Dane

Anything that doesn't hurt too bad. Common injury in some circles. But not much you are going to do now that will slow healing. Just stay off the pain killers which should slow you down some. And don't risk any more trauma like hitting a tree or something. They do hurt though, don't they

Man that was ripe for the picking! Post at top of forum with the description and location. Nice that you are giving them back

No one has squared these away so all are still available.

I would like to make a comparison of the older “gold” standard of plastic mountaineering boots and three of the current generation of Sportiva boots. If you don’t get a decent fit in a Sportiva last the comparisons might not be a big help to you. I use a custom insole and professional boot fitting locally to dial in my own boots. No matter what brand fits you I highly recommend this service if you climb hard or put lots of miles on your boots. When the white Kolflachs showed up in Europe the summer of ‘79 and in the US at REI in 1980 snow/ice and winter climbing changed forever. We no longer had to suffer wet feet let alone the weight of a good pair of heavy leather dbl. boots. They weren’t the first plastic boots, just the most successful. Although San Marco offered leather topped plastic bottom boot that was really closer to the high tech offering we see today. For me at least with big feet (size 12) finally a rigid boot. I am not sure plastics actually got better form that boot. I still have a pair (after cracking several shells) and with a foam liner they are as light and as warm as anything out there with comparable volume. Sure Koflachs didn’t fit everyone’s feet and other manufactures were able to make distinct inroads in the market. Ankle flexibility was also an issue in all the plastic boots. Several manufacturing techniques were used to address this problem with different levels of success. The first Koflachs I saw were on the feet of my climbing partner Gary Silver. It was mid Jan '81 and we were on the second ascent of Slipstream. Gary had been in Europe during the fall of ’79 and soloed the Swiss Route on the Courtes and the Chere Coulior after buying the boots in Chamonix. Gary broke trail on the steep snow of Slipstream. I did the ice pitches. It was obvious as Gary steam rolled his was to the top that I was over weighted and under powered. I was wearing a dbl. layered pair of Chouinard Supergaters and custom Haderer single boots. The Haderers were dead rigid but heavy. In comparison my combination to the Koflachs, really heavy. A week later I had a pair of Koflachs myself….and regrettably now, sold the Haderers for pennies on the dollar. The first thing I noticed and enjoyed (with a liberal amount of moleskin) about the Kolflachs was the stiffer ankle in forward flex which I thought helped my ice climbing. The same added stiffness on the side flex wouldn’t help my ice climbing because it made resting in French technique much harder to accomplish. But much of that you just worked around. The Kolflach’s excellent fit, rigid sole and most importantly the lightweight waterproof shell couldn’t be ignored. The Kolflach was a big advancement in foot-ware. I was able to climb up to 5.9 and easy 5.10 in mine. Obviously thin cracks were a problem but they would excel on steep face climbing. The Kolflach was a much warmer and higher volume boot than the leather Haderer but for me at least the plastic climbed just as well. Sportive (and others) all the while were developing light weight, leather climbing boots. The best known today are likely the rigid soled Nepal and Trango Series. While I think they are important and more likely the bigger sellers I am going to ignore the more flexible Trango and non clip/on compatible boots in this discussion. The Nepal series was one of the first really successful rigid soled leather boots. The current version, the Nepal Evo is rigid slightly insulated and very warm. I have used mine at –30C with lightweight sox and only began to feel the cold at long belays. (the other 2 boots mentioned below are even warmer than the Nepal Evo) It is an all leather boot that is lightly insulated. As I mentioned I use a light sox combo which is a liner and a medium weight hiker. I have exceptional feel in this boot and it climbs ice and rock well. It is warm enough for anywhere in the CON/US and will do just fine for most day routes in Canada’s chilly winters. It has a high ankle cuff and is very supportive. It is all leather and very durable. It seems to breath well in comparison, to the Batura, so it stays drier inside (which means warmer) over a few days of climbing. The Evo is my pick for Sportiva’s best all around boot. Although I have recently become partial to the added comfort and flexibility a soft ankle boot. That new preference comes as a surprise after so many years in a pair of Kolflachs and their really stiff ankles and the added support. The Batura is a fairly new boot from Sportiva. I have been climbing in mine all winter. In essence it is a single boot with a fixed supergater. Pretty much the same system I was climbing in 30 years ago except this one is a lot