Developed during the winter of 1996 by Martin and Erik Fey, the Teleboard consists of a long, narrow snowboard, or wide ski, with two free-heel telemark bindings arranged one in front of the other at a slight angle to the longitudinal axis. This is similar to a skwal which uses fixed-heel bindings mounted in line with each other.
When experimenting with successively narrower alpine snowboards to allow for quicker turns, the Fey brothers ended up with a board that could not fit hard-plate snowboard bindings, and tried telemark bindings instead. After a successful trial down a mogul run at Killington (one of the only remaining open trails in New England at the end of that ski season), they continued to refine the design. The Teleboard earned them two patents between 1997 and 1999. The Fey Bros went on to found Telemarkdown.com and continue to sell Teleboards as well as Telemark and AT ski gear in their two New England shops.
The unique binding alignment coupled with the use of free-heel bindings on the teleboard allows the rider to face forward and have complete freedom over weight distribution. The rider can focus their weight down on the center of the board to flex it and carve tightly, or distribute weight over the length to keep the board straighter. Also, weight can be shifted vertically, by standing tall or kneeling. This extension and flexion is an essential part of carved turns, and the extent of them that the teleboard allows lends itself to deep or extreme carving. The extremely close angle of the bindings, along with the long length and narrow width of the board make the Teleboard extremely easy to use for quick edge changes, rendering the board ideal for riding bumps, carving tight turns, and reacting to unexpected obstacles. Also, the edge radius of Teleboards tends to be very small, comparable to slalom skis, which is unusual for skiing or riding devices as long as a teleboard. Because the bindings are mounted almost in-line with the direction of the board, it is possible for the rider to use poles, which can aid the rider in learning the sport.
The patent for the Teleboard is held by Uniboard, Inc. (US Patent #6000711)
The abstract is as follows:
A skiboard system is provided, which includes a divisible skiboard having left and right skiboard halves and left and right loose heel binding. When the skiboard halves are joined, the skiboard has a central, waist portion and an upward curving front shovel area. The left and right loose heel bindings may be secured on the left and right skiboard halves when the skiboard halves are divided, oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes or the skiboard halves. When the skiboard halves are joined, the left and right loose heel bindings are mounted on opposite sides of the skiboard waist at an acute angle less than 35 degrees from the longitudinal axis.
No implementation of this 'split' board described in the patent is commercially available. All commercial teleboards are made of a single monolithic piece, and therefore are most appropriate for resort skiing, not the backcountry approaches which would be possible with a splitboard.
There are currently four different models of teleboards ranging from 168 cm to 191 cm.
The Pipe Dreamer 168 was designed for the pipe and park, and for younger, lighter riders. The deck is 168 cm long, with dimensions (Tip / Waist / Tail) of 187mm, 120mm, 183mm. The sidecut radius is 9.4m with an effective edge of 148 cm.
The legend 181 is based on the design of the original Teleboard. It was the first Teleboard to make the descent of Mount Washington's Tuckerman Ravine. The deck is 181 cm long with dimensions (Tip / Waist / Tail) of 195mm, 122mm, and 179mm. The sidecut radius is 9.3m with an effective edge of 158 cm.
The Pursuit 191 along with the King Carve 191 are the two longest Teleboards available. The Pursuit 191 was designed to be the longer brethren to the Legend 181 for those who want the additional stability which comes with a longer plank. The dimensions (Tip / Waist / Tail ) are 199 cm, 127 cm, and 185 cm. The sidecut radius is 9.3m with an effective edge of 168 cm.
The King Carve 191 was a stiffer version of the Pursuit 191 mounted with 25mm solid polymer risers and Rottefella Cobra K hardwire bindings. The dimensions are identical to the Pursuit 191.
186cm. Added early rise; gives the board much better float in powder AND also makes the tip easier to manage in moguls
Even bigger. Even more stable.
Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards widths are between 6 and 12 inches or 15 to 30 centimeters. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user. In monoskiing, the user stands with feet inline with direction of travel, whereas in snowboarding, users stand with feet transverse to the longitude of the board. Users of such equipment may be referred to as snowboarders. Commercial snowboards generally require extra equipment, such as bindings and special boots which help secure both feet of a snowboarder, who generally ride in an upright position. These types of boards are commonly used by people at ski hills, mountains, backcountry, or resorts for leisure, entertainment, and competitive purposes in the activity called snowboarding.
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than they are wide, and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can be attached at the base of the ski.
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games.
Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrains, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth. Some board sports were marginalized in the past. However, many board sports are gaining mainstream recognition, and with this recognition, they have enjoyed wider broadcast, sponsorship and inclusion in institutional sporting events, including the Olympic Games.
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing, which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for recreation or for sport, it is typically practiced at ski resorts, which provide such services as ski lifts, artificial snow making, snow grooming, restaurants, and ski patrol.
