Switch Telemark Skiing: Michael Cares’ Backwards “Moonwalk” Run

Telemark skiing is already the most elegant way down a mountain: heel free, one knee dropped, the skier sinking into a long lunge through every turn. In a short film, Michael Cares did it backwards. Skiing switch, he swapped lead and trailing ski turn after turn, and the effect looked like Michael Jackson’s moonwalk on snow.

Switch telemark: the “moonwalk” on skis

“Switch” is the freestyle term for travelling backwards, facing up the hill from your normal direction. Combine it with telemark technique and every turn becomes a scissor movement in reverse: the skis slide past each other, the lead ski becomes the trailing ski, and the skier glides downhill while seeming to step uphill. It takes strong balance and very fine edge control, because the skier is steering with a free heel and looking over a shoulder at the same time.

What is telemark skiing? Technique and history

Telemark skiing takes its name from the Telemark region of southern Norway, where it began. Sondre Norheim is usually credited with first showing off the turn in races around 1868, and he also experimented with new ski and binding designs.

The binding holds only the toe of the boot, leaving the heel free to lift. To turn, the skier drops into a lunge, pressing on the front foot to carve while using the rear foot for balance.

The technique faded as fixed-heel alpine skiing took over, then came back in the United States in 1971, when a group of enthusiasts including Doug Buzzell, Craig Hall, Greg Dalbey, Jack Marcial and Rick Borcovec revived it after reading Stein Eriksen’s book Come Ski With Me. It grew steadily in popularity through the 1970s and 1980s.

Telemark boots and bindings

• 75 mm Nordic Norm: the traditional system, with a “duckbill” toe on the boot held by a cable binding.
• NTN (New Telemark Norm): introduced by Rottefella in 2006, it drops the duckbill and is now common for freeride and racing.
• Boots: they must flex under the ball of the foot so the heel can lift. FIS race rules require boots made specifically for free-heel telemark skiing.

Telemark racing: Classic, Sprint and Parallel Sprint

FIS took over the sport from the International Telemark Federation in 1995, and the first FIS Telemark World Championships were held at Hafjell near Lillehammer. World Cup racing has three formats:

• Classic: one long run over 250 to 500 metres of vertical, with one or two 360° banked turns, a jump of up to 1.5 m and a skating section.
• Sprint: two runs on a shorter course with 100 to 150 metres of vertical, one jump, one 360° and one skating section.
• Parallel Sprint: a knockout format, with two racers side by side on matching courses.

Racers must land jumps in the telemark position or take a one-second penalty, and judges check that turns in the marked telemark zones show a proper lunge, with at least a boot length between the feet. Skating usually makes up 30 to 40 per cent of race time.

To learn, start forwards: a few lessons with a qualified telemark instructor on easy groomed runs will build the lunge, and switch riding can come much later. For more ski films, see skiing and snowboarding in a shared film, or a young skier learning a new winter-sport movement.

Related reading

• IMAGINE: Wingsuit Flight and Skiing Share the Mountain Frame
• Balloon-Access Skiing in New Zealand: The Idea behind an Old Announcement
• Mount Baker Road Gap: A Backflip Attempt and Its Landing
• Dub Roots: Dubsatch Collective’s Alta Ski Film

Sources