The MTN Approach system is the first ever hinged back country ski that allows you to fold and store into the space of a conventional back county day pack. The system is lighter, faster then conventional split board systems as well as other climber skis on the market. The Pillar Design team worked directly with MTN Approach to develop this innovative product. Our focus was the collapsible binding system design. Hours went into this design working and re-working the form to perfection.

Factors that played into the MTN Approach was focused on reducing weight under foot. As it relates to back country gear every oz. of weight is a factor that equates to a climbers distance and time on the mountain. If you can shave weight this allows the end user to go longer and further with-out fatigue. The complex circular problem of reducing weight with out jepordizing strength and reliability is a continues hurtle for both the designer and engineers on the project. Functionality and comfort also play a heavy hand in the decision making process. Our goals was to reduce the weight to 3.5lbs per ski. “Keep in mind that for every 1 lb on your foot, it’s like carrying an extra 6.4 lb of weight on your back.”

The ability to collapse the ski and pack into a conventional back county day pack is what makes the MTN Approach the first ever unique system like this on the market today. This ingenious adaptation of approach ski really sets this product out from the rest.

The Pillar Design team brought our extensive knowledge of back country gear as well as our long history of developing a multitude of product for the outdoor and winter sports industry. We knew we needed to work with engineering materials that can handle the abusive conditions that occur in back country climates. From the base, to straps, heel loop and hinge materials each component has to withstand a variety of punishment in below zero conditions. To develop the design we had to understand human and pack weight max. requirements.
Our long history of developing snowboard bindings for world class companies like K2 Snowboards, Flow, Sims and Mervin Mfg. gave the Pillar the advantage over other design studios in this industry. The Pillar team’s working knowledge of materials, manufacturing processes, 3D design, engineering and the product development process gave us the right formulation for success on this product.

Pillar while working with MTN Approach we went thru a long series of concept development and basic ideation sketch work. We factored functionality, form and ergonomics to make key decisions on the design direction. We built prototypes and performed test and re-tests to make sure that we had designs that were moving us forward. We spent hours tweaking the design to make sure we had and optimized assembly and construction the met the market goals demands and needs. We investigated and explored multiple manufacturing techniques as well as composite constructions. The Pillar Product Design team used a concept mapping technique to filter multiple ideas down to a couple valid directions. The Pillar worked with MTN Approach from initial ID concepts to 3D solid works advanced surfacing and assembly modelling to prototype builds. We built and created the necessary assets needed for a complete and detailed tooling and manufacturing hand-off.

I believe that this system allows the end user to go deeper into back county and explore areas where few have seen. It also allows users to efficiently access amazing ski terrain that maybe was only visible from a mountain top or from the air. This system allows the end user push their potential to an amazing level. The weight functionality of gear often limits what can and cannot be done, the MTN Approach system is and exception to that case. It’s minimal construction is what is needed when literally your life depends on your gear. This tool at it’s most basic components gives the end user an amazing ability to explore deeper into the back county with confidence and reliability. This ability to explore and make new discoveries supports how important nature is and how so few individuals truly understand it’s beauty complexity and mystery.

Honorable mentions include:
Placed 4th most innovative product at Denver SIA ( Ski Industry of America) 2011 and
Featured in Outside Magazine for radical new products for 2012
Featured with Trans World Business Feb. 2012.