Politicians dream endless power, CEOs dream piles of money, and backcountry skiers dream of the binding that tours “easily” but skis downhill like an alpine race binding.
With such dreams in mind, the Swiss came up with the Secura-Fix backcountry skiing adapter back in the early 1980s. The idea: make a base shaped like an alpine boot sole, then attach a touring binding on top of that. Clip the base of this contraption into your alpine bindings and away you go. Or actually, away you waddle with enough weight on your feet to cause permanent orthopedic damage. Nonetheless, Secura-Fix units were pressed into service worldwide, with the idea eventually being picked up by American company Backcountry Access, who in 1997 began selling their similar but more functional adapter known as the Alpine Trekker. (Another touring adapter known as the R.A.T. was developed by Paul Ramer in the 1980s. Alpine Trekker ceased retail sales in 2015.)
Secura-Fix adapter shown in the classic Salomon 747 alpine binding.
Entire unit sans alpine binding.
Mandatory mod, length adjustment and movement was fixed with this through bolt.
Length adjustment for fit to ski was done by sliding the rear plastic housing for and aft on the round metal connector bar. Major problem was that the heel unit would rotate on the round bar, rendering the binding unpractical for heavy use. Fix was to thru-bolt housing to bar once you knew what length you wanted. Arrow in photo above indicates this mod.
Length adjustment for boots is done by moving the heel latch yoke along this notched bar. Elegant. Too bad it didn’t 100% function and had to be modded.
Click this image version for a detailed enlargement of Secura-Fix ski touring adapter.
Weight: 20.2 oz, 579 gr
This Secura-Fix binding adapter was donated to the WildSnow.com collection by Pete Sowar.
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Secura Fix ski touring adapter, thumbnail.
