AEWC Center Works with Telestick LLC; Developing Composite Winter Sports Equipment
Contact: Roberta Laverty (207) 581-2110; David Munson (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Maine – Telestick LLC, located in Pownal, Maine, is working with UMaine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center to develop and test a composite pole, called a “lurk,” to be used in telemark skiing.
Several years ago, Telestick founder Matt Welch took up telemark, an increasingly popular technique for backcountry skiing. Welch used a traditional bamboo pole, called a lurk. Although it enhanced Welch’s technique, the bamboo pole would often break and was awkward to carry in lift lines.
Welch developed the 8-foot Telestick, a composite pole that splits in half for chair lift rides and other situations where two poles are an advantage. The ends are protected with a cap that is locked in place with stainless steel screws. This allows the skier to use the Telestick as an outrigger or rudder.
AEWC Center researchers Olivia Sanchez and Robert Lindyberg found the Telestick to have superior properties when compared to the bamboo pole. The new design proved to be durable, ski-lift friendly and adaptable to versatile situations. According to Welch, “The strong and durable quality of the Telestick combined with the technology of skis today makes the Telestick trick factor limitless!”