– The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog
  • Avalanches
  • Gear Reviews
    • Ski Reviews
    • Boot Reviews
    • Binding Reviews
    • Snowboard Splitboard
    • Book Reviews
    • Avalanche Beacon Reviews
    • Airbag Backpacks
    • Backcountry Electronics
    • Misc Gear Reviews
  • Podcast
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Ski Touring Basics
    • Boot Fitting
    • Fitness & Health
    • Gear Mods
  • Trip Reports
    • Fourteeners
    • Huts – Cabins – Lodges
    • Denali McKinley
    • 8,000 Meter Skiing
  • Stories
    • History
    • Humor
    • Land Use Issues
    • Evergreen Ski Touring
    • Poetry
  • Resources
    • All Posts Listed
    • 100 Recent Comments
    • Backcountry Skiing & Ski Touring Webcams
    • Ski Weights Comparison
    • Archives of WildSnow.com
    • Authors Page
    • Ski Touring Bindings
      • Trab TR2 Index and FAQ
      • Salomon Guardian & Tracker
      • Naxo Backcountry Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Silvretta Pure Backcountry Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Marker F10-12 Duke Baron
      • G3 Onyx Ski Binding FAQ
      • G3 ION Ski Touring Binding
      • Fritschi Backcountry Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Fritschi Diamir Frame Bindings Mount DIY
      • Fritschi Diamir Bindings FAQ
      • Fritschi Tecton FAQ
      • Atomic Salomon Backland MTN
      • Dynafit Tri-Step Binding 2001-2003
      • Naxo randonnee alpine touring AT ski binding FAQ
      • Dynafit Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Dynafit Binding Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
      • Dynafit Beast 16 FAQ Review 1
      • Dynafit Beast 16 FAQ Page Two
    • History
      • Ski Touring Binding Museum
      • Trooper Traverse Intro & Index
      • Randonnee Ski Touring “AT” ski gear — What is Hip?
      • Chronology
    • Backcountry Skiing Core Glossary
    • Gear Review Policy & Disclosures

– The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog

  • Avalanches
  • Gear Reviews
    • Ski Reviews
    • Boot Reviews
    • Binding Reviews
    • Snowboard Splitboard
    • Book Reviews
    • Avalanche Beacon Reviews
    • Airbag Backpacks
    • Backcountry Electronics
    • Misc Gear Reviews
  • Podcast
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Ski Touring Basics
    • Boot Fitting
    • Fitness & Health
    • Gear Mods
  • Trip Reports
    • Fourteeners
    • Huts – Cabins – Lodges
    • Denali McKinley
    • 8,000 Meter Skiing
  • Stories
    • History
    • Humor
    • Land Use Issues
    • Evergreen Ski Touring
    • Poetry
  • Resources
    • All Posts Listed
    • 100 Recent Comments
    • Backcountry Skiing & Ski Touring Webcams
    • Ski Weights Comparison
    • Archives of WildSnow.com
    • Authors Page
    • Ski Touring Bindings
      • Trab TR2 Index and FAQ
      • Salomon Guardian & Tracker
      • Naxo Backcountry Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Silvretta Pure Backcountry Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Marker F10-12 Duke Baron
      • G3 Onyx Ski Binding FAQ
      • G3 ION Ski Touring Binding
      • Fritschi Backcountry Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Fritschi Diamir Frame Bindings Mount DIY
      • Fritschi Diamir Bindings FAQ
      • Fritschi Tecton FAQ
      • Atomic Salomon Backland MTN
      • Dynafit Tri-Step Binding 2001-2003
      • Naxo randonnee alpine touring AT ski binding FAQ
      • Dynafit Skiing Bindings – Info Index
      • Dynafit Binding Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
      • Dynafit Beast 16 FAQ Review 1
      • Dynafit Beast 16 FAQ Page Two
    • History
      • Ski Touring Binding Museum
      • Trooper Traverse Intro & Index
      • Randonnee Ski Touring “AT” ski gear — What is Hip?
      • Chronology
    • Backcountry Skiing Core Glossary
    • Gear Review Policy & Disclosures
   

Retro — Miller Soft Skis

by Lou Dawson October 22, 2012
written by Lou Dawson October 22, 2012

What we used to call “fat” skis is worth a laugh. Back in October of 1993 we reviewed the Miller Soft in Couloir Magzine. Title of the article: “Fat Sticks for Alpine Touring.” Dimensions of the 200 cm Miller Soft ski we reviewed: 99/82/89.

