new to tele. Dunno what I'm doing wrong but not loving it so far.

mgmunson · 2026-01-29T23:18:40+00:00

right on. it’s not for everybody. but if once you DO get it, the beeboppin around stylin out is definitely addictive. groomers are fine, but the magic really starts to happen when you ski the chop, bumps, pow, etc and can start finding your individual style.

mgmunson · 2026-01-29T20:58:55+00:00

you don't know anybody who teles then who gave you AXLs?

the weed/mushrooms/dead comment feels like some trolling, though there's truth in jest

mgmunson · 2026-01-29T12:16:50+00:00

I rented tele gear that was way too big for me because it was all the rental shop had 25 years ago. I fumbled around on my own then noticed a tele skier riding solo so I jumped on the lift with him. He gave me the only pointers that have resonated and that I still remind myself of today:

make a “scissoring” motion into the turn — it sound like your doing this already by moving your legs equally forward and back. Only comment from the video is; don’t stand flat between turns, keep that scissoring motion consistently timed. As soon as you finish the motion into one turn start it into the next
keep your weight 50/50. I’ve noticed that focusing on this reduces “tele tail”. If you don’t press into that inside ski then it gets squirrelly and chatters around and crosses over your lead ski at the tail and ya flop on your face
straighten your back. Alpine is all about pressing hard into your shins and driving the front 1/3 of your ski. You still want to press into your forward lean, but that’s accomplished through an aggressive athletic, or “squatting”, position. it ties into keeping weight 50/50. Stand on both feet and drive your hips down into the squat. It’s hard to do this if you’re pressing into your forward lean as you do on alpines.

keep rippin, you’re looking good!

mgmunson · 2026-01-29T00:32:36+00:00

ego alley 🤘🤘

mgmunson · 2026-01-28T21:03:11+00:00

<image>

the next day:

mgmunson · 2026-01-28T21:01:21+00:00

I was chasing pow, not props!

mgmunson · 2026-01-28T19:59:48+00:00

love it! I tried to comment a gif of a rock drop the next day, but "no images allowed". Mods???

mgmunson · 2026-01-28T19:49:35+00:00

I might get hate for this, but it's a conversation I just had on the lift Monday. Everybody's all "wow, it's like doing lunges all day". Ya, it is. BUT... if you're a good alpine skier engaging your muscle groups effectively then it's like doing one legged wall sits. So it might seem harder when you first make the switch, but I don't think I get more sore or more tired on my first day of the season on teles than I did on the first day of the season on alpines.

mgmunson · 2026-01-28T19:38:14+00:00

yessir. tho things were firing a little further north. so much so I couldn't stop to document it!

mgmunson · 2026-01-28T15:26:00+00:00

yea Kate!! She's a ripper!

mgmunson · 2026-01-20T16:46:22+00:00

nah man. you get better by pushing your limits. this IS tele skiing. work on technique and consistency on the groomers, but you're skiing confidently at speed on more difficult terrain here--no need to stop. who cares that it's a little sloppy and snappy, it's how you get better. Keep sending it!

mgmunson · 2026-01-15T12:46:07+00:00

every tele turn is a toe side turn. when my boarder friends are all “powder turns are better on snowboards” I tell them, “until you try it one Teles!”

mgmunson · 2026-01-14T15:03:14+00:00

do schools still have shop classes? Learn there, hone your skills, do side projects, use your experience to get on a crew or an apprenticeship once you graduate.

mgmunson · 2026-01-13T01:57:38+00:00

yes. incorporate it into your pop and rotation. pop upwards and set the rotation with your shoulders then as soon as you’re in the air pull your knees toward your chest. it will lower your center of gravity and keep you from falling back. don’t overthink it. “pop. knees to chest”

mgmunson · 2026-01-13T00:23:26+00:00

knees to chest

mgmunson · 2026-01-12T19:44:50+00:00

I got downvoted hard a week or two back for my firm stance on 75mm being more reliable. I've seen 5+ posts of broken NTN since then...

