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 what the hell do you make of the mess of gear options? Here's a quick and dirty on picking up telemark.

There's telemark gear for everyone - a smattering of downhill-oriented options

There can seem to exist a sort of invisible wall surrounding free-heel skiing to the tele-curious. The genuflecting turn has long existed in the realm of the esoteric in this country - it is to take the path less traveled. And there is a certain allure in that. But information on The Turn can thus be scant. And oft panned, many may have only come across the telemark when hearing jokes and reading articles aimed at stirring the pot.

But the grace and finesse of a well-executed free-heel turn will always turn heads. All of us who converted remember seeing that perfect mixture of grit and skill in another that inspired us; we can recall witnessing the act of telemark skiing and saying I want to do that. Having found yourself here, I trust you feel the same way.

While the leap from interest-in to execution-of the telemark turn can take many paths, it doesn't need to be a fraught process undertaken in complete solitude (though some will indubitably take place). In the spirit of the changing seasons, here's the quick and dirty on picking up your first telemark setup.

Telemark at first can seem awash in binding norms. Hundred-year-old technology meets recent modernizations with a refocus on both downhill prowess and touring. All the while a subset of telemark has remained devoted to the Nordic roots of the sport. Though incompatibility reigns, winding one's way through the gear is not terribly complicated, and having just a little foresight on what you want out of telemark can be helpful when choosing your path.

Let's jump in for those looking for an aggressive, downhill-oriented telemark experience, whether at the resort or in the backcountry. While this skiing is still in the Nordic vein, the modern gear borrows much from alpine technology, and its backcountry experience relies not on a cross-country kick-and-glide for locomotion but on alpine-touring style skins with free-pivot movement. Downhill, the gear is designed for hard skiing.

This world is marked by taller plastic boots, bindings designed as much for the descent as for touring (or even completely for downhill skiing), and robust planks also used by alpine skiers. This gear shines on steeper descents and challenging conditions that might demand stouter gear or when the skier is looking for the higher cadence of lapping the resort.

This subset of telemark focuses on two separate and incompatible binding platforms - 75mm (or the Nordic norm), with its duckbill boots, big metal toe cage bindings, and springed cable attachment at the back of the heel; what most think of when they imagine telemark gear - and NTN - the 'new telemark norm,' designed as 75mm's replacement, where a free-heel, underfoot platform attaches underfoot to boots now without the classic duckbill.

If you're new to telemark you may not have noticed the quiet battle that has reigned over the last 15-some years since NTN emerged. NTN's initially rushed unveiling left many bugs in the first bindings on the platform. And the norm's stronger resistance and different sensation left many a soft boot and floppy binding lover unmoved - or even staunchly opposed - to the new paradigm. Throw in the slow but sure discontinuation of most 75mm gear, and will find many a downhill telemark skier with deep opinions on which norm is best.

Regardless, there is great gear on both platforms. And tradeoffs undoubtedly exist for the newcomer when choosing one over the other: namely that 75mm gear is simple, cheaper, and widely available second-hand (and still very much available new) but lacks the modern attributes that NTN gear offers.

Two well-loved, beefy telemark boots (and a shovel quietly awaiting winter) - the Crispi EVO WC at left, a stout NTN option (complete with tech fittings for two-pin bindings) and the Scarpa T-Race, a classic, big, no-longer-available-new 75mm boot.

Binding norms both new and old: at left the Meidjo from InWild, a new-age telemark trap with an NTN connection and Dynafit-style tech toe for efficient touring. Right we have the 22 Designs Axl, a robust (and still available ) 75mm binding. While their engineering is quite different, both provide great free-heel functionality.

A classic adage in downhill telemark has long been to start by getting on crummy gear that doesn't give much support so you can find your balance early and achieve solid technique without leaning on high-resistance gear. This was the prevailing thought when 75mm gear reigned - the ascendance of NTN has muddied this outlook somewhat but that doesn't mean that the legacy gear and the vast amounts of it that can be found used is useless - or even unworthy of being the gear of first choice for the newcomer.

In fact some feel that embracing the extra handicap when learning is still prudent in this era of modern telemark gear. Craig Dostie, who founded Couloir Magazine before taking to the web and creating eminent backcountry skiing blog EarnYourTurns , has long pushed that advice, and says, "I guess I'm sticking to it. I still think there is value in getting soft, wimpy gear to learn how to telemark." Dostie elaborates: "Because that soft, floppy gear is not so reliable, you are constantly having to react to forces that are putting you off balance so you have to develop this agility to maintain that balance." Not only is 75mm equipment available on the cheap and in numbers at many a second-hand store, its softer, less resistive nature could pay technique dividends down the road.