That shows where skis were rapidly heading in terms of form factor, and Millers did look wide at the time.

Miller Soft, one of the first skis designed specifically for natural snow and backcountry skiing.

Miller Soft handout from a ski show in the late 1980s. This was one of the first skis designed specifically for natural snow and backcountry skiing. Advertising material given to public domain by Earl Miller, and he also gave us specific permission to publish here.

Today, 82 at the waist looks like a toothpick when compared to “normal width” skis such as the Dynafit Manaslu (95 mm) and DPS Wailers (99 mm) I’ve got leaning on the wall next to my desk.


Perhaps the most notable thing about the Miller Soft is how long a run it had as a ski model. The first retail model came out around 1970 (anyone who knows the exact year?). We used them on Denali in 1973, and we were still reviewing them and enjoying them 20 years later. Though by then the “Classic Soft” was feeling a bit long in the tooth compared to planks such as the RD Helidog (91 mm).

Designer and inventor Earl Miller was a character. I used to love chatting him up at the ski shows. He always had a unique take and bucked the conventional wisdom at every turn. For example, Earl was never impressed with non-release snowboard bindings and worked for years on designing and marketing a safety snowboard binding. He loved describing the gruesome “fly swatter” foot fracture, which I’ll leave to your imagination. Let’s just say he dissuaded me from snowboarding.

Before his efforts with snowboard gear, he’d designed and marketed a much safer alternative to the leg-trap ski bindings of the 1960s. To promote his “Miller Binding” Earl sponsored the “Miller Falling Contest,” a sort of freestyle event in which participants were judged by how many whacked out falls they could take. Miller promoted the contest by stating “bring your crutches.”


Back to the Miller Soft ski. By making a ski that flexed easily and would “belly” down in soft snow, Miller was essentially making a rockered ski. It’s somewhat surprising that it took so long for skis to appear with built-in rocker, since decades ago Miller and other soft ski makers proved it would work.

The problem with skis such as Miller Soft was that in order to make the ski longitudinally soft they ended up torsionally soft as well and thus performed poorly on hardpack. The beauty of factory molded rocker is your planks can have some stiffness and beef and still be playful in powder. Hence, the amazing choices we have in skis these days.

Miller died in 2002 at age 77.


Miller bio can be found here.

Also, check out this newspaper article about Earl.

Lou Dawson

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.

www.loudawson.com
0
Email
previous post
Bones and Beds — Masterfit University
next post
Pow Season Begins for PNW Backcountry Skiing

Trip Reports

  • Revisiting a 2011 Trip Report: Adventure in the Pickets — Thread of Ice Ski Descent

    December 9, 2022
  • Feeding the Backcountry Soul on Crete

    August 25, 2022

Totally Deep Podcast

  • Totally Deep Podcast 107: Dialing it Back with Blase Reardon

    January 30, 2023

Tips & Tricks

  • Transition Efficiencies 101 with Tech Binding Heel Units

    January 6, 2023
  • Visualizing the Backcountry as a Splitboarder: Minimizing the Challenges of Movement by Anticipating Terrain

    December 5, 2022
  • TURBOCHARGE YOUR TRAILHEAD BEACON CHECK

    November 15, 2022

Recent Comments

  • Mac on Julbo’s Montebianco 2 with the Reactiv 1-3 High Contrast lens: A Review
  • Joe on DIY Binding Mount with an ATK Template
  • Kermit on DIY Binding Mount with an ATK Template
  • wtofd on Samaya Ultra35 Pack: A First Look


Newsletter Sign-Up

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • About Lou Dawson
  • Authors Page
  • About
  • Contact
  • Copyright & Legal
  • Website Security

@2020 - All Rights Reserved. Designed and Developed by WildSnow


Back To Top

Read alsox

Julbo’s Montebianco 2 with the Reactiv...

February 20, 2023

Questing with the Hyperlite Mountain Gear...

February 20, 2023

Two Rules to Break: No Strangers...

February 20, 2023