Skiing Heavy to Remove Margin for Error
I learned on leather Telemark boots and 3-pin bindings over thirty years ago, and I’ve always returned to that gear from time to time. Not out of nostalgia, but because it has a way of revealing things modern setups can sometimes hide. It forces me to see technique flaws more clearly and to read the mountain in a more complete way.
Recently, I started adding a fifty-pound pack to that same vintage setup — not to prove anything, but to make the feedback louder. It works.
The added weight slows everything down. Movements take longer to resolve. Mistakes show up earlier and linger longer. Precision matters more. Fitness matters more. There’s less room to rush through a turn and fewer places to hide.
Telemark skiing has always felt like a long process of refinement to me — smoothing out style, improving efficiency, and finding ways to move downhill without wasting energy. Adding weight highlights all of that at once. It compresses the feedback loop.
I don’t think skiing heavy makes anyone a better skier on its own. But it does remove margin for error. And sometimes that honesty is exactly what’s needed.