lighter and a bit warmer. Sportiva ads say 6 layers of insulation. Not the bigger volume of a pair of Koflachs but getting close. Volume means warm feet in the cold and clunky boots on hard technical terrain. But this boot is warm, very warm actually from my experience but they lack the ability to breathe and you end up with wet boots internally after as couple of days out. A good deodorant rubbed on your feet and if used on anything long term a VBL sock would be a good supplement to this boot. I waded through hours of knee deep cascade cement and rain with this boot. Never got wet from the outside. This while using the tiny gaiter with my shoeller pants tucked in. The lacing system could use hooks on the ankle but other than that is it a great boot with only one limitation. Too bad though because getting wet on the inside will keep this boot from seeing some amazing climbs I suspect. This boot has the same sole lamination/ configuration as the Nepal Evo. The big difference in how they climb (and walk) is in the ankle support. Recently a climber pointed at me on Weeping Wall and exclaimed “fruit boots” in reference to the newest high-tech rock shoes with a gaiter and crampons bolted on. The Batura isn’t a fruit boot but it is getting close. Really it is a hybrid between a super light flexible Mt. boot and a stiff-soled rigid Mt. boot with the addition of an insulated supergaiter and breathable cuff for warmth. I think it is a good combo. My bet is we'll see more of this style of boot. Scarpa has been doing it longer than Sportive in this venue. Look for others to tag along. I can easily see a super warm “fruit boot” with a tiny volume in the future and still the boot of choice for M10 or a fast sprint up the Cassin. The newest boots are going to be even more fun. Till then we have the Spantik. If you have looked around at the most recent high and hard routes the Spantik is getting its fair share of exposure. Like all the new, most difficult climbs! Multiple layers of foam and plastic give you a boot that can’t get wet from inside or outside. Inside the tent just wipe out the condensation in the booty and it is good to go into the bag. The outer won’t freeze but they will get cold. Best to keep them stashed away someplace warm till it's time to put them on again. "These are the warmest dbl. I have ever used", is the general consensus. They have a big volume but no where close to the Asolo 9000. They climb well, very well for such a big boot if you get a good fit. (again get them fit by a professional if you want to climb hard or walk a long ways in them) I had three pair of Spantiks break the innner boot eyelets before the 4th pair fianlly showed up with a new style eyelet. Seems to have been a common problem with ’07 boots. If you break one it is easy to get all the eylets relaced with metal by your local shoe guy. But…you’d thank that was solved for a $650 boot. The futuristic outer lacing system hasn’t been a problem from any one I have quizzed. It is the first boot I would comfortably take to Denali with no overboot or supergaiter. Cold feet might stop you but I suspect if that happened in the Spantik you’d have other concerns as well. These guys are state of the art for high Mt. boots while they climb, fit and support much like the original Koflachs. Everyone else is playing catch up. All the boots discussed here, Koflach though Spantik will get you up most any mtn in the world. Some will do it more comfortably than others. Some models might last a good deal longer than another model. All are generally too much boot for the Cascades. Although I always error on the side of warm feet. $50 a toe is cheap compared to a nasty case of frost bite, so error on the side of safety and comfort The next generation of the Batura my yet be the best mtn boot produced for anything up to 7000 meters. There will soon be a new Sportive in the pipeline in the Trango series. By all reports is seems another small step closer to the “future boot”. Bottom line? Plastic boots aren't obsolete. Hopefully the Koflach brand isn't gone forever. Asolo still makes their boot. Either, while not the lightest thing out there can still climb well and is warm enough for any mtn. Better yet they stay dry on longer trips. Something that can be a serious problem on any of the leather/synthetic boots. Surprizingly so on an all synthetic boot like the Bataura. The slight advantage now goes to the light weight and the flexable ankles of the newest generation boots on technical terrain. Unless of course all you are doing is never ending steep ice with any weight in your pack. There are lots of good mtn boots available today. With a little work Sportivas fit me well which is why I own them. Scarpa, Kayland and Asolo come to mind as other quality boots. I own a pair of the first two and like them a lot. Kayland deserves more exposure imo because of the excellent fit. Decide what you want your boots for and then try everything on. It is easy to get a good fit by dealing with soem of the online shops like Zappo's. Fit is as important or more important than some features. Shop wisely and take your time. Good luck!

