Sondre Norheim, the inventor of the telemark turn, was also the first ski designer to experiment with sidecut built into his edgeless wooden skis? It worked, but it wasn’t until some 90 years later that ski makers discovered an interesting fact: even more sidecut totally ruled.

Have you noticed how many telemarkers there were out on the mountain this year? Perhaps there’s a movement underway. If there is, then Chamoniard legend John Dorf might be it’s unwilling leading light. If you’ve ever seen him compete in the Boss Des Bosses, you’ll probably remember it. If not, here’s a video which shows why after extensive research we’ve decided freeing the heel really does free the mind.

http://www.youtube.com/user/justinhawxhurst

History of free heel skiing

Sondre Norheim is considered the father of the Norwegian free heel technique. It was Norheim who, in the late 1800s, developed the telemark turn on the slopes around his town of Morgedal in the Telemark region of Norway. He introduced the technique to the world at a jumping competition in Oslo in 1868, where he not only awed a large crowd with his 76 foot jump but also punctuated his landing with a graceful telemark turn to a stop.

Not just a curiosity, the telemark turned out to be a viable technique for the equipment of the day which consisted of free heels and wooden skis with no sidecut. In the telemark position one could wedge the forward ski slightly and have the effect of one long one, sidecut ski. When properly performed the result was an elegant arc.