Alpine touring binding

A touring binding is a ski binding for backcountry skis. Nowadays, a touring binding features adjustable step ladder, a safety strap or ski brakes and an apparatus for attaching crampons.

The ski boot is fixed in the touring binding when ascending only at the toe, while the heel is free to move vertically. To shut down the heel is also fixed, and the touring binding corresponds to their function by a conventional ski binding.

The earlier up in the 60s usual ski bindings with cable tensioners and side fixation by baking front were automatically touring bindings. It took only the cable from a hook on the side to solve. The Silvretta Haute Route was until the early 70s, a company specializing in tours product of its kind

Touring bindings as special technical challenges, there is only since the first heel machines were developed in the 60s. Lussier and markers would give the first the heel a little game up with (6-8 cm). Other built the heel of a flexible plate, which also allowed some play up.

The first touring bindings that were useful according to current understanding and suitable also for hard shell ski boots ( which emerged in the 1970s ), were Iser and Vinersa from 1972. Both mounted Toe and heel piece on a continuous plate and arranged the front jaw about a transverse axis rotation of. This 90 -degree angle for comfortable walking were possible.

However, the security in triggering depended on these two brands still on the shoe off, especially the outsole of ski mountaineering boot was problematic. This problem was solved only with plate bindings where the shoe remains fixed on a plate or frame, which in turn dissolves the ski. The Silvretta 400 in 1978 was the first and to date are mostly used, binding of this kind, other early ( and still current ) solutions came from the American manufacturer Ramer and Swiss Fritschi.

A recent development are shoes, take the parts of the function of binding, so no more disk must be raised with the shoe. This leads to a large weight loss.