Telemark racing isn’t about old-school soft leather boots and three-pin bindings anymore.
The gear’s lighter and sturdier. There are still giant slalom gates, but there’s also a jump — a 360 degree banked turn called a reipelykkje — and cross-country style sprints.
There is now a Telemark freeskiing discipline, too.
“There is more of an adventure race type of mentality to competitive telemark,” says United States Telemark Ski Association (USTSA) President Garrett Long. “You take the gates of an alpine course and throw in the adrenaline of jumps and the endurance of cross-country.”
The non-profit USTSA is the governing body of the U.S. Telemark Ski Team and Telemark Freeskiing. It oversees several New England races, including the Minus33 Eastern Telemark Series sprint classic last Sunday at Wildcat Mountain Ski Area in Pinkham Notch, N.H.
Telemark is a free-heeled pursuit combining both Alpine and Nordic styles. It was developed in Norway’s Telemark region and pioneered by racer Sondre Nordheim in the late 1860s.
Though Telemark has a relatively recent racing history in the U.S., it’s been getting crazy.
In the one-run classic format, racers go through gates but also have features that can include a jump, the reipelykkje (pronounced “rap-uh-loosh-uh” and also known as the rap) — roundabout sprint on a 360-degree layout — and a skating section. The sprint classic is similar to the classic format, but racers take two runs and the course is shorter.
The parallel sprint classic is a single elimination race that has two competitors going side-by-side in a course that has a mid-route jump, followed by the rap and a skate. That was introduced to World Cup racing in 2012 with hopes of it becoming part of the Olympics.
New Boston, N.H. resident Miles Fey, 17, used to be a terrain park guy, but now is a national Telemark development team member.
“I like that it encompasses lots of disciplines in one race — gates, jumps and Nordic,” said the Derryfield School student. “The jump provides a different dynamic. You need to have the right amount of speed and time your landing well. If not, you might eat it.”
Then there’s the circle, the rap.
“That’s crazy,” he says. “It’s like a pump track and it gives you a push to start the skate.”
Montreal’s Antoine Belanger-Morin is on the Canadian national Telemark team and has raced in several championships. His father competed in World Cup Telemark.
“It is a very complete sport and you have to be a complete athlete to do the sport,” he said.
Belanger-Morin trains in the gym and runs gates on weekends, but it’s the final Nordic stretch that truly draws him to the sport.
“The skating section, this is where I usually win my race,” he said. “Everything about the race is cool, but skating is where you win or lose.”
Speed is not the only important part of Telemark racing. There are judges on the course checking skiers’ stances around gates and whether they clear the “jump line” on jumps. That’s where penalties come into play and can deduct 1-3 seconds off finish times.
One of those judges is Beth Long, of Queeche, a veteran USTSA volunteer. Her son, Garrett, is the USTSA president, daughter-in-law Melinda is USTSA secretary and son Jack is a race official.
“The faster racers are the clean racers,” she said. “They generally win. Technical skiing makes a difference.”
Cowbells ring along the race course. Racers complete their run and then stop and cheer on their competitors. There’s a social atmosphere.
“Alpine racing has a go-go mentality,” said Melinda Long. “Telemark tends to follow Tele-time, a little bit slower, more easy-going.”
She says many spectators are shocked when they see the jumps at races.
“The jump and the rap get people interested,” she said.
Wildcat general manager Brian Heon says there’s a demand for this type of racing.
“Hosting an event like this heightens the general public’s awareness that something like this exists,” he said.
There are also open races and demos gear from Telemarkdown.
A mini-classic Telemark race is planned for Friday at Granite Gorge in Roxbury, N.H., and the Telemark Down Eastern Series Final Sprint Classic is March 11 at Crotched Mountain in Bennington, N.H.. There’s also the Freeheel Life Cup at Wyoming’s Grand Targhee in March, expected to attract more than 300 freeskiers.
Plus, the USTSA may bid to to host World Cup races next season, with one possibly in New England.
“We are analyzing options,” Garrett Long said. “There is a bit of a process to go through, line up and work out.”
Marty Basch can be reached at marty.basch@gmail.com.