LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 41 Join us on Free Skis! The next few years of Noco were a blur. Tele ADK events moved back to their origins at Mount Pisgah to prioritize the community and learning, the gang grew and got moderately better at telemark (they think), perhaps the greatest feat of all, a free and modern telemark demo gear fleet was launched. Even during the early Cascade crew days, Noco was collecting old gear from members of the club and the community, serving as a host that could connect with folks who wanted to learn and dole out free gear on loan. It quickly became apparent that this old gear was mostly clapped out, partially broken, and represented ski binding and boot standards that were two decades old. Nothing against learning on some classic gear, but for those looking to dip their feet into an already diffi- cult enough sport, this gear wasn't a great representa- tion of what they could buy and use if they committed to the tele turn. The Noco crew understands skiing is an expensive sport and telemark is extra confusing as the boot and bindings are not only tele specific but also have to pair well together to get a proper feel on the snow. After wading through this gear maze themselves and not being able to find rental gear or demos from local shops that represented modern downhill tele equip- ment, Nate took it upon himself to put together a full demo collection that no retail store in the ADK had yet to do. On top of that, the gear would be brand new and free for anyone who wanted to try. Yup, that's a local ski club run by two skis bums hand- ing out free skis, boots, and bindings every week. They just ask you to show up and enjoy the process of learning a new skill with the community. Their demo fleet is available on a weekly basis at "Tele Tuesdays" and one special Sunday a year when Tele ADK day lives on, the first Sunday of March at the home hill Mount Pisgah, Saranac Lake. Tele Tuesdays They definitely didn't coin the term, nor did they pio- neer tele skiing at Pisgah, but every Tuesday night from 6-8pm The Noco gang hosts "Tele Tuesdays." They en- courage everyone to come out and enjoy night skiing as a community all season long. What makes it special is the opportunity to use their demo fleet and ski and learn with other tele skiers in the area. Will you pick up the technique the first time? Maybe not. Will you get a good laugh at learning how to flail on skis like never before? Most likely. Is it a great ex- cuse to meet up with ski pals weekly, maybe even plan some BC ski adventures? Most definitely. But Tele Tuesday isn't just for new telemarkers, hell it isn't even just for telemark. It's for everyone who wants to come and ski together, smile together, and get the most out of sliding on snow. PSA: Nate will likely take some video clips of you as you learn to promote others to learn it too. If you are interested and want to try demos, be sure to reach out to them @noco_kneedroppers on Insta- gram so they can bring you the gear!

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