T is for telemark skiing

In the winter the water is too hard to row. It gets all hard and really cold. Some of it even freezes.

Out in Salmon where Cale is now living, not too far away is Lost Trail Ski Area. It's a wonderful place. Mostly local. When I was there back in the early 90s there were no local hotels. So it was a "drive to" ski spot and therefore mostly local. Missoula, although an hour+ away still qualifies as local I believe, although Missoula has its own fab local resort, Snowbowl.

Telemark skiing is my brand of skiing. The skis are single camber with metal edges, exactly like downhill skis. The boots can be leather or plastic and are the typical stiff heavy ski boots. The bindings are often just heavy duty xc binding. Three holes in the front, although more often, especially in modern equipment, there is a toe hold and a strap that goes around the heel as well. The heel remains free though as the defining aspect of telemark skiing is a knee bend that is a critical part of the telemark turn. That, of course, can only happen with a free heel.

It's a tremendous workout and requires great balance and attention to technique, unlike downhill skiing which is merely standing up on flat boards and pointing downhill (I'm kidding I'm kidding). In the tucked away places of the Bitterroot Valley, where you'll find Lost Trail Ski Area, you will also find an amazing space with the occasional place tucked away in it well worth discovering, like Snowbowl or Lost Trail. If you see somebody kneeling and turn their way down the hill, it might be me, but it is certainly someone out telemarking.