Josh Madsen, owner of telemark-specific ski shop Freeheel Life, takes a slightly different angle on which norm to start on: "people get really hung-up on this idea that it's 75mm versus NTN and it's literally the way you fasten a boot to a ski in order for you to achieve a downhill Nordic technique," he says. "We're changing the way we're attaching the boot to the ski, that's it. It's as simple as that."

What gear does Madsen suggest for the telemark newcomer? "You should start on whatever you can start on."

A classic second-hand 75mm telemark ski - circa 2001 K2 World Piste with G3 Targa bindings. Skis like these can be found on the cheap at second hand stores. Paired with a used 75mm boot, you may find yourself forking over only a few Benjamin's for a telemark setup - one that will be all you need as a tele novice.

The bottom line is that NTN bindings offer the skier attributes that 75mm bindings simply do not. Things like step-in functionality, tech-toe touring, and releasability are all a reality on NTN bindings. And though the argument amongst the faithful remains whether NTN can offer the same sweet flex as 75mm gear, what's less arguable is the fact that NTN transmits energy to the edge more efficiently, allowing for stronger edge control when skiing, especially in challenging snow.

This new technology is more expensive though, and doesn't have the same robust second-hand market that 75mm gear enjoys, a point in the court of the duckbill when it comes to newcomer accessibility. And the new telemark skier may not need all that comes with NTN - and may benefit from the slightly added challenge that comes with a less rigid setup.

One last binding paradigm is worthy of mention - the TTS, or telemark tech system, first brought to life by Mark Lengel nearly 15 years ago. This system pairs a two pin tech toe with the cable/cartridge system of 75mm bindings - a marriage of the telemark sensation of old with new age touring capabilities. This system has long resided in the realm of the DIY crowd, but Voile is set to release their TTS Transit binding this fall - the first truly turnkey option on the platform; something to keep an eye on going forward.

75mm gear to look for new:

• Boots: Scarpa T2s

• Bindings: 22 Designs Axl

• Skis: The softer side of things - like a Voile V6, Blizzard Rustler 9

75mm gear to look for secondhand:

• Boots: Scarpa T1s (stiffer) and T2s (softer)

• Bindings: Rainey Designs/22 Designs Hammerhead or Axl and G3 Targa

• Skis: Circa 2000-2010 K2s,

NTN Gear:

• Boots: Scarpa Tx or Tx Pro, Crispi EVO WC

• Bindings: Resort - 22 Designs Outlaw X - Backcountry - InWild's Meidjo

There is another realm of the telemark universe, one that holds the older free-heel ethos and gear closer to heart, and is more closely related to Nordic skiing. This style often gets overlooked all the more by the masses, but is absolutely a valid way to ski: Cross Country Downhill - or XCD. Though this method of free-heel skiing is often for those looking for a more overland-oriented experience where the tour is at least as much of a priority as the downhill - in the right hands, the gear can ski marvelously.

In his seminal 1978 treatise on the sport, Cross-Country Downhill and Other Nordic Mountain Skiing Techniques, Steve Barnett introduced the technique as such:

The dream of the wilderness skier is to cover ground as quickly and rapidly as the Nordic racer and still have the capability of skiing downhill as powerfully as the Alpine skier. He wishes to ski the long river valleys and steep chutes, huge glacier and powder-covered forest slopes, long access roads and wide-open bowls.

This marks the ethos of cross-country downhill skiing - essentially the form telemark took during its countercultural reawakening in 1970s America. Though the gear has improved since then, XCD remains a skiing strategy focusing on an unhindered access to open spaces and a seamless transition from touring to downhill skiing.

The gear is epitomized by smaller, softer, often leather boots; classic three-pin Nordic bindings (often without a cable - though new Nordic norm bindings are often used as well); and skinnier skis with fish-scales and more camber for useful kick-and-glide while trapsing through the woods.

This method of skiing goes by many names - rugged touring, yo-yo skiing, and meadow skipping are but a few. But what all these distinctions have in common is they describe free-heel, backcountry skiing on cross-country gear where descending in the telemark style is at least somewhat emphasized.