Couple of PMs asked the same question so I thought I'd better explain. Leashes? If your tool isn't set up from the manufacture as a leashless tool nothing wrong with using leashes. It may well be the best solution. Guys are doing conversions but my thought is most will be better served to just buy leashless specific tools when they want to step up. FWIW having climbed on the Quark and Axtar I can say they they aren't "leashless" tools till you add the finger ledge to the Quark. Axtar is a leash tool for me. I think the Quark now comes with it "ledge". I had to buy mine. The bolt on ledge for the Quark made a big difference in performance and ease of use. With out it a leash was madatory for me. YMMV on any tool.

Same block (behind Lucie and above Eric) in all three pictures. It is actually part of the the ridge crest. Although it isn't very easy to get off the ridge behind it. But it is an awesome traverse on the single horiziontal crack that goes right from the block and finally hits the ridge crest. Just read Eric's description of the Fin. I have done it a few times and never the way Eric describes it. I traverse on the 4th class ledges about half way across to a large block just above the ledge. I then climb the obvious cracks pretty much straight up to the right corner of the block under discussion on the ridge crest. It is a bit mossy but all on really fun 5.8/5.9 face cracks. It is easy in rock shoes. I generally change out of my sneakers and first rope up starting the Fin if I'n not short roping. The Fin is well protected with minimal gear. A range of TCUs and small Friends work well as would hexs and stoppers. I highly recommend the Fin finish to any of the N Face routes. Hard to beat 2000" of easy climbing in sneakers with a few pitches at the end left for a pair of Mythos and an early lunch on top

Good job guys and nice pics by everyone. Depends on what you are into. I like it better than BBone simply becasue it is slightly longer and a straight line top to bottom of the face. Easy enough with a bit of 5.6/5.7 at two places, one little corner that is hard to miss mid face and if you are finishing by the widly exposed 4th class ledges below the Fin there a step around at the end of the ledges there. The 4th class ledges are a must do on Dragontail. A more scenic finish though is up the G/Sink to the middle of the Fin and finish up the middel of that feature...5.8 or easy 5.9 on incredible granite on an even more impressive feature. The "FIN" is a cool place and should be on every tic list. This is the last pitch off the Fin looking back just as you hit the ridge. Looks and feels like the freaking alps Thanks to E&L for the pic.....take a look here for more on B/Bone. http://www.ericandlucie.com/Website2003/Cascades%20Rock%20Climbs/Dragontail%20Peak/Dragontail.htm

Thought this might be appropriate to the conversation Steve House from the Grivel web site. House has been the poster boy for most of the ideas I have mentioned above and been doing it that way for a long time. Just picked up the newest issue of "GRIPPED". Short article on House's alpine gear suggestions. Worth the read of course. More comments here on my wool suggestion which House condemns. http://www.psychovertical.com/?wool Also good write ups on the Spantik boots and the use of umbilicals. It is a very informative web site.

