Is it OK to use old alpine skis for telemark?

There's no doubt, we believe that if you want to make great tele turns you should ski on one of the many great tele specific skis. We think you'll appreciate the flex and performance of a ski created specifically for the way we ski.

Sure, alpine skis will work for lots of folks and this practice is rather frequent for budget minded telemarkers who are just converting over to the sport. If you've got an old pair and you want to mount 'em up with a tele-binding and get into the sport, don't hesitate. If that is what it takes to free your heels, go for it.

What is the difference between them?

This question could keep a room full of telemark enthusiasts busy for weeks. In many ways, there were bigger differences in the past. Telemark skis used to have more side cut than an alpine ski, and had that soft, even flex. They also used to be lighter and thinner so that those leather boots could drive the ski. But as we now see, both Alpine skis and Telemark skis have gotten fatter and increased side cut. In fact, companies like K2, Atomic and Rossignol wouldn't be in the tele market if they weren't using the same technology and equipment that they use to make their alpine stuff - namely core construction techniques and molds. The telemark world isn't yet substantial enough to make it feasible for the big players to make tele specific molds. With the exception of our local playground here in Crested Butte and places like Mad River Glen, Alpine skiers still dominate the landscape - much as we would like it to be otherwise.

So companies will continue to try and get the most out of their alpine molds and tele skis will continue to be shaped like their alpine counterparts. the K2 World Piste will look like an Apache Recon, the Atomic Diran will look like a M:EX, the Volkl T-Rock will look like a Karma, and so on....

JUST BECAUSE THEY LOOK ALIKE DOESN'T MEAN THEY SKI ALIKE!

All that being said, skis that are shaped alike don't, by any means, perform alike. Alpine skis are made to flex with the idea that when you turn you're putting 90% or more of your weight on your downhill ski to make it flex. In contrast, a telemark ski is designed to flex in a way that complements a tele turn where our weight is distributed much more evenly - like 50/50. This weight distribution allows us to flex the trailing/uphill ski. An alpine ski that is too stiff (or one where the stiffness is all loaded up in the wrong place) won't allow you flex your uphill ski and will not allow you to make the perfect tele turn we all strive for.

In order to create the "rounder", more even, and sometimes softer flex that telemark skiers crave, alpine skis are tweaked via their construction materials. For example, K2 uses Spruce wood cores in their tele skis and Fir wood cores in their alpine line - while Atomic changes the pattern of its Texalium weave. Other companies lay in one less layer of fiberglass or one less layer of metal. Regardless of how they do it, the result is a ski that is designed to provide optimal performance when mounted with telemark bindings.

If you've decidied to get a tele specific ski, check out our GEAR FINDER™ to get a personalized recommendation from our staff.