A lot of skiers have seen young telemarkers flashing by in their curious but elegant kneeling position. And a lot of downhill skiers have tried cross-country skiing in a track and may even own their own cross-country gear. But even most serious cross-country enthusiasts have never tried telemark turns. Telemarking well in all conditions is a real challenge, but merely learning the turn is easy. If you have a pair of cross-country skis (you don't need special tele-skis to learn the basics) and want to try, do it like this.
First, get used to the telemark stance in a straight run down a very gentle slope. Slide your skis apart, fore and aft, as you drop into a semi-kneeling position: the rear knee almost touching the ski, the front knee bent at 90 degrees. Then rise and slide the rear ski forward as you drop into the opposite kneeling position, front and back legs reversed. Now repeat this kneeling/sliding position a couple of times.
Next, do a couple of fast, smooth wedge turns with your feet pretty close together in a small, narrow wedge. Then, halfway through one of these wedge turns, drop into the telemark position you practiced earlier, outside ski ahead, inside ski trailing (that is to say, if you're turning right, you’ll slide your left ski ahead and let your right ski drop back as you kneel). This wedge-into-telemark works just like a stem christie to sneak you into a beautiful sliding finish, only this time it's a telemark finish to your turn rather than a christie skid. Believe me, it's easy ...if you try it from a narrow wedge.
Next, do a few more of these wedge telemark turns to both sides--fairly long turns, please--letting your skis come around on their own in the telemark position rather than forcing them around quickly. Progressively narrow your wedge more and more while skiing somewhat faster, and in about 15 minutes you'll be guiding a pure telemark turn down your gentle practice hill. A packed-out beginner slope at a downhill ski area is the ideal spot for this eye-opening experiment.