Thanks guys. Just hope it is useful info. I have missed a couple of things and will add more after the next couple of trips north. A big one that really surprised me is the lack of basic technique with many beginners and some old hands as well. I just got a video in from some guys we were climbing with last month. It shows my long time partner still climbing in the X position on even moderate ice. He is strong and skilled and been at this almost as long as I have. He’ll be pissed I said this but over the years he has never really excelled at hard ice. Part of that is he doesn't spend a lot of time doing it. Part of that is now more obvious...he is using a technique that will limit his abilities and endurance even though he is still a 5.11 trad and a 5.12 sport climber outdoors and brutally strong. Not like he hasn't heard this shit before. He was telling me to calm down, relax, drop my heels and just climb last month. And I really needed the help! The problem? Dave was till using the X pattern on ice. I was shocked to see it on video. He makes up for the slower technique by being strong and very experienced. But he could be much better on ice by switching techniques. Gadd has a good description of the X and A pattern in his book. He calls it "tracking" and is on page 74. The X movement goes like this axe/axe then foot/foot. You always end up in an X position for feet and hands. Generally solid and the go to position for me then and now when I am scared/fatigued/or on shitty ice and I start over driving my tools. Problem with the X is it is slower and more tiring than the A (triangle/tracking) position. A's movement pattern is axe/foot/foot, axe/foot/foot. While not always possible it is much faster and requires half the swings of the X pattern. Both work on steep ice. The A is more efficient, less tiring and faster. You'll hear that mantra over and over as the "rules" for a good ice climber. For those that wonder where all this came from. These are my recollections not having read anything by Chouinard on the different positions being developed. Things changed very fast between 1970 and 1980 on ice. So who knows for sure where this stuff really came from? The Alps generally have much softer ice alpine ice than say Canada waterfalls. First I heard of the X/A discussion was from John Lauchlan, an incredibly good Canadian climber who later died on Polar Circus. He and Dwayne Congdon had previously climbed some very hard (even by today's standards) ice routes in Chamonix. The cutting edge tool of the day ('79) was the Simond Chacal. I It was the first tool with a reverse curve pick. Same curve we are all climbing steep ice with today btw. The softer alpine ice allowed much easier sticks and traction. So much more traction and ease of placement that two tools seemed redundant when one tool would do on even the really steep stuff. All of a sudden you could easily bypass one placement with little drop in your own security. Not sure when John started using the A but he saw the writing on the wall, started teaching it, as did all the Yamnuska instructors. If you aren't "tracking" you are going too slow

John, got you covered. Resend me your mailing address will you? Rob, priority mail is easy unless you are down this way. Pay Pal is rdburns@cnw.com

A couple come to mind. More funny really than epics. How about gpoing into Snow creek wall with no permit. The lovely young ranger pops out of the bush and asks for our permit. We play dumb. Then my partner asks in a dead pan voice, "anyone know where you're at"? She had a working radio and didn't appreciate his humor. Things didn't get better from there. A quick jog over Asgard into Prusik and up the S Face with my "then" wife. No water or food but two beers, a dead head lamp on the walk out later that day and a car bivy. That trip pretty much sealed the fate of the relationship. Or.....a 150' fall off the slab pitch on Liberty crack. Held on a body belay it made a nice one day climb into a painful and looooonnnng 2 day climb. Or climbing a hard alpine 5.10 crack under a big roof that would go to the summit. Belayer begins to beg me to come down while being ignored. When I finally got to a tiny rest and looked down she was covered in 10" of snow. The rap off and walk out was a cold bitch. Leading Carlsberg when I popped a 100# dinner plate. I couldn't brush it away and was knocked out cold and split my face open. I awoke to the pillar turning crimson and my partner yelling at me from 80' below. I was held on only by my limp wrists in the tools leashes. Aftewr getting a screw in and rapping it took 16 stitches to put my lip back together. Or a quick new route on a alpine rock climb in July. Thunder heads roll in and we expect rain going out. Instead it becomes a foot of new snow, a head wind and several miles of nasty granite boulder fields to make it back over the ridge. Lwt shirts and cotton pants. The biggest worry wasn't dying...but my frozen and numb crotch walking into the wind. Now that one really was epic There are more but have to agree until you loose digits or parts it isn't really a climbing epic.

Hey Steve! Hope you are doing well. Hard to believe we have lived this long let alone still get out

New, or.....both 13cm Express were placed once in soft ice. Two 13cm Turbo. $30 each two 13cm Express $45 each one 10cm Express $45 each. plus actual USPS shipping retails here http://www.mtntools.com/cat/alpineice/screws/02screw.html

New Cobras feel awesome and I like their weight, balance and the triggers. Got to play with them one day during a trip. If I'd seen them earier I suspect they would have been my choice as well. In the Turbo I have two 13cm. The new Express I have two 13s and a 10cm.

