Why Can't Telemark Still Be Heady?

Telemark skiing struggles to be relatable today. Many just can't see why a band of skiers would choose a harder, seemingly archaic technique when something easier is available in alpine skiing. But more than anything, outsiders labor to understand not so much the method as the rationale for telemark, often simplified into far-out, hippie-inspired fragments loosely elevating telemark into a spiritual endeavor. Snippets like free the heel, free the mind abound, oft rebuffed with a trusty refrain: