Natural Walking Plate, freeride edition.
Stefano Maruelli will not rest. This is thelatest version of his Natural Walking Plate for those of the freeride inclination. Includes provision for Dynafit slide-on brake (as shown), and Stefano’s nice anti-rotation solution for the heel unit. At first glance the NWP might look like a solution without a problem. In reality, this contraption does two things that I believe have real-world application. First, it provides a nicely ergonomic stride that might be the ticket for anyone with repetitive use syndromes from uphilling with skis and skins. Second, it helps you leave your skis on the snow during your entire stride, so for freeriders hauling gigantic skis uphill, it could be a good way to make life easier. Stefano also claims it simply makes you faster uphill than conventional bindings, despite the added weight. I’m still not sure that’s true, but can testify from testing that it doesn’t slow you down. Would I use them myself? I wouldn’t mind a rig with NWP for fitness uphilling, to prevent overuse injury.
See our previous coverage of NWP.
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.
