I blogged this one last winter, but thought I’d add it to the online museum. If anyone knows the dates this binding was in production please leave a comment or send an email. Museum display here.
Multiple views of Silvretta 300, click image for massive enlargement.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain. For more about Lou, please see his personal website at https://www.loudawson.com/ (Blogger stats: 5 foot 10 inches (178 cm) tall, 160 lbs (72574.8 grams).
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lou.dawson.writer
7 comments
I had some great tours and skied a few peaks with those bindings. Glad to have them in your collection.
I’ve used the Silvretta 400, the same model but with lateral release. But for the 300s Mark Twight, in his book “Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast, and High” wrote:
“Find the lightest ski and binding combination possible. Don’t fret over safety release features, because skis this short cause less twisting fall. There’s no need to go fast and out of control anyway. In the United States, Silvretta 300s are the lightest available mountaineering bindings – ones that leave the heel free or clamped down as you choose.”
I just acquired some Silvretta 400s, and am in the process of getting them all setup. When adjusting the length of the binding to fit my boots, I’m running into a problem. There is a small red arrow on the side of the heel plate which points to min, max or anywhere in between when the heel is locked in. The heel plate is adjusted by removing some clips, and sliding the binding to pre-set notches in the side rails, then reinstalling the clips.
The problem: my boot size (306) seems to be between notches: The needle is either pointing at the max line, or is just ‘above’ the min line. Is this a problem? My intuition tells me to go with the minimum setting. Any advice is appreciated.
Minimum setting is likely best. Try engaging the heel throw and see how everything looks.
Yeah, try it at the minimum and if the boot is held in the binding ok, you are good to go.
I am overseas, but in the US I have a pair of Silvretta 300’s in storage for my US size 12 boots. Will they go down to US size 8 boots, or were they made in several sizes??
I threw my first front flip on skis on these bindings! Wow…scary eh? Got them for $40 and toured for a couple years on them. Good design considering the era in which they were made!
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