Bishop Telemark

I purchased Chedi skis,184cm with BMF/3, 75mm bindings. This is the best telemark setup I've ever had! I was looking for frontside skis that could handle hard, fast snow, and got just what I was looking for. Yes, the bindings/springs are stiff, and I ordered and installed the "softer springs", which were a perfect adjustment. Mounting the bindings and installing the new springs were very easy, and the online videos helped.

For comparison, I'm 72 years old, 6ft, 175lbs, and have been telemarking for 20 years. Gotta love Bishop!

I bought this set of skis after deliberating for a couple of winters, and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. These skis are awesome! I read/watched the post from Absolute Telemark, https://absolutetelemark.com/tag/bishop-gonzo/ and decided I wanted to give these skis a go. I needed to upgrade boots and bindings as well, so I was worried about a whole new system and ended up waiting a few winters.

I wish I had just committed and gone for it. I skied on these all winter and they were fantastic. My previous set up was an old beat up set of K2 Sideshows, T1s, and Axl bindings. The new set up is Gonzos, new TX Pros, and OutlawX. This new set up had a similar feel to the old but was better in every way! I kept my old set up thinking I'd want to ski on it sometimes, but once I was on these I never wanted to go back.

These skis performed really well on piste as advertised. The way the edge engages to initiate turns and pivots for quick turns is effortless. I used them on fresh groomers, bumpy crud, moguls, powder in the trees, and icy conditions. The Gonzos handled all of it with ease and gave me lots of confidence to charge ahead into any variable conditions.

I also did a fair bit of back country skiing with these as well. I know Bishop doesn't necessarily intend for these skis to be their all-mountain ski because they're 90 underfoot, but I prefer my all-mountain to be a bit narrower. Back country skiing in Norway this winter let me experience pretty much all snow conditions except for spring snow. We had fresh powder, heavy wet snow, soft packed, hard packed wind slab, ice, and sometimes all during one tour. These skis handled all of it really well. The only time I felt that maybe the skis might have held me back was in the heavy wet snow where a fatter set might have helped.

Overall, I'm really happy with these skis and I can't recommend them highly enough! You don't need to shy away from powder with these either, you just might find that you have to modify your technique a bit.

This ski is so responsive and effortlessly turns. I’m not working nearly as hard as I had to on my old skis. The Chedi makes me a feel ten years younger. A true time machine!

Love the camber. These skis do it all…powder, ice, crust, slush, gunk, crud, bumps. Very responsive tail and a shovel that just goes. I have Axl’s mounted and drive em with t1’s. This is a Telemark ski.

First timer on Bishop skis, it is a great ski. First day was a foot of pow which got a little heavy at the bottom of th mtn. The Chedi's skied great. Awsome turns in the tight trees and no chatter on the firm. 38 years of telemark.

Great responsiveness & support. KUDOS!!

I’ve been looking for a resort specific ski to replace my old Rossignol S3’s and O1 bindings. I tried the Gonzo with BMF bindings at an Alta demo day and thought ‘this is it’! (Shout out to Nic and Sylvia for getting me set up and swapping around springs)
I’ve now skied the Gonzo BMF with soft springs around 20 days in every condition but deep powder. I gotta say this is a wonderful ski and binding. I’m an old man that’s skied pretty much all the 75mm bindings as they came along. I feel like a little giggly kid when I step into these things.
The Gonzo is probably the best spring-conditions ski I’ve every had. Holds an edge on firm groomers, turns on dime and makes me feel like I actually know how to carve!
Five out of five stars for sure.

Quick and easy install on my new Chedi’s with 75mm Stealth bindings and T2 boots. The difference was immediate. Thanks for the smooth transition and a little less lateral torque on the knees to flex.

I hesitated for a while as I thought the bindings were too soft snow oriented…
The fact is that these give you so much power that you can ski for much longer, carve like standard alpine skis on European hard pack snow and feel at ease when that snow goes slushy at the end of a day.
It’s one of those situations where it’s hard to imagine how much these bingings can change and improve your telemark skiing experience.
The downside: I want those bindings on my other pairs of skis.

Stable, great tension, skis well. Comes with 2nd set of springs if you want less tension. Tours well with simple mechanism. Love the step in NTN set up. Love it.

Have about 15 days on this ski out in Big Sky for the '24/'25 season. Some awesome powder days, some warmer days on corn, some choppy crud, some heavier slushy days. These skis do it all! With the short radius they roll from side to side effortlessly yet still float well in powder. They cut through crud well, turning easily around jumps and bumps and on groomers can carve pretty well too!

The short radius and a softer build makes them a total Agent of Chaos, in a fun way! But, if you aren't on top of the ski and working your transitions they can be a tad unpredictable and catch you off guard, especially if you are used to the more standard 20-26m radius skis. Super fun when you work them, and if you are nice and loose you can choose to ride them or drive them as much as you like! They are a bit soft as a true all mountain ski, but I found myself reaching for these even on groomer days and just skiing a bit slower to compensate.

I did have to try two different mounting positions. While I loved the responsiveness of the recommended boot center mount I found that I was getting too much tip dive in the powder. I moved the mounting position back a full two cm and found a sweet spot; great control, good edge to edge transitions and no more tip dive.

Finally, a single improvement I would like to ski for the next season: a bit more curve upwards at the tip could promote better float.

Specs: 186cm, Meidjo 3, Crispi Evo
Size: 194cm, 85kg (dry), 15 years on telemarks
Prior Skis: BD Boundary Pros in 100mm and 115mm

OMG OMG OMG! I'm in LOVE with these skis. They slay anything in their path, a true all mountain and all condition ski. I've never had a ski designed specifically for tele, and oh my, I didn't know what I was missing. These babies turn on a dime and don't mind an aggressive edge. Absolutely no chatter even going mach 10 through crud. Both steep and deep and cruiser turns are so much fun, it feels like dancing. Bonus = sick artwork and named after a sweet pup. Bishop I love ya, I think you're stuck with me for years to come!

I bought them right before 2 ski trips. Love these skis in all conditions. Even at 90 under foot they’re a little weak in icy surfaces but they rip in everything else. Soft snow, bumps and loose cut up snow. Just got 16” at Steamboat and these skis excelled. Would recommend!

Spring was easy to install at home. Works great.

I work on the mountain constantly clicking in and out and let me say it’s a game changer. Super sturdy testing features all day no problem I think my skis will give out before the bindings