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Telemark Skiing and Their Festivals Are on the Grow

January 19, 2010 - It started with a festival in Maine. Now it's a movement.

The New England Telemark organization began a decade ago with a Maine skier who wanted to spread the telemark love with a free-your-heel festival in Maine. Now these free, learn-to days are held throughout New England.

Sunday River has become home of the Maine Telemark Festival after hosting it for eight years, and will stage the next one on Feb. 6.

However, there are four other telemark celebrations that offer free lessons and demos for the price of a lift ticket. These will be held in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

"It happened fairly quickly. Within a couple of years, there was a festival in each state. Then two festivals," said co-founder Biff Higgison of Brunswick.

The New England Telemark organization is unique – and not just because of its user-friendly attitude.

It is the only telemark ski school in the country certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America. The New England group has 35 instructors, and when it stages an event, it is all about telemark all the time.

As many as eight of its 35 instructors are at the highest level of certified ski instructor.

"I think we at New England Telemark are incredibly responsible in the East Coast for the growth of telemark skiing," Higgison said. "We have free lessons, free demo gear, and we've been doing that steadily for eight years."

With the organization's attaining non-profit status last year, it has been able to gain more sponsorship and grow its demo fleet, allowing those new to the sport to show up and try gear for free.

Co-director Matt DiBenedetto has as many as 80 pairs of boots and 60 pair of skis with telemark bindings. He recommends those coming to the festivals to rent the telemark gear elsewhere if they can so they can use it all day.

New this year is a fleet of children's telemark gear for ages 5 and up.

"Our goal at festivals is to get 100 pair of telemark boots and skis on the hill," DiBenedetto said. "Every year, we're growing. More and more ski areas want us to bring something to their mountain. What we're trying to do is not saturate the market. We try to space the festivals one every month."

Higgison said he simply wants to see New England Telemark do what it does better, not necessarily grow.

"I want us to have even better lessons, better gear and more sponsors," Higgison said. "Most of the mountains (in Maine) have telemark instructors, but they don't have telemark ski schools."

At the latest festival, on Jan. 9 at Wildcat Mountain ski area in Pinkham Notch, N.H., 60 skiers showed up to take the beginner clinic in the morning and 40 came in the afternoon, Higgison said.

One area DiBenedetto said telemark skiing definitely will grow in New England is in the back country, where the gear makes it easy to hike or "skin up" mountains for free runs through ungroomed powder.

DiBenedetto said as lift ticket prices rise at resorts, that movement will grow, and New England Telemark will grow along with it.

The organization has instructors trained in wilderness First Aid and in guiding through the back country. They've been doing that for a decade, he said.

"New England Telemark may give more alpine touring lessons. We're talking about that," DiBenedetto said.


NEW ENGLAND TELEMARK FESTIVALS

• The Maine Telemark Festival, Feb. 6, Sunday River in Newry

• The Gunstock Classic Telemark Race, Feb. 27, Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, N.H.

• The Knees in the Breeze Telebration, March 7, Mt. Abram in Greenwood

• The Balsams Telemark Festival, March 13, Balsams Wilderness Ski Area, Dixville Notch, N.H.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, go to www.netelemark.org or call 725-7734 or (603) 356-8177.

DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald, January 14, 2010


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