Not too long ago, I wrote a post about a tele skiing edit that I thought was pretty sweet. Telemark Colorado reached out to me after seeing said article and invited me to check out their telemark video competition premier on April 20th. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the premier as it came out, but I’ve had the chance to now look through the different videos, and now I want to share it all with the world.
The competition rules are pretty darn interesting. Teams are capped at 5 telemark skiers, which includes the people behind the camera. There are two major categories in the competition, the #WECARE Award, which goes to whichever edit gets the most votes on their website, and the Kings and Queens of the Heel, which goes to the winners of a G.N.A.R. like points competition. The points are earned through tricks, fun outfits, and, of course, a fair number of goofy activities.
Every single video in this competition is absolutely nuts. One features some incredibly dusty airs as well as an 8 year old free heeled skier. One team chose to focus on the Free Steven’s Pass movement, naming their team exactly that. There are some massive telemark spread eagles, some damn impressive telemark ski blading, and so much more. All together, this competition has brought out some incredible telemark skiing and film production.
I STRONGLY encourage everyone to check out all the different videos and maybe even vote for your favorite if you feel so inclined. I purposely did not embed any of the videos into this article, as I wanted to try to prevent giving my favorite videos more exposure than the others (I’m not trying to ruin this competition). All of the videos can be found through this link. Take the time, it’s 100% worth it.
Massive shoutout to Telemark Colorado for hosting such a sweet competition. Stuff like this is what encourages people to continue pushing themselves in their sport. Also, despite my attempt at humor through the disclaimer in my last telemark article, free heeled skiing is super dope. I always love seeing tele skiers ripping down the mountain. I’ve personally tried it a few times, and it is wicked difficult, so massive shoutout to all of the tele skiers who continue to shred hard.
Image Credit: Telemark Colorado on YouTube