ben

From March 1985. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119251/1/index.htm

you didn't tell me you were switching this year. hit me up some time and we'll make some turns.

I think the tele gear has come so far these days that responsiveness isn't really an issue anymore. The whole tele system is so rigid that the movements you put into it are almost all translated to your ski with very little wasted energy. Like alpine, this is truer the better your boots fit, the more customized they are to you, etc., but the gear is no less responsive than alpine gear. And I'm saying that even though I'm still skiing the 'old' gear. Just last year, a few of the tele companies came out with a new boot-binding system, the NTN (the New Telemark Norm) which improves upon that design even more, and makes the system even more responsive. Also, if you go the AT route, make sure you get a solid AT binding that won't break. Two or three years ago, I know that people were hesitant to switch from alpine to AT because the word on the street was that the AT bindings broke easily, even with normal alpine use. I don't know if they've fixed this problem in the past year or two, but make sure you do your research so you know you're getting a reliable AT setup.

nah... just because i don't want to have to buy my own ticket book.

waaa, waaa, waaa. come on, i thought i even saw the sandwich add to a 2-year-old thread a while back... i didn't think it was a big deal. plus, you have to admit that's a pretty sweet picture of mtnbiker at dv.

Tip of the Week 6: Don't take the ski area's conditions reports seriously. EXHIBIT A: EXHIBIT B: And if you watch the conditions reports day-to-day, you'll see that neither the primary nor secondary surface ever changes, despite wide variations in wind, temperature, humidity, and precipitation. Ski areas manipulate their conditions reports to draw in customers, and as a result, the conditions report has gone from being an objective, reliable standard to a questionable marketing tool. The conditions report is built upon the semblance of objectivity, but in reality is nothing but a billboard, an advertisement designed to maximize profits at the expense of the truth. And Camelback has an interesting strategy here: Appease the die-hards by posting relatively honest conditions reports on a board (PASR) that only they will read, and the average day ticket will never see, but maintain the marketing facade on the website for the less experienced skier who doesn't yet have the wisdom to reflexively doubt the conditions report at face value. A great lesson in marketing, yes... A reliable, objective report? Spare me.

Sweet guys, thanks... I called around to a few places to see about rental gear: None of the ski shops near CB, including the Loft, rent tele gear, nor do any of the mountains themselves. Unfortunately it seems like people will have to be responsible for lining up their own non-rental gear. Shitty, as this makes things alot tougher for people that want to try it, but aren't sure they'll want to do it for any length of time. But for all those that are interested, what would be the best time to meet? Weekends? Midweek nights? Let's see if we can find a common meeting time, then we can try to get together for a session. Thanks everyone, ben

Hey everyone, I'm thinking about starting a weekly telemark seminar at CB, and I'm trying to find out how much interest there would be. We'd meet once a week for 90 minutes or so and work on our tele skiing. It'd be open to skiers of all abilities, and we could even have small groups of different experience level if there's enough interest. You'd have to bring the tele gear, as I don't think there are any good rentals in the area (am I wrong?). Is anyone interested in this? What day and time would be the best to meet? Thanks everyone, ben

http://70.84.235.130/~teleskii/video/TeleBigfoot.wmv

In the interest of letting the storm settle, this is the last post I'll make in this thread; but I hope we can all see eye to eye on this. Read the whole thing before you reflexively criticize, and try to understand, as a whole, what I'm trying to say. I still stand by my entire original post. I'm sick of the entitlement that many new-schoolers feel on this forum, and think that it damages the group's reputation, by making them seem selfish, demanding, and uncompromising. BUT, I'm not hating on new-schoolers, individually or as a group; I'm trying to help your progress. The new-school is, hands down, the greatest thing to happen to this sport recently, especially in this area. It's brought increased revenue to the ski areas, new life to boring mountains, and an entirely new discipline to the sport in general, where we can focus our energies. I'm not hating on the new-school; I'm hating on the sense of entitlement that many of you give off when you post, and that alone. It hurts your progress because your group, willingly or not, earns a reputation for being selfish and egocentric. When you have that reputation, you lose your credibility before you even say anything; people dislike you, and turn off to what you have to say. Like it or not, it

Method, you and Glenn say that you don't post with a sense of entitlement, and I'll believe you. But you haven't redeemed the behavior of the park rats, as a group, by saying this. There are enough park riders with a sense of entitlement on this forum to have earned your group that reputation. Ask any of them individually, and they'll probably deny that they're part of that majority, too. I still stand by my original post, in its entirety.

And Method (sorry, I just read your post), that applies to you too. I think you misinterpreted me by taking my posts to be gross assumptions about every individual new-schooler; they're not. The group, in general, often acts as though they're entitled to what they're asking for. There are some who don't. If you're one of them that doesn't, hopefully you can convince others to follow you; the sense of entitlement really detracts from your group's character, and hurts your progress.

Glenn, I understand that you think the park's resources are misallocated, and I appreciate your argument. It's a good criticism, and over time, it should encourage improvement. If you voice yourself persistently, they should hear you eventually, and that seems to be what you're trying to do. And I appreciate that you do that without implying that you're entitled, above everyone else, to what you're asking for. Some new-schoolers don't convey that sense of entitlement, and you seem to be one of them. That attitude should serve as an example to the many park riders who, unfortunately, don't yet follow your lead.

