difference between telemark and alpine skis?

bigKam · Post by **bigKam** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:31 pm

i don't quite understand the difference yet. is the flex suppose to be different between the two types of skis? what about the radius of curvature? or what about camber? i've heard that telemark skis are softer. why? please help me try to understand.

Madriverglen · Post by **Madriverglen** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 5:47 pm

I to do not understand, but i know that telemarkers like a little softer skis. For example, the K2 fujative which is a pipe ski is usually too soft for mountatin skiing but my friend as his mounted for tele and he thinks they're great in everything.

bigKam · Post by **bigKam** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:12 pm

for me, i've always be fond of mounting tele bindings on (stiffer) alpine skis. i like the way alpine skis feel with tele bindings. i've tried some tele-specific skis, but don't enjoy them as much. i wonder if it's the flex or the side cut or .....?? hmmm, i don't know.

Madriverglen · Post by **Madriverglen** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:21 pm

ya i find it interesting that some ski companies website's like atomic's place their tele specific skis with the nordic gear.

also it might have to do more with climbing and the skins

Jedi Bob · Post by **Jedi Bob** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:58 pm

Telemark skiing is very much more "two footed" than alpine, and we get less edge angle and put less power to the snow, so a softer ski with a more even flex tends to handle being "finessed" better.

They're becoming "just skis" though. Alpine skis have been getting softer as the techinque becomes more two-footed. Telemark skis have been getting stiffer as the boots and bindings become more rigid.

ILOVE2SKI · Post by **ILOVE2SKI** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 3:19 pm

So would it be possible to build a Alpine Ski that you can Telemark with too? Or is that just a bad idea?

littleKam · Post by **littleKam** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:34 pm

no it's not a bad idea. in fact, a lot of teleskiers ride on alpine skis. i've also seen quite a few alpiners riding some tele skis too. most manufacturers make their alpine and tele skis the same with some minor differences in flex.

ILOVE2SKI · Post by **ILOVE2SKI** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 4:48 am

So size wise too, like 165cm would be fine for Telemark if that's what you normally Alpine on?

littleKam · Post by **littleKam** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 12:29 pm

i would say yes but some would say no. when i first started teleskiing, the shop guys (you know how reliable they are) told me to drop my ski size down by 10cm or so. but i didn't want to spend the money on new skis so i just mounted up my regular alpine skis. i learned to tele with those just fine and i don't think it's necessary to tele on smaller skis.

are you looking to tele, ILOVE2SKI? if so, definitely try it. once you tele you'll never go back.

ILOVE2SKI · Post by **ILOVE2SKI** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:36 am

kam S leang wrote:i would say yes but some would say no. when i first started teleskiing, the shop guys (you know how reliable they are) told me to drop my ski size down by 10cm or so. but i didn't want to spend the money on new skis so i just mounted up my regular alpine skis. i learned to tele with those just fine and i don't think it's necessary to tele on smaller skis.

are you looking to tele, ILOVE2SKI? if so, definitely try it. once you tele you'll never go back.

Yeah I really want to try it... Never before have I.

endre · Post by **endre** » Wed May 04, 2005 1:45 am

Great site! i have been looking for something like this for many years. Graf is good. this kicks ass!

Quite a lot of telemarkers I know have problems with skis that break right behind the heels. DB skis had a demostand at stryn in norway last summer. they had lots of alpine mounted skis (20-30 pairs) and just one pir of tele. After a few days the teleskis broke. all of the alpine pairs lasted all summer. Ofcourse this dont prove nothing, but i do believe that teleskis need stonger and definately stiffer tails than alpine skis.

littleKam · Post by **littleKam** » Wed May 04, 2005 9:33 pm

welcome to the site endre!

wow, those db's broke behind the heels? i would expect them to break near the toe riser rather than near the heels. i've heard of a lot of breaks (on other skis) occurring right in front of the toe riser, but never that far back. strange. maybe it has something to do with the special db carbon construction.

i agree that tele skis need to be stronger. i think we put a lot more stress on our screws and need more reinforcement for our screws than alpiners do. plus our skis tend to suffer a lot more ski-to-ski damage from the closer tele stance.

endre · Post by **endre** » Thu May 05, 2005 2:37 am

maby we ski differently over here

You are right there is a lot of failure in front and right underneeth the toe riser. (I wish there was some sort of statistics on these things.) Maby from landing hard in deep snow.
Telebindings won't allow you to put much pressure at the front ski. So when people huck to high they tend to land om their heels. Generally I think tele mounted skis break more often than alpine mounted skis. Weither the db's break more easily I don't know, but they are full carbon, and probably there is a reason very few make full carbon skis. I tryed once:
http://www.grafsnowboards.com/yours/gal ... marthe.jpg

littleKam · Post by **littleKam** » Thu May 05, 2005 11:57 pm

nice skis! reminds me of bigKam's Ahma BC's. what happened to the tails?

endre · Post by **endre** » Fri May 06, 2005 12:25 am

I got this ski phenomenon Asbjørn Eggebø to test them. () And he actually broke one of them while testing the flex before putting them on

(that is why they broke in such a strange place) skied them for a couple of days after that. Horrible edgegrip (bad bad torsion stiffness and a broken tail), ok in soft. I think the carbon was to dry (to much pressure). I will try again with foam core. I have heard som theory of carbon and wood having very different vibration frequencies, causing them to delaminate. Have you made skis with carbon?

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difference between telemark and alpine skis?

difference between telemark and alpine skis?

Hi skibuilders!