So I brought my bindings in to a shop this morning (old Fritschi FT 88s) and asked to have them drill/mount them on my skis (2003 K2 Shuksans). They said the bindings were too old for them to mount without running into liability and insurance problems, and they said no other shops in town would do it either. I really don't want to do it myself, and I thought if I brought in just the paper binding pattern and skis into REI or the other climbing shop in town, then maybe they would. Is this shop owner right? Should I try with just the paper template?

I have mounted several later model fritschis w paper templates and had no problems, but am not familiar w these older models. I think you would be ok if the template is good,

Go to wildsnow.com and see if they have any more info. The site has many templates and good things to know when working on mounts

Mounting bindings isn't that hard if you have a template, drill and minimal skills and the right screwdriver (Pozidrive #3) AND you practice beforehand. Read instructions at wildsnow and telemarktips, and try it out on a 2x4, or better yet a pair of skis from the thrift store. Use a piece of wine bottle cork as a stopper to keep from drilling too far.

I expect only a shop that regularly does AT or tele mounts would do a pair of ancient AT bindings, and maybe not even then. There is a certain amount of legal voodoo surrounding binding mounting, especially for alpine bindings, in the US.

If you're comfortable with tools and measuring in general, you'll be fine. There are tons of good primers on the web.

http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/fritsc ... eride.html

If you aren't confident you can mark and drill quite accurately, you might want to find another shop. I think a shop that sells climbing and BC ski gear exclusively should be happy to do it.