Passport Bindings - Backcountry Bindings Good For Anybody

The following is a guest post from backcountry ski expert Craig Dostie, author of Earn Your Turns.

There are roughly three different styles of backcountry ski bindings you should consider if you're hunting fresh powder. The one that will appeal most easily to alpine skiers are essentially alpine bindings mounted on a plate with a hinge that is attached to the ski. To ski uphill you need climbing skins and a way to free your heel – that's what the hinge is for - so you can simply walk on top of the snow up the mountainside.

These bindings are fully equipped to earn turns in the backcountry, and durable enough to handle whatever abuse you may subject them to under or outside the lifts, whether cruising hardpack or nailing the landing, the beef is all about absorbing the big hits without letting go. For that flavor of earning turns, you want to play both sides of the line and binding like the Marker Duke, Salomon Guardian, Tyrolia Adrenaline, or the MFD plate gives you geographical options.

Plenty of people rocking passport style bindings to get the first taste of snow this fall, climbing up Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. Photo by Craig Dostie.

Admittedly their weight exacts a penalty if you go very far, which is why they're often called sidecountry or slackcountry bindings. I like to think of them as passport bindings - bindings that provide the key to unlocking the secrets of the backcountry.

They're the quickest way to access the goods without having to buy a rash of new equipment. One of these and a pair of climbing skins and you're set to go. Well, actually, you need to get an avalanche prescription – that's where you play roulette with the avalanche lizard in search of fresh tracks and you admit so.  Then, once you're hooked, you'll want to get a different pair of ski boots and ... but to just start earning your turns this is the best way to go.

Passport ski bindings mean you don't have to wait for the lifts to start spinning when an early fall storm dumps feet of powder. Photo by Craig Dostie.

Now there are lots of options to chose from. Four models from Marker: the Duke and his brother Marker Baron, and the Tour twins, the Marker Tour F12 and F10. Salomon is introducing the blue-hued Salomon Guardian, also sold as the yeller-colored Tracker from Atomic. Tyrolia joins the fray with the Adrenaline, sold under the Elan and Head brand names,  not to mention three variations from Fritschi Diamir, and another from Hagen. The most widely distributed are the Fritschi and Marker brands, although Salomon/Atomic will   definitely have strong market interest.

Which one is best depends on how much time you plan to use the binding in-bounds versus out and how many landings you plan to subject them to. The more you keep your feet on the ground and/or spend time away from the lifts, the less weight you need to put up with. In that case, concentrate on the touring performance features best exemplified with the Fritschi Diamir and Hagen brands, or the Marker Tour Bindings.

If you expect to be mogul bashing and stomping lotsa landings, you want high DIN and the touring performance need only suffice for occasional climbs then look closely at the Duke/Baron, Guardian/Tracker or Adrenaline. So far, only the Duke has a track record to stand on with an established and largely satisfied customer base.

The Salomon Guardian promises the same and looks fully capable of stomping regular landings with a few changes that make the touring feature a tad more friendly. Adrenaline uses a plastic plate but Duke proved that is not necessarily a problem and, like the Guardian can switch to a free heel without exiting the binding. When you're switching modes to go uphill that had little advantage, but if you want a free heel for the flats, without skins, that is a nice feature to have.

In the end the main thing is to get one of these if you're itching to add a little taste of adventure to your skiing and feast on freshies from both sides, in- AND out-of-bounds. Add climbing skins and some avy savvy and you'll be ready to rock. Ski you out there.

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Craig Dostie is the author of backcountry ski blog EarnYourTurns.com. You can come see Craig at the Start Haus with more questions, or send them to the Start Haus Experts.