Club Spotlight: University of Montana Telemark Ski Club

Bishop Telemark: We love seeing clubs like yours growing and thriving! Can you tell us, what’s the University of Montana Telemark Ski Club about?

UMTSC: The University of Montana Telemark Ski Club is keeping telemark skiing alive in the younger generation! Our main goal is to keep skiing accessible for anybody who is interested in trying.

We meet up and ski at Missoula’s local hill, Snowbowl. We also compete weekly in the winter as a part of the Missoula Telemark Challenge, which is the longest running telemark race series in the U.S! This year, we are planning a ski trip for the first time ever and we are super excited!

BT: How did The University of Montana Telemark Ski Club get started?

UMTSC: Previous students of UM Owen Darrow and Esther Lyon Delsordo started the club many years ago. As they graduated, the club began to die down as telemark was taking a pause in the student groups.

Three years ago Lucy Decker took the reins of the club from Owen and pushed the concept of telemark skiing incredibly hard. Today, we are one of the largest telemark ski clubs in the U.S!

BT: Heck yeah! How many people are participating in the club now?

UMTSC: We have 128 active members, with 40 weekly racers this year. The club has grown significantly in the past few years. We have a handful of long time tele skiers, but we are mostly made up of new shredders! We are also excited to announce that we have a strong female ratio amongst our group. Way to go tele ladies!

BT: That's a ton of people! It's really impressive how quickly the club has grown to that size. Ya’ll must be making sure people are having a great time.

What’s the most fun thing you have planned that people should come out for?

UMTSC: In three months we are renting out Teton Pass in Choteau, Montana to create an epic telemark only ski day! We are inviting telemark skiers from all over and we are hiring multiple telemark instructors for the day to help people feel more confident. If you are already confident that is perfect! Just come up and enjoy the day and meet some new tele friends! We are working on scheduling now, it will most likely be the end of February or beginning of March.

BT: Sounds like a blast. We're on the edge of our seat waiting to hear more about the event!

Any other plans for the future you want to mention? How can people in the community help out?

UMTSC: The future is bright! We would love to be able to participate in more ski trips, and we would love to be able to hire more instructors to help students feel more confident.

Lastly, our gear locker could use some love! We are in need of donation gear to help keep skiing affordable. 

BT: Where can people find you?

UMTSC: The best way keep up with us is to follow us on instagram at umontana_telemark

BT: Keep up the good work! And we’ll see you on the slopes!

SUPPORT THE NEXT GENERATION OF TELEMARK!

• Give to the UMTSC fundraiser (ends Dec 24, 2024)

• Follow UMTSC on instagram

• Have gear to donate? Email lucydecker1@gmail.com. All gear is welcome, but if you donate WOMEN’S TELE BOOTs Bishop will send you a free piece of schwag of your choice.