I’ll be the first to say, out loud, that anyone still telemark skiing or ski touring on the ‘old’ telemark bindings are crazy. Although I’ve only been backcountry skiing on the Black Diamond O1s for about a season and half, it took all of two steps to realize, very quickly, that we pin heads were suffering a hell of lot more than we needed to. The free pivot on the 01s, G3 Ascents, or Voile Switchback makes ski touring a completely different world.
But now Rottefella is betting on something better (and bigger I might add), the NTN, or the “New Telemark Norm”. (What’s up with the name???) I’ve seen the bindings at a couple ski movies and shows here and there. They look cool…and bulky…and heavy…and I got to wonder if these will trigger a true telemark skiing renaissance .
Regardless of first impressions (which apparently are pretty positive) the Rottefella NTN continues to go through many improvements, as noted on telemarktips.com. If you’re a telemark skier, it’s worth at least browsing the article.
Rottefella NTN Telemark Binding – photo from telemarktips.com
