Telemark ski boot and releasable binding assembly

A ski boot comprising:

• a longitudinally flexible sole having a toe portion and a heel portion, the toe portion for mating with a toe piece on a ski during use;
• and,
• an interconnect member for releasably mating with a latch assembly on the ski, the latch assembly being mounted to the ski behind the toe piece, the interconnect member being fixedly attached to the toe portion of the sole and having a rearmost portion located below the sole and:
• between the toe and heel portions of the sole, the interconnect member being releasably secured to the ski in a position extending substantially parallel to an upper surface of the ski with the rearmost portion of the interconnect member being held by said latch assembly;
• wherein the heel portion of the boot can be lifted away from the ski and at least a portion of said sole can be lifted away from at least the rearmost portion of said interconnect member during use by flexing said sole while said interconnect member remains releasably attached to said ski by means of said latch assembly and said toe piece.

A binding assembly for mounting a boot to an elongate ski, the boot having an elongated sole which is adapted to flex along its length and having a toe portion, a heel portion and an elongated interconnect member fixedly attached to the toe portion, the interconnect member extending rearwardly from the toe portion and having a rearmost portion located between the toe and heel portions of the boot, the binding assembly comprising:

• a toe piece mountable to said ski for receiving the toe portion of the boot;
• and,
• a latch assembly mountable to said ski behind the toe piece and under the sole of the boot for releasably holding said rearmost portion of said interconnect member;
• wherein, when the toe portion is received in the toe piece and the rearward portion of the interconnect member is held by the latch assembly, the interconnect member is secured to the ski in a position extending substantially parallel to an upper surface of the ski and the heel portion of the boot can be lifted away from the ski and at least a portion of said sole can be lifted away from at least the rearmost portion of said interconnect member by flexing said sole while the ski boot remains releasably mated to the ski by means of said interconnect member.