Skiing, or traveling over snow on skis, has a history of at least eight millennia. The earliest archaeological examples of skis were found in Karelia and date to 6000 BCE. Although skiing's origins were purely utilitarian, the modern sport evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, starting in the mid-1800s skiing became a popular recreational activity and sport, becoming practiced in snow-covered regions worldwide, and providing a market for the development of ski resorts and their related communities.
The stem christie or wedge christie, is a type of skiing turn that originated in the mid-1800s in Norway and lasted until the late 1960s. It comprises three steps: 1) forming a wedge by rotating the tail of one ski outwards at an angle to the direction of movement, initiating a change in direction opposite to the stemmed ski, 2) bringing the other ski parallel to the wedged ski, and 3) completing the turn with both skis parallel as they carve an arc, sliding sideways together.
The parallel turn in alpine skiing is a method for turning which rolls the ski onto one edge, allowing it to bend into an arc. Thus bent, the ski follows the turn without sliding. It contrasts with earlier techniques such as the stem Christie, which slides the ski outward from the body ("stemming") to generate sideways force. Parallel turns generate much less friction and are more efficient both in maintaining speed and minimizing skier effort.
Ski boots are footwear used in skiing to provide a way to attach the skier to skis using ski bindings. The ski/boot/binding combination is used to effectively transmit control inputs from the skier's legs to the snow.
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G.
A skwal is the main piece of equipment used for skwalling, a hybrid sport combining the carving of skiing and riding feel of snowboarding. It is similar to a snowboard or monoski in that both feet are attached to the same board. On a skwal the feet are one in front of the other, in line with the direction the skwal is pointing in. This differs from snowboards and monoskis.
Snowkiting or kite skiing is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The skier uses a kite to give them power over large jumps. The sport is similar to water-based kiteboarding, but with the footwear used in snowboarding or skiing. The principles of using the kite are the same, but in different terrain. In the early days of snowkiting, foil kites were the most common type; nowadays many kiteboarders use inflatable kites. However, since 2013, newly developed racing foil kites seem to dominate speed races and expedition races, like Red Bull Ragnarok and the Vake mini-expedition race. Snowkiting differs from other alpine sports in that it is possible for the snowkiter to travel uphill and downhill with any wind direction. Like kiteboarding, snowkiting can be very hazardous and should be learned and practiced with care. Snowkiting has become more popular in places often associated with skiing and snowboarding, such as Russia, Canada, Iceland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Northern and Central United States. The sport has become more diverse as adventurers use kites to travel great distances and sports enthusiasts push the boundaries of freestyle, big air, speed and back country exploration.
A splitboard is a snowboard that can be separated into two ski-like parts used with climbing skins to ascend slopes in the same way as alpine touring or telemark skis. The main difference is that a splitboard will have an additional metal edge for extra grip in ski mode. Unlike normal snowboards, it will also have nose and tail clips, split hooks, and touring mounts. Similar to cross country skiing, splitboarding allows free heel movement and with skins attached to the bottom of the skis, provides uphill traction. The two halves can then be connected to form a regular snowboard for descent. Splitboarding culture often focuses on the idea of using your own power to access the backcountry usually on unmaintained trails.
A carved turn is a skiing and snowboarding term for the technique of turning by shifting the ski or snowboard onto its edges. When edged, the sidecut geometry causes the ski to bend into an arc, and the ski naturally follows this arc shape to produce a turning motion. The carve is efficient in allowing the skier to maintain speed because, unlike the older stem Christie and parallel turns, the skis do not create drag by sliding sideways.
Ski geometry is the shape of the ski. Described in the direction of travel, the front of the ski, typically pointed or rounded, is the tip, the middle is the waist and the rear is the tail. Skis have four aspects that define their basic performance: length, width, sidecut and camber. Skis also differ in more minor ways to address certain niche roles. For instance, skis for moguls are much softer to absorb shocks from the quick and sharp turns of the moguls and skis for powder are much wider to provide more "float" in deeper, softer snow.
The Dual Edge Snowboard (DES) is a technical categorization of a general snowboard concept and technology, where a device or mechanism creates two simultaneously ridden edges for a snowsport equipment that allows the user to ride in a similar fashion to the basic (classic) snowboard.
A freeboard is a specialist skateboard designed to closely simulate the behavior of a snowboard. Freeboards were developed to allow snowboarders to transition to skateboarding without the need to adapt to a smaller deck and narrower wheel-base.
The SCX, for "SideCut eXtreme", was an alpine ski introduced by Elan in the winter of 1993/4. Skis before the SCX had almost always used a shape that was slightly curved inward on the sides, typically by 7 millimetres (0.28 in) compared to a straight line running from tip to tail. The SCX was designed with over 22 millimetres (0.87 in) "sidecut", producing a wasp-waisted ski unlike anything on the market.
This glossary of skiing and snowboarding terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon used in skiing, snowboarding, and related winter sports.