Those Tele Guys

What a strange season we have had Downunder. Only one out of three show hosts have managed to get some turns in, but despite this, we have managed to make a podcast that people are actually downloading. We have received emails from such people to ask questions, make suggestions and share stories, so in this episode, we do our best to answer them. What unfolds involves solving the mystery around what direction a flailing skier rotates in the Southern Hemisphere, a tale of Hannels Spur and debunking whether a Tim Tam can be slammed using various fortified wines. 

In this weeks episode, we hade a very special guest to join Those Tele Guys. Stephen Curtain is a cinematographer, director, outdoor educator and an environmental science communicator. He has travelled to many wild places with a camera in his hands to capture the beauty and share the stories found within environments that are less known to the general public. An example of such work is 'Winter Dreaming,' a film that captures the essence and characters of backcountry skiing in the Australian Alps. In more recent times, he has been working on projects to promote environmental education in areas that have been affected by climate change both in Australia and overseas. We caught up with him to talk about how he fell in love with the mountains, what it was like swinging from a helicopter and what projects he is working on in the future.  

You can find him @stephencurtain or at www.stephencurtain.com

A long, long time ago in the early days of the Australian winter season, a fan wrote a letter to us asking a bunch of questions about how to get into telemark skiing. We decided to make an episode about it and attempt to answer said questions to the best of our ability. Our answers may not resemble everyone's pathway to enlightenment, but they do provide information as to how we came to power.

We also get a song from Ferg! Hear it here first. It will be at the top of the charts in no time!

Earlier in the season, we received a message from a telemark idol of ours all the way from the USA. He applauded our efforts with the show and suggested we interview Sven Gorham, a fellow Australian that is all about telemark skiing and eating icecream. Sven has worked extensively in the snow for the last few years, jumping countries to guide and patrol in Japan and New Zealand. We caught up with him to talk about what it's like to patrol on telemark binding, how his freeheel journey began and where his icecream obsession is taking him in the future. 

In this weeks episode, we chat to Simon from the Mountain Sports Collective. The MSC is a not-for-profit user group organisation for human-powered alpine sports in Australia, and have been providing information and resources to educate and keep BC users safe. From learning to tele ski in the BC, to getting caught in a slide, Simon's story about how the MSC came to be is interesting. 

COVID continues to dominate the Victorian headlines and hinder the Australian ski season. Regional Victorian telemark skiers have been enjoying some turns when they could but their dreams of skiing August powder have been dashed by more restrictions and park closures. What does this mean for the much anticipated Victorian BC festival? We catch up with Cam Walker to hear the latest plans to keep the stoke alive.

We also discuss port Tim-Tam slams and Mt. Thebarton, a once-thriving skiing destination situated in the heart of Adelaide. 

As outdoor educators, Those Tele Guys believe in the importance of education to enhance skills and knowledge in outdoor environments. Australia's alpine region is one of those environments and we believe one should do all they can to adequately prepare themselves for the conditions they might face. Avalanche Australia provides an avenue to do this and has been running courses to better educate people looking to move outside the resort boundaries. In this episode, we caught up with Adam West, the man behind the wheel of the organisation, to talk about the courses they provide, Australian snow conditions, BC safety and Gulmarg. 

We'll see you next week for the usual segments and shenanigans. Enjoy! 

In 2019, whilst skiing in one of Australia's fine winter storms, we bumped into Lucas, a fellow tele skier, whilst frolicking in the powder. For the rest of the season, we continued to catch up with him and learnt that he had a unique introduction into telemark skiing through the now-defunct Corryong Ski Club. We find out just how prolific the club was back in the day and ask why it no longer exists. 

We also celebrate 1000 downloads. Thanks, everyone for the support! This might not be the greatest season here, but we'll keep the podcast going regardless! 

The Victorian snowfields are filled with sadness and jealousy as the NSW resorts remain open while receiving a huge amount of snow from a rare south-easterly system. Many keen snow enthusiasts are now turning their attention to the backcountry and are looking for someone to head off with to chase some sort of winter season. For this reason, Morgs, Rich and Ferg chat about what makes the perfect partner in the backcountry. Some other strange topical items pop up throughout the show, including using a chickens ability to lay eggs as a seasonal forecast for the rest of the season. Apologies in advance for that one.

This week on the show we talk lockdowns, border closures, Epic Passes, and mountain rescues. Has the Victorian Government’s move to lock down Metropolitan Melbourne effectively crushed the hopes, dreams and business aspirations of Vail Resorts? Join us as we wildly speculate and attempt to shed some light on what is quickly becoming a dark winter.

Disclaimer: We recorded this episode on Wednesday and then the news was announced that the resorts were closing on Thursday. We did not manage to get this episode out in time, but we hope you enjoy it regardless!