There is a long literary tradition linked to the mountains and mountaineering. It is an enduring and engrossing heritage that started from the time of man’s very first exploits to the mountains, and continues to this very day. To sit down with great mountaineering adventure literature is to be transported viscerally and emotionally to places near and far; the prose allowing the mind to form internal pictures and to introspectively enter the story. Our mission with Telemark Journal is to take you, the telemark-loving reader, to wonderful corners of our earth - with the Journal also acting as a springboard resource to help inspire and plan your own ski adventures. We hope that the semi-annual Telemark Journal will enhance your bookshelf and not just end up in a pile in your living room. We all know telemark skiers are an especially passionate group of folks. Our desire is to use this robust telemark connection to build our global community in our quest to explore the mountains of the world in the most stylish way possible - Telemark. Telemark Journal aspires to be an International Anthology describing places and mountains of the world through the voices of international writers who are passionate about mountaineering with telemark skis. For the most part, articles will appear in the original language. Visitors are invited to scan through the pages on their mobile phones to see if topics of interest reside in their language. Will having the anthology in multiple languages be a handicap? As it can sometimes be laborious heading out on an early or strenuous telemark tour, we feel that, as with the skiing, the effort involved translating a particular story of interest will always be worth it Biannually? This is a big commitment and we can only succeed if we attract quality writing, stories, and photos. Like a rolling snowball, these story attributes will build upon itself, attracting further skiers/writers/photographers. The more readers and writers we can attract, the better the content will be, generating more knowledge, interpretations, and discovery of new unknown places. This will lead to a rich Journal we can all be proud of. Please help spread the news of Telemark Journal amongst your community, and help spread the word that we are looking for contributors, inspired stories, and photos, of your telemark experiences from around the world.  This long literary tradition linked to the mountains and mountaineering is what inspires us…