RETURN TO GLORY
Historic Telemark Trails are being restored and expanded
By Mark Parman The last decade wasn't kind to the Telemark Resort ski trails near Cable, Wis., which suffered mainly from neglect. Maintenance was minimal and grooming sporadic, and most cross country skiers stopped skiing on what were once some of the finest cross country ski trails in the country. After all, there were plenty of nearby places to ski, like the Birkie Trail, Rock Lake and the Drummond Ski Trails, places loved and
well cared for. But that all changed last winter, when the Telemark Interval Owner's Association (TIOA) made a commitment to return the trails and the l odge to their former state. During the winter of 2000–2001, the Telemark Trails featured 16 loops
and over 65 kilometers of skiing, including the new and highly regarded Kortelopet Trail and the North End Ski Club's trails off Randysek Road. Add the additional 40 kilometers of the Birkebeiner Trail, and last winter skiers could potentially cover over 100 kilometers. According to Phil Van Valkenberg, a marketing associate for Telemark
Resort and the unofficial historian of the trails, if skiers skied all 16 loops here, they would log over 130 kilometers, enough for any weekend warrior. Telemark has a background rich in ski history. In 1948, Telemark opened as a downhill ski area with the original Base Chalet. Thirty years later, with the rising popularity of cross country skiing and a general
fitness boom in the country, the first ski trails appeared. In 1973, Tony Wise, founder of the American Birkebeiner, hired Sven Wiik, who designed Wise's original Birkebeiner Trail, to lay out some of the early Telemark Trails: the Birkebeiner Loop, the Martha Rockwell and Alison's Trail. Bob and Harold Treeland were also much involved with those early trails. In recognition of their help,
the newest Telemark Trails, opening this winter, will be named the Treeland Trails.
"They're novice and casual skier trails," said Van Valkenberg, who was involved with the initial planning of these trails. "They [the Treeland Trails] go out into the woods to the Warming Cabin in as easy terrain as possible." Three loops (4, 5 and 6 kilometers) were cut this summer with the help of Jack Moine and Dan Malesivich.
The Telemark Trails reached their zenith in the late 1970s with the help of Marty Hall. According to Van Valkenberg, the World Cup Trail was dedicated in December of 1976 by then Wisconsin Gov. Pat Lucey. This new 15–kilometer loop, through some of the hilliest terrain in the area, became part of the first GitchiGami Games, and the first unofficial World Cup.
"One interesting thing – at the time of the first World Cup, if there had
been 10 more meters of climbing, it wouldn't have met the FIS standards. It was almost too difficult," claimed Van Valkenberg. A given World Cup race can only have a certain amount of total climbing per course. Any skier who has skied the Marty Hall or World Cup loops knows how steep and challenging the terrain is. These trails difficulty rivals the Powerline at the start of the Birkebeiner.
Few skiers, both American and foreign, know that the World Cup
circuit actually started on the Telemark Trails. In December of 1978, the first ever World Cup race, in a sport we've come to expect to be dominated by Scandinavians in places like Falun, Lahti and Lillehammer, ran on these trails.
By the late '80s and early '90s, and with the rise of the skating technique, the trails' former glory faded. In part, the skating revolution prompted the demise; the original Telemark Trails were designed for
classic technique, the trails cut only 12 feet wide. Sven Wiik, Marty Hall, Tim Caldwell and Bill Koch had all but been forgotten.
By the end of the decade, the previous owner was grooming only 18 kilometers, and then infrequently, even though management claimed they were grooming 50 kilometers. And for the most part, skiers simply stopped coming, opting to ski elsewhere.
Fortunately, this has all changed. It was only a matter of time before
those skiers, who could remember Telemark as it once was, longed for the good old days.
Last winter the Marty Hall loop was open for the first time in a decade. Fourteen of the original 15 kilometers were up and running.
"Some of the Marty Hall may never be reclaimed," said Van Valkenberg. A kilometer or so of this trail has seen considerable erosion and the effects of years of abandonment. "It'd be nice to get Marty Hall back here," mused Van Valkenberg.
Skiers did return and several races exposed the trails. The first annual 24 Hours of Telemark kicked off the race season at Telemark last January. Race director Kevin Eccles was extremely pleased with the condition and grooming of the trails. Abundant snowfall didn't hurt either. The competitors enjoyed the 10–kilometer loop as well, which used a portion of the World Cup Trail. They were pleased with the variety of terrain and the flow of the trails, which seem to have a magic when skied.
This winter, the trails will receive even more exposure. The Nor–Am race scheduled for mid–December (see accompanying article) should draw top competitors from both the United States and Canada as they gear up for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. The second annual 24 Hours of Telemark is again scheduled for mid–January and Eccles expects an even larger event than last years.
February will see three major events on the Telemark Trails. The first
weekend of the month, the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) will host the Midwest regionals. The next week, the North End Classic follows, a classic technique race on the new Kortelopet course. This race was a huge success last year. It was also the first test for the new course.
And, of course, the fourth weekend of the month, the Birkie comes to Telemark. Van Valkenberg says to expect a new finish for the Kortelopet, which finishes at Telemark. Gone are the switchbacks down
Mount Telemark in the final kilometer. The new course will feature a milder descent.
According to Van Valkenberg, the goal of the new management is to "put Telemark back into the condition it once had, to give it the status it once had."
If last winter is any indication, Telemark is well on its way back to where it once was – at the top of the Nordic world.
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