The other day I had the opportunity to teach a friend how to Telemark ski for the first time. I absolutely love sharing the turn with my friends but it's been awhile since I've gone out with someone that has never made drop-knee turns before and starting from scratch. It reminded me of of things that I wanted to share with you as we head into this holiday season.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING ME DO A TELEMARK TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN of this you can become a Blue or Black-Level Member of my YouTube channel and listen to the commentary as we watch me breakdown skiing with my friend.

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So I'm calling this podcast GIVING THE GIFT OF TELEMARK | Your Guide To Sharing The Turn

And I put together a pretty simple list of some of key points that I remembered while I was sharing Telemark with my friend along with some new things I learned from this particular experience.

1. Assess the level of your friend or family member before you hit the hill
2. Make sure they have gear that is going to help them enjoy the experience. Match it correctly to the person if possible.
3. The very first run let them warm up with some P-turns to understand the skis, what it feels like to have a free heel, and what the boots feel like.
4. Start on some flat snow to do a couple of things: Teach them how to step-in and fasten their bindings properly. Then show them the basic shape of the Telemark stance. Then have them practice doing one Telemark stance to another — keeping in mind the distance of the feet apart and heel to toe.
5. Identify some very beginner terrain - slopes that are wide open and have less people on them.
6. No Poles - ditch them or have them or hold them out like a tray in front of them on the down hill side of the slope
7. Have them traverse the slope holding the shape of a Telemark stance. Learn balance, foot distance, etc. STOP ONCE YOU GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SLOPE or DETERMINED STOPPING POINT.
8. Once they have a stable stance — move from stopping at the end of the traverse and have them come into a snow plow position and use that as the transition to turn their skis to go the other direction. ONCE THEY COME ACROSS THE FALL LINE have them drop into a Telemark stance again and continue to traverse to the other side.
9. If they can get the hang of the snow plow transition — have them try coming fully parallel at the end of the traverse and then using a parallel turn instead to make the transition.
10. Slowly work out the parallel at the end of the traverse moving towards a Telemark stance into a Telemark stance

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Todays podcast is all about fitness and some of the important ways you can keep you body healthy and strong during the Telemark ski season. Kate Galliett and I discuss five important tips that range from diet and warm-ups to joints and apres-ski.

Kate Galliett has been a Personal Trainer and Coach for 22 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Science and has earned a multitude of certifications to help her develop the holistic approach to body care that she takes today. Her focus is on helping her clients achieve the best health and fitness of their lives. She serves her clients locally in Eastern Utah and around the world through her online workout and lifestyle program. began work as a trainer in commercial gym setting before opening her own facility in the suburbs of Chicago. You can find her online at FitForRealLife.com.

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How You Can Support Us:

• Shop Telemark at FREEHEELLIFE.COM
• Email [email protected]

Every year we get so many voicemails, emails, DMs, and the like regarding Telemark skiing. A lot of these questions are the same because there's generally a lack of information online or people have a hard time finding the answers they need. So today I thought I'd put together my top list of FREQUENTLY ASKED TELEMARK QUESTIONS IN 2023 and see if I can offer some answers, opinions, and insights on things.

I'm looking to get into Telemark skiing. What type of ski should I use for my first setup?

I'm putting my first Telemark setup together. Should I focus where I spend my money on the skis, boots, or bindings? What is the most important things to think of?

I'm currently skiing a stiffer T-Race 75mm boot and need new boots. I don't want to switch to NTN because I don't want to convert all of my setups, what are my choices?

Where can I learn to Telemark ski? Should I get a lesson…is it worth it?

Do you carry Scarpa replacement mid-straps?

I'd love to get my kids on Telemark gear. Do you offer kids rentals? How does that work?

How many times can I mount and remount my skis?

I'm looking at getting new boots and trying to figure out my size because I don't have a shop near me and I'm not sure what mondo sizing is.

Why do you guys say that there is no difference between whole and half sizes in Telemark boots?

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• Shop Telemark at FREEHEELLIFE.COM
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This week I talk to me good buddy Cody Smith. Cody grew up near Aspen, Colorado where he started skiing at a young age as well as Telemark skiing. He attended the Colorado Rocky Mountain School and was a part of the school Telemark team. Following high school he filmed with Falling Forward Films, competed, and then eventually started Lipstick Films with myself in 2006.

Since We Last Spoke Telemark Movie (2007): https://youtu.be/95ViSzdfs2s

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How You Can Support Me:

• Shop Telemark at FREEHEELLIFE.COM
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You all know how much I love the history of Telemark skiing and that's one of the big reasons I started the podcast. In Today's episode I talk about 5 fun Telemark history facts that I've always thought were important to the rich history of the turn.

This episode is especially good for new Telemark skiers and those that may not know much about the history of things. I hope you enjoy.

More info on Sondre Norheim: http://sondrenorheim.com/

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How You Can Support Us:

• Shop Telemark at FREEHEELLIFE.COM
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There's been some things that have gone down lately that really got me thinking about the current state of Telemark and where I think it's heading in the next few years and beyond. At first these things that happened seemed like incidents that didn't have much to do with each other, but as I started thinking more and more about them the connections between them become much more apparent to me.

So I thought I'd connect the dots in a podcast and talk a little bit about each experience I had, how I think these types of things impact Telemark skiing, and ultimately discuss my THREE TOP REASONS TELEMARK SKIING STRUGGLES TO GROW. Thanks for listening. - Madsen

This week I speak with my good friend Richard Schürf. He grew up in Munich, Germany and was introduced to Telemark skiing through Paul Parker and Yvon Chouinard while he was working for Patagonia in the 1980s.

He's had a long career as a distributor for iconic Telemark brands like Karhu as well as many others. These days he runs a successful Telemark event tour with nearly a dozen stops and is endlessly promoting Telemark across the European continent.

We also announce our exciting partnership between Freeheel Life and Freeheeler.eu, which is his organization in Europe. We'll have a few pairs of our Protector skis over in Europe at his Festival tour stops that people can ski on.

Find out more info about Freeheeler here: https://www.freeheeler.eu/ Freeheeler

Tour Dates: https://www.freeheeler.eu/veranstaltungs-dashboard/

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• Shop Telemark at FREEHEELLIFE.COM
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This week on the podcast I'm digging into my deep mailbag to answer a few questions from listeners. If you want a question or thought to be considered for a Mailbag Episode, please send in your thoughts, questions, hate mail, etc. to [email protected].

Our weekly e-mail newsletter is a great way to stay in contact with all of our content, events, product launches, etc. You can sign up here: https://bit.ly/FHLMailingList

#telemark #spreadtelemark #freeheellife #skiing

This week Craig and I sit down and catch up about his recent trip to Bariloche, Argentina. We discuss hanging out with Diana Rivera from We Telemark, teaching kids to Telemark in South America, and where are the best spots to go when you visit there.

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Shop The Freeheel Life Telemark Shop

How You Can Support Us:

• Shop Telemark at FREEHEELLIFE.COM
• Email [email protected]

Today's podcast is with my good friend Keith Opperman. He is the the Midwest Tele Fest Organizer an annual event that will take place on February 9-11th, 2024 at the Porcupine State Park Ski Area in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan.

We discuss the upcoming event details, Keith's latest move to make the festival a 501c3 non-profit entity, Telemark skiing in the Midwest, and the importance of keeping this event going after 33 years.

Learn more about Midwest Telefest here:

https://midwesttelefest.org/

IG: @midwest_telefest

FB: https://www.facebook.com/telefestmidwest

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