Tele Tigers

When going down a snow covered mountain people usually think of two different forms - skiing and snowboarding. Those weird people bending the inside knee while on skis are taking part in a sport called telemarking (teleing). An activity I consider the best choice of ways to descende a powder covered mountain. It is the fastest growing winter sport in Colorado. The fastest growing sport is Lacrosee, but Teleing is the fastest growing winter sport. It is a sport that is not as big in B.C., but the people that are teleing are really good. A number of people I talk to on lifts who notice I'm teleing ask if it is hard and tell me that one day they will be teleing as well. I wish them the best.
People say they are drawn to it as a way to access the backcountry or for reasons like me, because it looked cool. One thing is for sure, it is gaining in popularity. The Varsity Outdoor Club at UBC is offering a tele clinic this Saturday. Nineteen people have signed up. It is hard to explain the difference or why we do it, but once people do it they rarely go back to skiing or snowboarding. Check out my blog on Tuesday to see if any of these 19 new tele tigers will keep it up or go back to other forms of sliding down the hill.