It's not a matter of the availability of the resource. Yes, the park rats feel entitled when the resource is scarce, saying that the park is the best way to utilize minimal snow. But it doesn't end there. The park rats feel entitled when the resource is in abundance, too, forever victimized by the resort. Now, cold weather abounds and snowmaking capacity is high. The resort can point its equipment at any trail. The resources are available to cater to any type of skier. Yet the park rats still complain with a sense of entitlement. Why should the park rats be entitled now, too?

Misusing your resources?! Oh, the park riders are so victimized! It's not just park riders that can feel as though their resources are being misused: The bump skier wants a dedicated moguls run; but he's hard pressed to see it at many PA resorts, and if he does, it'll be limited to one trail. The guy with fat skis wants a run with fresh machine-made snow; but he can rarely find it in PA, and if he does, it'll be gone in a day. The noob wants that other long cruiser to open up, so he can practice his turns on some different terrain; but it's not open yet, because they're making snow in the park. Improvement is possible everywhere. And complaint is good, because it helps encourage that improvement. But the park is the only place where we continually hear complaint with a sense of entitlement, as if the resort were out to get park riders, or should think of them first, before anyone else. But these park riders need to realize that there are others, on other parts of the mountain, who can feel as though their resources too are being misused. The resort has to do its best to accomodate all of us. It's the egocentrism, not the complaint, that has to stop.

Imagine yourself in the resort's position. The all-mountain skier wants steeps, the bump skier moguls, the racer gates, the father greens, and the new-schooler jibs. Who do you please? The resort tries to maximize happiness, and maximize profits, by catering to all of these types of skier, because it realizes its clientele is more varied than this or that category. The person who wants to ride the park is not the only one under consideration when the resort makes its decisions. New-schoolers are one of many, not the chosen few. Get over yourselves, and realize your place as part of a larger whole.

Papa, Your credibility, and the potency of your responses, have already been destroyed by the sheer frequency with which you post these sorts of replies. But despite this, I'll respond to you in kind. You ask, "What kid doesn't want to be cool in the park?" You maintain that park riding "is the future", and that "A couple acres of 100 is all they ask for." But the park is as far into the sport as you're able to see. At the same time, the racer asks, "What kid doesn't want to shin gates on Raceway, and enjoy the thrill of competition?" A couple acres of 100 is all he's asking for. And the freerider asks, "What kid doesn't want to link turns on Marjie's, and lay out some carves on the runout?" A couple acres of 100 is all he's asking for. And the family man asks, "What kid wouldn't want to be a father, and savor the moment his daughter makes her first turn on Sunbowl?" A couple acres of 100 is all he's asking for. Yet all of these other people, unlike you and yours, realize that they are not alone in their wishes. They are not the only ones making demands. Maturely they stay quiet, and wait. They wait for good snowmaking conditions. They wait for their favorite trails to be made. And they endure the frustration of seeing other trails open, that they would never consider riding. I suggest you do the same.

I know. The season has gotten off to a frustrating start, and we're all glad that the cold is finally here. The resorts are finally making tons of snow, and we're anticipating a great late season. Park rats, racers, freeriders, and family men alike, are all hoping for more terrain to open, so that they can enjoy themselves, and do what they like best. And each hopes especially for terrain that will suit his style: the park rats want terrain features and the pipe, the racers gates and a pacesetter, the freeriders more of the front four, and the family men more mild traverses. I page through the posts on this forum, and see that the park rats are well-represented, and clearly in the spoken majority. Like all of the other skier-types, they want their terrain to enjoy, and they want it soon; it's been a tough season so far, and they want now, like all of us, to ride the terrain they like to ride the most. But wildly in contrast to the other skiers, whose terrain is also limited, and who also crave more variety than is yet available, the park rats are quite quick to complain. And they complain the loudest. Endlessly they criticize the limitedness of their terrain, their desire that it open, and the incompetence of the resort in seeing that it didn't open sooner. From their posts comes a sense of entitlement, as if the resort always put some other skier first, or were actively out to disenfranchise them. And through all this the other skiers stay quiet, and wait. This board is the perfect place to complain, yes, to vent our frustrations in the company of like-minded people, and to feel justified when they reply in kind. But when you do so, realize this: That the other skiers are just as anxious as you, to have their terrain open, and wish their resort would focus on it, instead of terrain for everyone else. Complaint fosters good criticism, and good criticism improvement, and for that reason alone it shouldn't stop. But to complain in such a way as to imply that you, above everyone else, are entitled to your terrain, and that you should have it before they theirs, detracts from your purpose, is selfish, and is no more effective than waiting quietly for the rope to drop.

Well eventually Camelback will have to cut a new trail to keep up with the competition. So, what would you name it?? My vote is for "Newman's Demise". later ben

Of course, a warning sign or advertisement could always double as a wall ride...

That's awesome. The second backflip he does, the one with the cross grab, is the cleanest of the video. Sick. Where was that taken?

That'd be a sick video to see. The ben in the video is Ben Dolenc and he's the guy sponsored by K2 and Nike. I don't know how long he's been on the tele scene, but he's definitely one of the big names.

Yea, I didn't like the first video too much either. That guy sponsored by Nike is also sponsored by K2 Telemark and he's thrown some pretty sick shit, but in that video he was pretty tame. Tele in the park is still way behind alpine in any case though. Part of the reason, I think, why freeheelers aren't seen as sicker than they are is that they don't use that free heel to their advantage in their tricks. Most of them are just skiing like they're on alpines.

Thought some of this might help hold you guys over until November.