to say that most people are not familiar with competitive Telemark skiing, never mind as a World Cup sport. Although pushed to the side by larger ski disciplines such as Alpine and Freestyle, Telemark racing is facilitated by a passionate and dedicated group of people and has a relatively small but consistent and dedicated international following.

Telemark is in fact the original style of skiing and true to its Nordic routes; Telemark races include a gate section, a Nordic jump, and a skate skiing section. Telemark races are without a doubt a serious test of overall athletic strength and ability. Furthermore, Telemark races can be extremely fun to watch from the sidelines as racers fly off the jump, rip into the 360, and push as hard and fast as possible in the skating section.

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Telemark Tech System: A Unique Binding System

With alpine ski technology advancing and providing us with some very light binding packages, I can’t help but to feel a little jealousy on behalf of the telemark industry – but fear not, the telemark industry has been evolving as well (perhaps at a slower pace) and we are beginning to see new bindings appear on the market!

Courtesy of Telemark Tech System

In the world of new telemark technology, Wasatch Ski Distribution LLC is no exception and in this article we’d like to introduce you to their beta binding called the Telemark Tech System, developed by Mark Lengel of Wasatch Ski Distribution LLC…

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What Does It Take To Build Telemark Skis: From Christian Riedl’s Workshop

Courtesy of Christian Riedl

When it comes to objects that are meticulously hand crafted, it’s easy to see how much detail goes into every aspect of that product.  When it comes to hand crafted telemark skis, it’s even harder to treat the end product as a pair of skis, especially when you have them mounted on the wall for the envious.

In this article, our focus is on Christian Riedl (Dieskischmiede), and his beautiful handcrafted skis made in Austria.  What does it take to build a pair of telemark skis from scratch? Check it out..

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Interview with World Cup Ski Racer Jasmin Taylor

Courtesy of Jasmin Taylor

If you thought racing with a fixed binding was difficult, try it with telemark skis.  Passing gates and dropping knees at record time is something Jasmin Taylor is familiar with.

This season, we caught up with Jasmin, a British Telemark racer and trainer – she is the overall British female telemark champion.  Travelling the circuit, Jasmin has most recently picked up a bronze medal in Espot (Spain), and finished with an overal first place in the last French Cup of the season at  La Norma (southern France).  Very cool!

We asked Jasmin some questions about racing and her experience as an athlete…

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