Ya need any new screws:) A couple of them have yet to be used! Sitting here at the key board I see that the BD screw has longer initial teeth and a thinner tube profile. Both of which should be an advantage over the Grivel chewing into ice. Grivel threads start a bit shallower at the teeth (by 1/10s of an inch). Which technically means it will start a bit quicker but it isn't much. The thread designs are totally different from Grivel to BD. Grivel's finish is obviously smoother. All issues which will make a difference +/- in performance. Saw a technique that works really slick to get all of them started. Instead of doing the first palm cranks all clock wise try first cranking back and forth within the limit of your wrist. Seems to get them all started and on to the lever crank quicker. For all I know everyone has been doing that for years already. A new one for me. But what isn't :-) I'll easily admit both Companies offer good products and everyone develops there own preferences. Stuck picks? I'd bet it isn't your problem but you'll love this. The first dew days I spent the majority of time seconding everything to get my "feet" back. I began to wonder if my Quarks would ever stick. First time I was on the sharp and in steep rotten ice, of course I over drove damn near every placement. That got really old quickly Sacking up and easing off a bit to avoid a stuck tool and go faster was tough.

Thanks Doug, I appreciate your comments. To support my comments I only have the newest Grivels (360s and Helix) and both models of the newest BD screws on my rack now. I'll stand by my original comments as the Helix being the best of the bunch the majority of time. Although the 360 is good and maybe even a toss up with the BDs..although the BDs rack/stack and deploy much easier. The BDs just don't cut ice as easily. I am not a big fan of the 360 for all the above limitations. Although the 360 does have an advantage over all of them in tight placements. I also agree, it is all about speed. I suspect anyone quickly leading hard ice on leashes would easily be warmer, a bit quicker and much more secure if they are willing to go through the bit of insecurity to get use to going leashless. I watched a guy from Colorado run out a couple of pure WI6 pitches last weekend while lacing in screws like rock pro. Ten in a 30m section through a big roof system. The guy was leashless and fast. A screw every 10 feet wouldn't normally be the the same sentence as fast. When he got back to the ground I noticed his rack was all Grivel Helix. I had already suspected as much and wasn't surprised. Anyone interested in 5 of the newest generation of BD screws (3 express and 2 turbos all shorties ) take a look in the yard sale.

