Heavy tele setup? I've gone completely around the bend (and potentially off my rocker) and am into the end of my first season on the lightest tele set up I now own - a pair of full leather alpina tele boots, simple three pin cables and ultra light Hagan skis. I think they weigh a combined 5 pounds - lighter than any at/snowboard/plastic tele set up I've ever owned.
This setup by no means makes me a better tele skier, light and super easy on the hike in and climb up, but ever so sensitive to the skills (or lack thereof) of the oarsman. Like a wooden dory on the Grand Canyon, there may be better and certainly safer ways down the river, but none that get you closer to the environment you're in. I never really was all that great a tele skier, the allure of confidence in jump turning in a couloir made me grab my AT set up or snowboard way too often to improve my drop knee to more than "fair" in the best of conditions, but as I age, and the true definition of "pleasure" for cascading down a snow-filled slope foments and changes within me, I know what I can do on my snowboard or AT skis - anything, in just about any condition on any mountain slope - but on my light tele gear, well, that question is a long way away from being answered.
I am now super sensitive to the snow conditions, cautious of steep terrain and tight mandatory expert skills; the lightness of my gear a gift to uphill travel and long approaches and also ensures I am close to the mountain's vibrations, good or ill, and skiing once again like I am a teenager learning everything anew.
When I finally do get those skis to carve around together in a sinuous "s" with no wash outs, in groomer, ice or soft new snow, those are the fleeting moments that will last all summer long.
Long live my quest on tele skis, may it last another 24 years.
