In Search of the Perfect Telemark Ski Binding

The design of a good ski binding is an exercise in engineering compromise and a lesson in the use of analysis tools. • Telemark skiing combines cross country with downhill. • FEA cut weight off G3 bindings without a strength loss. • Physical tests verified FEA results. G3 Genuine Guide Gear Inc. Telemark skiing might not have as many devotees as downhill and cross-country skiing, but its back-country setting — off the beaten trails with plenty of fresh snow and wide open vistas — has attracted a loyal following. And as more people take up the sport, a hybrid of downhill and cross-country skiing, the equipment is changing to accommodate a wider variety of telemark (or freeheel) skiers. So G3 Genuine Guide Gear Inc. , North Vancouver, Canada, decided to update its popular Targa binding, the device that holds a ski onto the skier’s boot. “The introduction of plastic telemark boots, and the trend for those boots to become larger and stiffer, led to a lot of broken bindings,” says Cameron Shute, a senior product developer at G3. “Unlike Alpine (or downhill) bindings which connect at the heel toe, telemark skis have the physics stacked against them in that they only connect at the front of the boot with a plate or duckbill.” So G3 set about to develop a new binding with the idea of making it stronger but also lighter, more dependable, and more controllable for skiing downhill. Key to the Targa binding redesign are compressionspring cartridges, a common feature on modern telemark bindings. A pair of cartridges, one per side, mount in line with a cable that encircles the back of the skier’s ankle or heel. The cartridges pull the heel forward, forcing the boot into the binding. They also apply a load to the heel to keep