#186 - Giving The Gift of Telemark Skiing to Friends & Family
Release Date: 12/18/2023
Episode 196 | Armond Dubuque — Inventor of The Ultimate Telemark Binding
The Freeheel Life Podcast
Armond DuBuque grew up just outside Seattle, Washington, and started skiing at the age of nine. He later picked up snowboarding, but by the early 1990s, while working at Stevens Pass Ski Area, he discovered Telemark skiing—and it stuck. In his mid-20s, he set out to design his own Telemark binding, incorporating features he felt were missing from the options available at the time. With the help of his father, who had a small machine shop, he began prototyping his ideas and eventually produced a limited batch for public use. He called it the Ultimate Telemark Binding—or UTB, as it became...
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Dickie Hall - American Telemark Ski Pioneer & Founder of N.A.T.O | Episode 195
The Freeheel Life Podcast
Dickie Hall played a pivotal role in reviving the Telemark turn, alongside many others, beginning in the 1970s. While he introduced the turn across the United States and later Europe, his influence on Telemark skiing in New England remains undeniable. He was the founder and director of the North American Telemark Organization (N.A.T.O.) from 1975 to 2015, running a yearly schedule of workshops, camps, expeditions, and instructor and guide training programs. By his own estimate, he taught over 40,000 Telemark skiers and trained 1,000 instructors and guides worldwide. Hall's career...
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Episode 194 | Mike Hattrup & The History of K2 Telemark
The Freeheel Life Podcast
Today’s guest is a legend in the skiing world with roots that trace back to Seattle, Washington, where he discovered skiing at the age of 11 at Alpental Ski Area. Embracing the freestyle trends of the 1970s, he became a passionate mogul skier with his sights set on the US Freestyle Team. Though he achieved that dream, it was tragically cut short after a knee injury on his very first run. But that setback didn’t stop him. He soon became a central figure in Gregg Stump’s iconic ski films, starring in classics like Time Waits for Snowman, Blizzard of Aahhh’s, and more, solidifying his...
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Episode #193 | Telemark Health & Fitness for 2025 — The Freeheel Life Podcast
The Freeheel Life Podcast
NOTE: Originally published Dec 26, 2024 for YouTube Members Today I’ve got Kate Galliett Madsen on the podcast to talk over health and fitness in Telemark skiing. This has really proven to be a topic of interest that folks on my channel have been requesting more of lately and I wanted to have her back on to drop some knowledge for us. Kate and I are going to be working on some other video content to cover more health and fitness topics moving forward so I wanted to have her on to talk about some of the more general concepts we can be thinking about as we head into 2025. Thanks for...
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Episode #192 | Telemark Pirate Radio: Back from the Grave & Scarpa TX Pro 2.0
The Freeheel Life Podcast
NOTE: Originally published Nov 25, 2024 for YouTube Members In this engaging conversation, Josh Madsen and Craig Dostie delve into the world of Telemark skiing, discussing their unique experiences, the evolution of Telemark gear, and the recent release of the TX Pro boot. They explore the nuances of boot flex, the importance of subtlety in Telemark technique, and the challenges faced by skiers transitioning to new equipment. The discussion highlights the balance between performance and comfort, as well as the need for diverse options in telemark gear to cater to different skiing styles...
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Episode #191 - LIFE TOOLS ADVENTURE OUTFITTERS | The Origins of Midwest Telefest
The Freeheel Life Podcast
On this week's podcast I sit down for a conversation with the founding members of Midwest Telefest that included the owners, employees, and friends of Life Tools Adventure Outfitters. The Co-op turned outdoor shop was a hub for Telemark equipment in the Green Bay, WI area for many years and helped bring awareness to the great Telemark turn. Midwest Telefest info: midwesttelefest.org
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Episode #190 - Mike Kaz | Ski Industry Rep, Specialty Retail Shop Buyer, & Artist
The Freeheel Life Podcast
Today’s guest has been in the Snowsports industry for nearly 30 years. He has worked in various retail positions along with working as a rep for such brands as Karhu, Dynafit, and more. We had a great discussion about where Telemark has been and where it’s headed, where specialty retail might be going in the future, shifts in manufacturing, and why Telemark skiers are so passionate. I’m psyched to call him a friend and was really excited about this conversation we had recently. Find Mike on IG: JOIN OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AS A MEMBER: Newsroom & Notes: Current Boots - what’s up -...
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Episode #189 | Andy Jacobsen - OG Telemark Freeskier, Competitor & Powderwhore
The Freeheel Life Podcast
Andy Jacobsen has been a friend of mine for 20+ years and is a Telemark skier that I’ve always respected for his great style, backcountry proficiency, and determined and skillful competition skiing. He was always a top performer in the early Telemark Freeski competitions during the early to mid-2000s and graced the big screen not only in the early Toughguy Production movies, but also as one of the original Powderwhore crew during the 10 years that Powderwhore was producing movies. We had a great discussion about Telemark competition and film history, his inspirations early on as a...
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#188 - - Drew Nylen | ACMG Apprentice Ski Guide & Canadian Avalanche Forecaster
The Freeheel Life Podcast
Drew Nylen lives in northern British Columbia, on the Alaskan border, in a town of 300 people. His interest for Telemark skiing began in his youth when he started working at his local gear shop and was able to get his first freeheel setup. He’s an ACMG apprentice ski guide who will be taking his full ski exam in April. His extensive guiding has taken him to the Arctic, including: Baffin Island, Greenland, and more. Currently he’s working as an avalanche forecaster and field technician for Avalanche Canada. Find Drew Online: IG: Guiding Services: Join my YouTube channel to get access...
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#187 - World Telemark Day 2024
The Freeheel Life Podcast
World Telemark Day Celebrates 10 Years For Telemark skiers from around the world the 1st Saturday in March is a special day, it’s always World Telemark Day (WTD). This international celebration takes place this 2023-24 winter season on Saturday March 2nd, 2024 and marks one decade since its inception. “As a Telemark skier myself I saw how great the energy at Telemark gatherings always was,” said WTD Founder Josh Madsen. “So I created a de-centralized event for everyone around the world, every year, that both the individual and groups can celebrate at the same time.” That’s what...
info_outlineThe 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.
- Assess the level of your friend or family member before you hit the hill
- Make sure they have gear that is going to help them enjoy the experience. Match it correctly to the person if possible.
- 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.
- 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.
- Identify some very beginner terrain - slopes that are wide open and have less people on them.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Slowly work out the parallel at the end of the traverse moving towards a Telemark stance into a Telemark stance
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