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Details of early Silvretta
Saas Fee cable binding
The randonnee AT ancestor
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Soon after this original version of the Silvretta Saas Fee, in the early 1970s Silvretta added a stiff
metal plate (sometimes known as a "bear paw" of "bear pad" ) under
the boot, to prevent sideways slop. This plate, combined with
the mechanical pivot, was the first alpine touring randonnee plate
"frame" binding. Not shown here, the binding was designed so you could
latch the cable through sidewall lugs, thus latching down your
heels. My crew at the time tended to avoid this, as it totally
locked out any sideways (lateral) safety release. Instead, we skied the binding
as free-heel parallel. When set up correctly it worked okay. For
example, on Denali in 1973, when we did the first repeat of Erling
Strom's ski of the Muldrow Glacier route, we used 180cm Miller
Softs with the early Silvretta with bear paw plates. Combined with properly fitted
leather double boots (Galibier Hivernal), the system worked for backcountry skiing, but
was nothing like today's randonnee AT gear.
The Silvretta Saas Fee was not for everyone. It was a highly specialized
piece of machinery with a narrow range of purpose. When combined
with the naiveté of most North American ski mountaineers
of the time (compared to those in Europe), the result was frustration,
and resulting experimentation with nordic equipment. Simply put, this version
of the Silvretta binding may have been the seed of the telemark
renovation we've seen over the last three decades. But equally
as important, it was the foundation for the amazingly functional,
durable, and lightweight randonee bindings we now enjoy.
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