Georges Salomon, the founder of ski equipment company Salomon and inventor of the release bindings, died earlier this week.
Tributes have been paid to him throughout the ski world as he started one the major brands in the sports and invented what turned out to be the standard for modern bindings.
Georges Salomon was the son of a saw blade producer, and that's where he also started before moving into producing edges for skis in the '50s. By the mid '60s the company had grown and released the first heel release binding and by the '70s Salomon had become the largest manufacturer of bindings in the world, selling over a million sets.
During the mid '70s Salomon moved into producing soft goods for the ski industry and they released their first ski boots toward the end of the decade. During this period Geroges Salomon had grown his small saw blade company into one of the largest ski brands in the world.
As well as for his brand, which still lives on as part of the Amer Sports umbrella, he will mostly be remembered for inventing the heel release bindings, saving the Achilles tendons of millions of skiers.
"He was an extraordinary visionary who was always a step ahead of his competition," said the Marketing Director of Salomon, Yvan Thevenin.
The International Ski Federation, FIS, has paid tribute too. "FIS sends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Georges Salomon who passed away on Tuesday 5th October at his home by the shores of Lake Annecy after an illness aged 85."
Tuesday was a sad day for the Salomon family and the ski industry as a whole, losing on if its true pioneers, though Georges Salomon will always be remembered by the sport as one of their finest.
Written by Stephen Adam