“Josh Madsen delves into where telemark skiing began in his follow up to “The Freeheel Life.” Taking you back to what dropping knees looked like in Morgedal, Norway in the 1860s to when it reemerged in the United States in the early 1970s. The scenery and skiing range from some of the first American telemark skiers, like Tom Carter and Doug Robinson, to their modern day protégés like Weston Deutschlander and Ty Dayberry. Get ready to sit back and enjoy some of today’s most progressive moves on freeheel gear, both on and off-piste. It is a journey through the lives of some of the sport’s Hippies, Punx, & Misfits that you won’t want to miss.

Shot on location in Norway, Utah, Alaska & California

Starring: Weston Deutschlander, Shaun Raskin, Ty Dayberry, Zeph Hallowell, Conor Davis, JT Robinson, Candy Froerer, Dan Ruppel, Josh Madsen, Cody Smith, and Alex Paul” -Telemark Skier Magazine

“The Freeheel Life 2: Hippies Punx & Misfits” Official Trailer from Telemark Skier Magazine on Vimeo.

I’m in the best mood EVER!!! Want to know why? …Because today was the first day of my 09-10 ski season. It felt so good to finally get reacquainted with the snow, and I am so happy to be sliding down mountains again. I forgot that I would have to get used to my equipment again, but after a few runs i was quickly charging ahead at full speed. After skiing today, I have a feeling that the rest of this season is going to be truly epic!

The 2009 Baldy Bash was a blast! The competition consisted of coming up with, and singing a team theme song loudly to everyone in the Lodge, a Photo-op Scavenger hunt all over the Mountain, and finally costumes were judged as well. Needless to say our amazing team (YMCA): Riley Berman, Lily Debray, Lynsey Dyer, Madi DuPont, Allegra Gordan, and Conor Davis(me), won the days events. I cannot wait for Baldy Bash 2010.

Hot-CoCo CanCan

Conor’s Amazing Tail Grab

Hanging with the Lifties

All-Star Team!!!

I went to Revelstoke Mountain resort for opening day on Nov. 27, 2008. The mountain opened with 80cm, which is awesome compared to other mountains in the American Northwest. Revelstoke Is an amazing mountain, there isn’t too much for one learn on, but the intermediate, and advanced terrain is impressive. I had a great time and I can’t wait to see what this mountain is like with some real snow on it. I had an amazing first day skiing, but it seems that no matter how much I train, my legs turn to flab within the first couple of hours or so each season. Nevertheless, it was great to finally get some vert in; I managed to get about 31095ft in the 5hrs I skied. I’m ecstatic that ski season is upon us once again, see you out there…

Besides the cliché half-binding/half-brained hippy statement: “because the turn looks and feels so sweet dude,” I telemark because it is a key to unlock the hidden treasures of the mountains and because it allows access the backcountry. Telemarking allows me to enjoy mountains, and express myself better than I could do with tradition alpine skiing. “Then why don’t you just A.T.” you might ask? We all know that A.T. means “Almost Telemark.” I feel that A.T. doesn’t allow the seamless and fluid movement through the mountains, that telemarking does. I believe that A.T. is a great way for beginners to experience touring, but why not loose that clunky heelpiece?

To me, telemarking is like using handwritten calligraphy instead of type: it’s more technically challenging, it boasts additional style, and it contains an individual flair unique to each artisan… Plus it just looks cooler. Duh!!!

Haig Glacier

This was my first freeskiing competition of my 2008 winter season. I had a lot of fun and I placed well considering I was the only competitor on telemark equipment. The snow was amazing, but the visibility went to zero soon after the competition started, so finding my line was a bit difficult.