Meet the CAST Touring Founders | From World Tour Podiums to Performance Alpine Touring Bindings
From Professional Skiers to Industry Innovators
When brothers Lars and Silas Chickering-Ayers set out to solve a real problem for backcountry skiers, they never imagined the idea they were tinkering with in their garage would grow into one of the most respected names in alpine touring bindings. But that’s exactly what happened with CAST Touring — a brand built on deep skiing roots, real-world performance, and honoring the strongest values of the mountain community.
From Vermont Roots to World Stages
Lars and Silas grew up in Vermont, where long days skiing at Mad River Glen shaped both their technique and their approach to the mountains. Those early years built more than strong legs, they built a passion for the mountains, the art of skiing, the culture that permeates through it all, along with an obsession with snow, terrain, and the mechanics of how skis interact with it.
That passion carried them far beyond the East Coast. Both brothers went on to become professional big-mountain skiers, competing at the highest levels of the sport. Each became known for their skill, strength, and creative approach to skiing, which landed them both multiple wins and podiums on the Freeskiing World Tour.
Years of competition and world travel exposed them to a persistent problem: touring bindings were always a compromise. Light enough to climb,but lacking the confidence, retention, and safety needed for aggressive descents. The brothers knew there had to be a better way.
A Name With Meaning
The name CAST has a unique and heartfelt origin. It’s derived from the collective noun for a group of hawks, chosen in honor of their close friend and fellow skier Ryan Hawks. Ryan embodied an indomitable spirit and an unending love for life and the mountains — values that continue to guide the company today.
CAST exists not only to make high-performance gear, but to honor those who have lost their lives in the mountains by building products that allow for safer access and deeper connection to those places we feel closest to them.
Ryan’s legacy lives on through the Flyin Ryan Hawks Foundation, founded by his family in 2011 after Ryan tragically passed away from injuries sustained during a Freeskiing World Tour event in Kirkwood, California. The foundation continues to inspire youth through education, athletics, and the values Ryan lived by.
A Simple Idea Turns Into a Movement
In 2012, Lars and Silas officially founded CAST with a clear goal: create a touring system that allows skiers to climb efficiently without ever giving up alpine-level downhill performance.
What began as early prototypes has evolved into the Freetour 2.0 binding system — a no-compromise solution that pairs pin-style uphill efficiency with the proven safety, retention, and power of alpine bindings on the descent. Today, CAST is trusted by guides, patrollers, athletes, and big-mountain skiers around the world who demand absolute confidence when terrain gets steep and consequences get real.
Built in the Heart of the Tetons
CAST is now a full-capacity, in-house manufacturer based in the Teton Mountains, where prototyping, machining, testing, and production happen under one roof. The Tetons aren’t just home — they’re the proving ground. Every design is refined by the same type of terrain that inspired the brand in the first place.
The brothers continue to lead CAST alongside a growing team of athletes, engineers, and mountain professionals, all driven by the same mission: build the best alpine touring equipment possible, without compromise.
A Brand That Skis With You
CAST’s story is rooted in Vermont chairlifts, forged on World Tour faces, and refined in some of the most demanding mountains on Earth. What started as a skier’s problem has become a community-driven brand built on durability, performance, and trust.
Whether you’re skinning before sunrise, guiding in exposed terrain, or hunting powder beyond the boundary, CAST bindings are designed to help you go farther, ski stronger, and descend with total confidence — the way the mountains deserve to be skied.