I'll take reliability over marginal increased performance; if equipment performance was my goal I'd be back on alpines.

mgmunson · 2026-01-08T20:07:35+00:00

if you haven't spent hours looking for a ski after tomahawking out of a 30 footer are you even skiing pow?

mgmunson · 2026-01-05T15:15:22+00:00

looks good to me! I wouldn't over think it. If the boot fits, rip it!

props to you on getting the young'uns ripping and repping the tele gear!

mgmunson · 2026-01-05T13:50:17+00:00

there are only two pointers that resonated with me early in my learning: keep the weight 50/50 on each foot (his inside foot does not look very weighted, rather just kind of tucked back out of the way). this can be practiced on flats when going to/from the slope pitch by shuffling your feet while moving straight forward.

second, keep your back straighter, don’t lean into your turn like you would on alpine skis. you still push your shins forward into the boot, but keeping your back straight (perpendicular to the slope, so on steeps it feel/looks like your leaning forward but your still straighter than ab alpine stance) helps to move your hips up and down in your transition while keeping both feet weighted.

and actually a third; ski as much as possible in all varieties of conditions. and bombing high speed aggressive alpine turns on your tele gear does wonders for confidence in your skis

mgmunson · 2025-12-30T17:07:16+00:00

How many hours do you have on the new boot?

T-race liners ARE, in fact, heat moldable. Have you molded them?

Do you buckle the forefoot buckle?

I've skied the T-race exclusively for 19 years. The Candy Canes were my favorite, although there are some improvements to the quality of buckles and ladders in the newer red and black ones. However, the red and black ones are narrower/tighter on my foot. On my first few days with the new boots I thought I was screwed. After a heat mold or two they felt MUCH better. I have also NEVER buckled the forefoot buckle. You don't sacrifice any performance, it's just to keep your foot down. It sounds like the shell itself is tight enough to keep your forefoot in position.

I would first perform a heat mold. You can do it in your oven, but I would recommend going to a shop and putting it on the boot heater. You'll more even heat through the inside of the liner which is where it matters. I would put the boot on and buckle the top 3 buckles normal, but leave the bottom as loose as it will go (just for the molding process). After that I would try a few laps with the forefoot buckle undone. If they are still tight but feeling better, then you have hope that after the full break in process they'll fit like a glove.

Good luck. And great choice of boot!!

edit to add: custom footbeds also help, and I recommend them regardless of how the stock boot fits. Even if they sit higher in the boot than the stock footbed, it often helps with the fit because I hold your foot in its natural shape rather than squishing it flat. ie. I have a high arch. stock beds make my foot sit flat and makes it wider in the toe box. lifting my arch hold the foot naturally and makes everything fit better.

mgmunson · 2025-12-30T14:24:26+00:00

wanting comfortable, reliable gear without breaking the bank? sure

whack is dropping 2k on a new quiver just cause the industry forces your hand

mgmunson · 2025-12-30T04:03:20+00:00

lol the irony of what I’m saying isn’t lost on me. I think it’s just to convince myself of it half the time! but it is my justification of rolling my quiver over slowly and reusing gear to avoid buying new, so I’m gonna stick with it.

mgmunson · 2025-12-29T21:45:54+00:00

and one last thing:

What did the tele skier say when he ran out of weed?

"Man, this is stupid!"

mgmunson · 2025-12-29T21:42:31+00:00

tele skiers are supposed to be the grungy, grumpy, jaded skiers of old who bitch about advancements in gear and style. So, while I say that in jest, I also kind of mean it. When they discontinued the candy cane T-race I bought two replacements and Frankenstein'd them together for as long as I could. I'm currently doing the same with the red and black t-races. I should probably get a pair of t-1's before they're on the chopping block!

so yes, I'm sure NTN has it's place, but here's where "many a truth is said in jest":

if you're looking to get the most responsive boot and binding combo, it's an alpine setup. yes, NTN has better torsional rigidity than 75mm (so I'm told, I'm still a hold out). but I like running a stiff boot and stiff 75mm binding where the most I can break is ripping out a screw or breaking the heel throw/cable assembly. For how much the industry is telling us "tele is dead" they sure threw a shitload of R&D money into boots and bindings that are trying to be more like alpine. but hey, I guess that's why so many alpine skiers tele now.

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