Hopefully beginner and intermediate ice climbers and aspiring technical climbers in an alpine environment will find the info and opinions to follow helpful. Nothing new here. Twight and Gadd cover it all much better in their respective books. The two books compliment each other. Buy them. Twight’s “Extreme Alpinism” has the best coverage of the details. His book is the “required read”. Gadd takes up the technical discussion from where Twight ended. I’ve reread both in the last month several times and gleaned other's suggestions for the Internet to try out. Gear choices are constantly being out dated. Good gear makes climbing easier...and safer. I have little time for the guys who have opinions but have yet to have btdt. So a little back ground, and still enough ego to share an opinion. Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s I was fortunate enough to climb a few routes that are still considered worthy accomplishments. In no special order, the 2nd ascent of Slipstream, mid January, in 7hrs with a car to car time of 14 hr. r/t and a walk down the Athabasca. An early one day ascent of Polar Circus with 3 more ascents of the route by 1982. 2nd solo of the Becky route on Edith Cavell taking a direct line up the climb from the car door, 7hrs from lacing up my boots to the summit cross down climbing the East Ridge and back for lunch. A new route on N face of Temple. The 2nd ascent of Super Couloir on Deltaform, in a storm, via the original finish. Other water fall routes like Upper weeping wall (twice), Pilsner, Carlsberg (a couple of times), Takakkaw, Borgeau LF, among many were done as well. So nothing horrendous even by the standards 20 years ago and light years behind stuff being done today. But climbs many guys are still looking at when beginning today. By ’85 I wasn’t really climbing much ice. I was doing a lot of trad climbing up to .12b. Sport routes held little interest for me. I found other hobbies and work too committing. Climbing began to take a back seat after living that life style for 20 years. At some point I realized I wasn’t climbing at all. Not climbing rock, ice or Mts.! That went on for years. Then in Jan '08, a full 20 years later, I'm was dragged into Canada for ice, cold turkey, off the couch. Past 50 years old (trust me that sounds older to me than it does to you) I at least have the means to generally buy what ever I wanted for gear. Yes, time will even solve the major problem of most every dirt bag climber I bought into the Schoeller revolution. I had a pair of stretch European sallopets that I last guided and heli skied in so I knew that was the right track. Bought the Arcteryx soft tops and bottoms in several weights. More on that later. Also bought a new set of tools, a buddy gave me a set of newer crampons (more later on the subject) and off I went, fat, dumb and if not happy at least excited to be climbing ice again. Avalanche conditions in Canada this winter could hardly be worse. We start off on Louise. It is cold, I mean –30C cold. I have fewer clothes on than I have ever climbed in. I have the lightest gloves on I have ever used for winter ice and the most flexible ankles in lwt boots that I could image. I hate that damn pillar no matter how many times I have climbed it (over a dozen). But with this gear Louise’s pillar is the easiest I ever seen it. The next 14 days of ice and mixed climbing were a real education thanks to my many old and new partners and mentors willing to put up with me. OK, here are “MY” opinions. Not every one will share them. Remember everyone has one and you too are welcome to yours here. After a full two weeks of climbing in everything from a pissing down NW rain, a snow storm dropping 6” an hr, and down to –30C with hallowing wind I can say hard shell clothing is obsolete for technical climbing short of some really horrendous conditions I can’t image being out in. And with 7 trips to the Alaska Range I can image some pretty shitting conditions. My suggestion? Buy the lightest weight, most stretchy garments and learn to climb in what Twight calls his “action suit”. If it aint got a hood that will go over a helmet easily don’t buy it. Only caveat to that is your base layer. You might want to think about putting some wool next to your body and a light synthetic layer/s over it. Add hoods that will go under and over your a helmet. The “R” series Patagonia hoody or the really simple Nike hoody (which I like even better for cold weather) works well. Thumb loops on the sleeves have been around 30 years at least and are really cool features in cold weather BTW. Gloves? Always take a few pair in the pack or pocket. At least one pair specifically for when it gets really cold from a change in weather, your exhaustion or a long, cold belay. Depending on the climb I will use a thick glove or a mitten. You'll want to error on the side of caution when choosing the “big” glove. You don’t want to pull out the ‘big ‘uns” and find you still are not warm enough and screwed. Heat packs are a good option to carry as well. Remember hydration and calorie intake are as important or more so than big gloves and a belay jacket. I’m using a really light glove made by Mountain Hardware, the “Epic”. REI has the same glove just a bit less durable. Go light…you’ll be amazed. Carry spares to stay dry as required. I’ve only pulled my “big” gloves once this season. But I have gone through up to three sets of the lighter gloves to keep my hands dry. The light gloves aren’t very durable. Leather rappel gloves are a good idea and work well on some hard mixed depending on temps. Hats? Headbands under the helmet regulate heat better with helmet and layers of hoods than a hat will. The band will also add to your warmth if pulled down to your neckline and nothing to drop. I no longer carry a hat. But I pull on or off any one the layers of hoods over my helmet at belays or while climbing. Try that with a hat while climbing a hard pitch! Leashes? This ought to get some comments. You’d have to be an a complete, uneducated knob to climb with a leash on a modern tool. No ifs on that one. The human form and the tools are finally a synergistic extension of the mind while climbing. Ice climbing at any level is simpler, warmer and EASIER leashless. Hard to beleive but that will make even hard