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Why I Tele
A Brown Guy Perspective Editor's note: The plural in Telemark Voices at long last becomes apt - I am honored to have my first outside...
Rajkeshwar Tulsie
May 20, 20245 min read
452 views
3 comments


The Convergence - Telemark’s Fitful if Symbiotic Journey Toward Alpine
In the midst of the 2016/2017 ski season – one which saw massive snows in the Sierra and New England and gave much of the West a...
Jack O'Brien
Feb 14, 20248 min read
738 views
1 comment


The Codger
It was another quiet night in a once lively restaurant during a less than exceptionall time in my life. I was bussing tables at an...
Jack O'Brien
Jan 10, 20244 min read
71 views
0 comments


The Toil That is the Backcountry
We didn’t really have a great plan – at least that’s how I felt. My backcountry partner wanted to ski a certain line that I was sure...
Jack O'Brien
Dec 18, 20237 min read
149 views
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75mm Resurrected?
Rumors of 75mm’s death may have been exaggerated as Scarpa’s leaked 2024/25 catalog now shows a curious thing – more 75mm models than...
Jack O'Brien
Dec 7, 20235 min read
2,168 views
3 comments


Does a Telemark Culture Actually Exist?
Does this lowly band of free-heelers constitute a subculture? Photo credit Noah Wetzel, courtesy Big Agnes Ask anyone about telemark...
Jack O'Brien
Nov 9, 20234 min read
1,374 views
1 comment


Do You Need To Hoard a Telemark Boot Quiver? Part II: Compatibility Blues
To take part in the breadth of free-heel skiing may now forever require a collection of boots, but telemark innovators have in mind...
Jack O'Brien
Oct 27, 20238 min read
872 views
1 comment


Do You Need to Hoard a Telemark Boot Quiver? Part I: Work-Arounds and the Waiting Game
Vintage, bellowed F1s and F3s? The New Scarpa Boot? The death of 75mm?? One boot will never be able to do it all. So is it time for...
Jack O'Brien
Oct 25, 20237 min read
913 views
0 comments


An Ode To The Telemark Instructor
Sitting on the floor of my parent’s old house in Steamboat Springs, I helped distribute gifts to my sister, mother, and father while...
Jack O'Brien
Oct 14, 20235 min read
293 views
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It's 2023. What Telemark Gear Should You Start On?
So you want to try telemark. Check. And you have a little cash to burn. Great. But the dudes in the local ski shop don't know tele, and...
Jack O'Brien
Oct 7, 202310 min read
2,986 views
4 comments


Who's Behind The Outdoor Web Content You're Reading?
Conglomerate takeovers. Unwavering adherence to SEO strategies. And the ascendence of affiliate-link revenue models. A new ambiguity...
Jack O'Brien
Sep 30, 202317 min read
155 views
0 comments


Howelsen Hill – A Short History of a Little Telemark Oasis
I was scared. Standing at the base of Howelsen Hill, having just stepped into my pin bindings affixed to my skinny XCD skis, I felt...
Jack O'Brien
Sep 18, 20235 min read
222 views
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Telemark and the Machine
What's the route forward for free-heel skiing? A misty , aborted morning on Klickitat Another fall is upon the Northern Hemisphere, and...
Jack O'Brien
Aug 31, 20236 min read
84 views
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One Man Saved Telemark
Telemark stands where it does now in large part because of one man’s blog. Meet Craig Dostie and his humble website, EarnYourTurns.
Jack O'Brien
Aug 22, 202313 min read
1,130 views
0 comments


Fatherhood, Unexpected Discoveries, and an Ode to the Biggest Winter
The ski season had weeks ago ended, but the five-hundred-foot hill in town still held ample snow . It had been the winter of the ages;...
Jack O'Brien
Aug 10, 20234 min read
220 views
0 comments


What Does Telemark Need Next? Part II: The Great Free-Heel Knowledge Gap
A coming new gear paradigm gives reason to think that telemark could be well positioned for the future. But is it - and telemark as a...
Jack O'Brien
Jul 27, 202311 min read
514 views
2 comments


Don't Be Fooled By The New Powder Magazine
To be honest, I never loved Powder Magazine. I imagine that comment might trigger defensive reactions in many a skier. How could someone...
Jack O'Brien
Jun 15, 20237 min read
24 views
0 comments


Enough About Telemark
From the haters to the zealots, the discussion on telemark is rife with ineloquence. Let’s elevate the conversation or give it a rest....
Jack O'Brien
May 10, 20235 min read
77 views
0 comments


Reflections on a Year of Writing
Amazingly, a year has gone by since I started writing with any seriousness. And though I haven’t made much of a mark, it has surely been...
Jack O'Brien
Apr 13, 20234 min read
14 views
0 comments


A Short History of the Modern World (of Telemark Skiing)
Every so often , everything can come togethe r, and, for a moment, something stands in the limelight, enjoying a fleeting instant as part...
Jack O'Brien
Mar 29, 202310 min read
62 views
0 comments
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