For telemark skiers times have indeed changed. The leather boots, skinny skis, three pin bindings have given way to plastic, fat or (phat) skis and super-ultra heavy duty bindings. These changes allow skiers to go faster, harder, bigger and stay out longer. I think it is great even if a little of the romance of the sport is gone. I ski alpine, nordic, telemark, and AT and have to say that one of my favorite innovations in the last few years is the touring mode adopted by telemark binding manufacturers. As on AT gear this mode allows free healers to really free the heel when climbing with skins on the bottom of the skis. If you have not yet made the switch - do it. As soon as you can justify shelling out a little cash these will save you on the uphills from getting heel blisters, save you from tip dive as you climb through powder, and save you a ton of energy freeing you from hamstring fatigue. I am using the Black Diamond O1 and am extremely happy with its durability and skiing performance as well as its ease of use. If you are in the market there are a lot of good ones out there and this should be a front runner, but more than anything, if you tour - go get a set of bindings with the tour mode and quit suffering and slogging up the hill. You will not regret it.
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