grade 5 ice more secure. Several of my buddies disagree some with my conclusions and they know the differences, tells me I only came to my conclusions because I haven't climbed ice in 10 years so the change was easier for me. Remember I am an old, fat guy, and trust me if leashless wasn't faster, easier and warmer I would NOT be doing it. I don't give a shit about appearences, I just want to get up the climb as fast with the least amount of effort as possible. Leashless is a big part of both. Umbilicals? For what the mind can’t control? If you are less than 70m from the ground climb leashless and forget the umbilical. If you are higher than 70m put an umbilical on the damn thing. Nothing worse than sending your 2nd tool down or climbing a hard pitch with one tool or being forced to jug or worst of all rap. Trust me, an umbilical is better than wrecking a good relationship or worse yet an expensive trip. I now flatly refuse to climb with anyone that hasn’t got their tool tied on to something. My time and experience is just too valuable to me to waste it on a tool getting knocked off at a belay or dropped for what ever reason, including me knocking it off by accident. How about leaving a tool at a v thread on the rap. It has happened Umbilicals use to be seen as a sign of incompetence. Now I see there lack as a sign of ignorance on anything past a short sport route. Before you start rolling your eyes...take a look at what the "big boys" are doing these days on alpine routes. Makes me think that passing 4 tools around between 3 guys (after dropping two leashless tools) on one of the bigger/harder alpine routes made a broad impression. I've already had to rap 2000' after a partner dropped a tool on a hard alpine route in perfect weather. Lost a perfectly good alpine rack as well in that experience. Not excited to repeat that costly adventure. Boots? Fruit boot technology is catching up to the Mtn. boot technology. You’ll climb different in them but you’ll also climb better. Ice becomes more like rock climbing in the soft ankle boots. Haven’t found one I want to send 1000m of hard 55% alpine ice in but it is entertaining trying to figure out how to rest the calves with French technique at every opportunity. More time in soft boots will encourage me to take them on endurance alpine ice. Now we have both warm boots and soft ankle boots that have a rigid sole for even my size 12 feet. They can be amazing. Check out the usual suspects to see what fits you. I like the Batura for cold stuff close to the road (they are hard to dry out) and the Spantik for anything over a day out. There are much lighter boots I could be climbing in. We’ve only just seen the beginning to the newest boot technology. In the future look for a dbl. layered fruit boot that is warm enough for Denali which you’ll actually want to use for that M10 at your local crag. Tools/crampons? Any of the newest tools from Grivel, BD or Petzel works better that anything for even a few years ago. BD seems to have the biggest issue breaking picks. Grivel has the solid reputation of bomb proof and no one can question how well they climb. Petzel stuff is not cheap but climbs very well and is very durable as well. The other brands at the moment are simply "hangers on". If you aspire to climb hard forget anything that doesn’t have good leashless support. Mono points? If you want to do hard mixed it is the only game in town. Not impossible to climb hard with dual front points but why bother with the extra effort? Same with fruit boots. You don’t intentionally climb hard rock in big boots. Why would you do hard mixed in them? You need to take the time to fit any crampon perfectly. Then take the first few days you climb in them and fine tune the fit. Dropping a tool sucks. Dropping a crampon can easily get you DEAD. Ice screws? If you aren’t currently climbing with the newest generation of Grivel screws, either the 360 or the Helix you are wasting energy. I’ve tried EVERY new screw design currently on the market, in almost every snow and ice condition you can think of. With all due respect to Will Gadd & BD and with no hype, no bs, there is no other manufacture even close to Grivel's current production. The Grivel screws are as revolutionary to ice climbing as Jardine's Friends were 30 years ago. Big statement I know. But placing good gear, easily, where you want it instead of were you could makes climbing much, much easier and a lot safer. Add some quick draws, and a few slings made to absorb the load and pretty much set. Wire gate biners hold everything together and don't easily freeze. Plate or “guide” belay devices that will allow you to belay off the anchors with a documented catch on a 400’ fall (yes FOUR hundred feet) will take the rest of the load. My rack? Helix mostly and only two 22mm screws. With the newest test results I have switched to a lot of 13cm shorties. The Helix stack on a carbiner just fine. Buy the big plastic racking biners from BD or Petzel. They work even better for racking screws and axes. Headlamps? I spent the last week intentionally climbing many of the 30 or so 60m pitches in the dead of night with a headlamp. I have the high tech rechargeable BD and a cheap 3 AAA Petzel. I prefer to climb with the Petzel as the softer light is easier on my eyes. The BD on the bright halogen setting was good for scoping out the ropes on free hanging 50m raps and complicated route finding. But the Petzel was tiny to carry (unnoticed) and more than enough to get down anything and good eough to get me up anything I can climb. I am leading at the same level of difficulty on ice now, as I was 25 years ago. You have no idea how unrealistic that really should be. All the while with less effort, while being safer. The main reason, the Grivel Helix. The rest of the stuff mentioned just adds to a more enjoyable and fun experience. Gear will always change over time so stay up on it if you want to keep up. Spend your money wisely. Thirty year old designs got me up some decent climbs back in the day. The new stuff, if you buy wisely, makes those same climbs much, much easier. That only makes the next level of difficulty much easier to reach. Stay safe and hopefully I’ll see ya out there! I'm the old guy with white hair, and funny tweetie bird boots, stop by and say "hi".

