(Or how to stand up on tele gear
without learning to telemark)
What
is it?
Eric Burr, a quirky and lovable
backcountry skier and guide from the Methow Valley, uses what some call an open turn as he skis all
over Washington’s North Cascade mountains on free-
heel, light touring gear. He may get razzed
about not making telemark turns, but he seldom falls, even when his companions,
who are skiing on wider skis and bigger boots,
lie scattered all over the slope. Many skiers in the Northwest affectionately
call this open turn the Burr
turn.
The Burr
turn is an adaptation of a parallel turn. By using and teaching the Burr turn on
free-
heel gear, you can help yourself, or parallel skiers in your
lessons, quickly gain some needed support and balance without struggling with
the telemark position.
Alpine
and Randonee skiers struggle with the telemark position because they have made
countless turns with the outside ski tip slightly behind the inside ski tip, and
with most of their weight on one foot – the outside one. In a telemark turn,
the tip of your outside ski (the downhill ski throughout most of the turn) is a
foot or so in front of your inside ski tip. When you balance over your entire
front foot and the ball of your rear foot in this position, the broad base of
support helps youdeal
with compensate for the inherent free-
heel tendency to get thrown onto your face.
Learning
(or Practicing) the
Burr turn
I can
ski into the Burr-
turn position from a parallel stance by opening the
tips of my skis like I would
open likea
pair of scissors as I traverse across a slope. Then I slide the uphill, inside
ski forward and transfer weight to that ski. Unlike the telemark position, both
heels stay down. This position allows me to spread my skis from front to back
and provides a broader base of support that is similar to the telemark position.
As I start to truly put some weight on that uphill ski, I feel it pull me farther uphill and out of my traverse to a stop. To get a feel for how to use this pull of the inside ski to make complete turns, I move to a mellow slope and make a Burr turn from a traverse, coming to a stop as my skis turn uphill. Then I slowly move the initial traverse line closer to the fall line until I am making Burr turns from directly in the fall line. Once again, I come to a stop as my skis turn uphill after each turn.
To link
these Burr turns, I stay on a mellow slope and make a Burr turn across the slope
from directly in the fall
line. Before coming to a stop, I open what is now my downhill, outside ski
in a scissors-
like motion, place some weight on that ski, tip it downhill, and
let it pull me back across the fall
line and into the next turn. Play with how hard to step onto this ski,
when to step on it, and when to roll it onto the other edge in order to move
smoothly from one Burr turn to the next. The ski you step on to is the outside
ski of the old turn, but the inside ski of the new turn.
When
to do it
The
Burr turn is especially effective in tough snow conditions. It also provides a
great way to increase stability and security when free-
heel skiing with a pack on, without having to drop into the thigh-
burning telemark position.
Burr turns can also be used to
help yourself or your students learn to balance and make turns with weight on
the inside ski. This skill
is often easier to learn in the Burr turn since you don’t have to simultaneously
deal with the complications
of developing balance in that awkward (and thigh burning)
telemark position, at the same time.
Check
the next issue for tips on how to transfer the skills gained in the Burr turn to
making telemark turns.
Steve
Hindman lives in Bellingham, WA where he owns an outdoor retail store with his
wife. He teaches track, telemark and backcountry clinics throughout the
Northwest. Steve is a DCL for PSIA-NW and a member of the PSIA National Nordic
Demo Team.
Bring some cross-training fun into your staff clinics this season! To discuss what a track or telemark clinic could do for your staff this year, contact Steve at steve@thegreatadventure.com or (360) 671-8090. A multi-media show about the Nordic Team’s trip to Norway last April to attend Interski can be a part of any clinic.