Telemark competitions have, are, and will always be about going big and having fun; they are about skiers showing what their sport can do. This year was no different.
2004-2005 marked what appeared to be the break through season for telemark competitions. Athletes from around the nation showed up at several events this past winter, competing in slopestyle, big mountain, and tele-cross contests. Many familiar faces were present, but several new ones also made an appearance.
First on the calendar was the second annual US Telemark National Championships held at Copper Mountain, Colorado January 20-22. As usual, the tele-cross race contained the thrills and spills of the past, with even the juniors throwing some elbows around. However, the highlight for most was when Ty Dayberry showed how far telemark park skiing has progressed, throwing down a huge switch cork 9 to win the big air contest.
Like Nationals, the Alpine Meadows Freeskiing Championship in February showed a mix of veterans and rookies. In the big mountain arena, Rob Nachtwey skied a breathtaking line through Keyhole that went unmatched the rest of the day. However, it was Rossignol rider Dylan Crossman who took the title (Crossman has been virtually undefeated in every big mountain event over the past three years). The juniors also made an impressive showing in California, with Colorado Rocky Mountain School's Morgan McInvaille claiming both big mountain and slopestyle contests. Not far behind him was fellow CRMS athlete Matt Cahn and Idaho's Chris Olerain.
That same weekend, on the other side of the country, New England Telemark put on the Eastern Telemark Slopestyle and Half Pipe Competition in Sunday River, Maine. Experienced riders like Josh Madsen and Decker Jory showed up and threw some wicked runs, such as Madsen's 270 disasters and bio 7 and Jory's massive underflip. Also, not to be missed was the Loon Alpine Freeride Team who released their heels for the weekend and hit it up with the rest of the "hippies". Juniors, Jeff Rutkowski and Pat Colburn will be some of the east coast juniors to watch with their clean 540's and 720's.
The finale of the season took place in Crested Butte at the ninth annual US Extreme Freeskiing Telemark Championships in March. To no ones surprise, Crossman stole another first place. What was unexpected though, was the powerful women's field. The ladies were dropping lines previously untouched in competitions, ripping up Body Bag and Dead End Chutes with precision and confidence. Keep an eye out for the women to continue stepping it up next year.
In regards to stepping it up, are those who joined the alpine skiers this winter at the US and East Coast Open. Max Mancini and Andrew Still-Baxter each placed respectively in their heats of the US Open in Vail, beating more than half of the field with spins and flips of various degrees. Although some people seemed miffed about their presence, Mancini said that the overall reaction was good. Josh Madsen had an equally positive experience in Vermont at the East Coast Open. As the lone telemarker, he made managed a top ten finish in the rail jam and threw a solid bio 9 to land him in the semi finals of the slopestyle.
Both Madsen and Mancini hope that more telemarkers will participate in these and other events in the up coming seasons. To them, the US and East Coast Open means television coverage, television coverage means exposure, and exposure means less "what's telemarking?".
Contributed by Josh Madsen