A lightweight binding system that transformed backcountry skiing and put telemarking on the path to obsolescence. The Tech was developed by Austrian Fritz Barthel and introduced in Europe in 1984 by Dynafit, though it was slow to catch on in North America. The relatively bare-bones binding, which includes a front piece with two small pins that lock into a user’s boot, allowed alpine skiers to free their heels for touring and then lock them in for descents. Dynafit held the patent on the bindings until 2007, and now G3, Marker, and others have joined the fray.
(Photo: Tim Tomkinson)
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