XCD gear in all its glory:

The whole kit

Simple, stout, 3-pin

No skins needed

Do these skis and boots look skinny and old-school?? They are. But their size and fish-scale base (right) cruise the woods better than anything. While this isn't the first choice for a couloir ski, don't be fooled by the prevailing wisdom (marketing) in skiing. If you can bring it on steeper slopes with decent snow, XCD setups will, too.

Tom Murrell - who posts multitudes of XCD-oriented videos on his YouTube channel - is one of the best resources for content on the sub-sport. Analyzing the rationale folks might have for picking up an XCD setup over a more downhill-oriented telemark rig, Murrell points out, "If you are a cross country skier, then XCD skiing is just an extension of the type of skiing you already know. The XC (cross-country) gear they already own might work just fine for rolling terrain in good snow conditions. If they plan on doing a lot of off trail skiing and want to ski more moderate terrain, then I think a second set of XCD specific gear would be warranted."

Regarding the decision point between the disciplines, Murrell continues: "on the other hand, if one has spent most of their life skiing at lift served alpine resorts and has never been inclined to try cross country skiing, then I would strongly suggest that they rent some XC gear and if possible, tag along with some other XC skiers for an off trail adventure. They will either come back energized and excited to learn some new skills or they will discard the notion of XCD."

XCD skiing has had its own recent gear schism - between legacy traps like 75mm-based 3 pin / new Nordic norm bindings, and the new two pin-style norm from Rottefella called Xplore.

Xplore is an entirely new binding platform, one that uses a two-pin, almost Dynafit-style toe to attach boot to ski - only instead of the robust pincers of a downhill style tech-toe, the smaller pins on the Xplore system are located on the boots themselves, allowing for an ultra-light setup with frictionless touring. For the downhill, bumpers are affixed ahead of the toe, giving necessary resistance as the skier flexes into a telemark turn.

Marketing collateral of the Rottefella Xplore binding and what a boot sole on the system comprises of. Note the resistance-generating grey bumper in-between the pin arms of the binding, necessary for making telemark turns while descending.

Manufactures have jumped into Xplore, with boot offerings coming from many companies, included Crispi, Alpina, Alfa, and Rossignol - no small feat in telemark, no matter the discipline.

Xplore has quickly gained followers, including Murrell, who states: "I skied 3 pins and leathers for many decades, but I currently have 4 skis / 2 boot Xplore options in my quiver." While Xplore offers a counterpoint to the old vanguard of XCD options, Murrell sees this as an augmentation instead of a replacement of 3 pin bindings, saying, "the Xplore system is very different in feel and performance from those [3 pin] setups. What one considers better or worse performance when comparing these two systems is highly subjective and skillset dependent. I think that 3 pin will live on for a long time."

While XCD may not offer the same level of radicalness and marketing appeal as more mainstream gear options, great skiing is possible, especially with plastic boots, like the Scarpa T4 (which is also capable of driving a decent-sized downhill-oriented 75mm telemark rig as well). Just check out the skiing from Gus Gusterfson's YouTube Channel. XCD gear offers a simplified ski experience where a strong user's ability can truly shine.

Gus showing that you can indeed shred on XCD

Gear to check out:

• Bindings: Rottefella Xplore, Voile 3-Pin, NNN-BC options

• Skis: Madshus Panorama M68 & M78, Fisher S-Bound 98

• Boots: Scarpa T4s (3-pin), Alpina BC 1600 (NNN-BC)

XCD skiing is for those looking for open, quiet spaces, and an efficient way to enjoy moderate terrain - or more advanced slopes if you dare and your skills are up to the task. Tom Murrell ruminates on, saying, "XCD gear is a joy on the approach and for skiing in the flats and on moderate downhill terrain. You can have lots of fun skiing XCD without putting oneself on dangerous slopes."

Simply put, telemark - with its heady mix of grit, finesse, and mindfulness - is a joy. Find your own path, try and get a lesson, and, more than anything, go with folks who can show you the ropes. Telemark is a welcoming bunch and the turn can be undertaken in so many ways: with or without ski area access; on the cutting-edge with modern gear, or stripped down, on simple, light equipment that enables the user to explore their surroundings in the original telemark fashion.

Go out, find some gear that will set you on the direction that interests you, but change course if you desire - there exists such nuance in the different forms of telemark that they all deserve a try. More than anything, just find some gear that will let you make free-heel, downhill ski turns. Once you link them - once you feel the dynamic excitement that is telemark skiing - you may never look back.