Buy them on line from Zappos. Easy to get the right size, no sales tax, free over night shipping and returns are prepaid and easy no hassle so you actually get the perfect size.

Bought them here on CC this week. They are in good shape with lots of life left in the front points, new and unused spurs, extra set of standard heel pieces, both reg and long bars. Petzel binding on both heel pieces. Screaming deal...$125 plus shipping. I'll be off line till Tuesday night. Send me a pm if you are interested.

Sheets are stained....comforter is now well used.

This is the earlier model. Blue boot with a very rigid sole. No metel eyelets below the ankle. One of the better modern ice and mixed boots ever produced. Similar to but a generally better fit and a stiffer sole than the Sportiva Nepals. These are new and unworn. $175 plus shipping.

Anyone actually heated up their Spantik inner boots and molded them? Sportiva says they were made to be molded. But they won't tell you any more than it takes a heated air tower at a professional boot fitter and not to use a oven like what they use for the Intuition inner boot. Better yet they don't have anyone in the US that is authorized to do it. Any ideas or experience with this technique or this inner boot?

We were in a month ago. Just after the first big freeze and just before your big dump of snow. Ice was REALLY fat and climbable right to the spring outlet on top which is unusual from my experiences there. Went in and out in a two wheel drive rig. Looked a bit sketchy turning around in the middle of the road at the base of the climb but no problem at all. Road was seeing some traffic every day. Saw on another bbs (Gadds?) that someone said they had plowed past the wall recently. They were working/logging in there while we were climbing so I wouldn't be surprized but don't know that as fact.

Runners? I have done a few marathons and a pot full of Tris and the milage that goes into all that. Lost some toe nails along the way. The reason I lost nails every time was running in too BIG of shoes. Feet slid around and hammered the front of the shoe. To put that in perspective I climbed trad rock (.11+) for years in a size 9.5 climbing shoe. My street shoe size...11.5 of course. Call them really, really tight. And never lost a nail. But sounds like you have boots that are too small. If a shop tried to fit you while your feet were still injured no surprize they missed your size. Good luck!

I have and have used 8mms or the new 7.7s. Love them in the right place. I wouldn't use it as a single rope...past soloing and using it to bring up a second from solid anchors at both ends and a good belay plate. Play with one before you decide. That said a 60m or 70m 8mm should work fine for what you are thinking. But just use it as a twin rope the entire time either as a 30m or 35m. Easy to get someone out of a crevass that way past the problems Kurt and Eric mentioned which are very real. Still can't split up the rope weight on 60m but my Beal 7.7 twins are scary light and easy to carry. Few places where 4 on a rope wouldn't just jerk the odd man out before they ever really go in if anyone is awake As an after thought...I wouldn't want to go into a big hole hanging on one strand of the 7.7 or 8mm myself. A good old single 9mm looks like a truck puller in comparison. YMMV