Dane

I've worn cross trainers to 6K on Aconcagua and was comfortable. Plastics from there up. And people have frozen to death at 5k on the same route same time of year. What you can get away with on a short summit day trip isn't what you'd want if you spend a night out or in a bivy tent. Quick trip in good weather from 14 to the summit of Denali and back, in a pair of Phantom Guides or a Nepal Evos would work fine. Ferrari on Alpamayo? Sure, as it is generally a short day. But no one is going to recommend it on Denali. 6K meters in Alaska is not 6K meters in SA. Two sure ways to get frost bite, dehydration or wet boots. In Dbl boots you can change soxes and dry your inner boots over night in your bag. Hydration is a 24/7 issue up high. Single boots of any make, once wet are really hard, if not impossible, to dry out. It is the last 1 or 2000 feet that gets bad on most of these peaks. Poor trade, frozen feet or a lost summit, because you decided single boots would do sitting at the computer 2 months pervious. This was caused by dehydration and a long day out on Dragonatail, 2870m, early last winter in single boots. It was months before he was even walking normal again.

It is not a Trango last but it is a narrow boot in the heel. Good sized toe box that you'd expect in a dbl. And a very good technical boot for the volume of the boot and added warmth. Think a Nepal with an inner boot. The inner boots on the Baruntse is easily heated and properly fit, unlike the Spantik. Perfect for the GCC or the A train mid winter.

Brian look here: http://www.sportiva.com/products/sizing.php More like a US 9.5 as the inner boots will be 42.5/43.

Awesome boot and a screaming deal!

I'll take the bd mini hammer.

this article deserves another bump...

Way fun, thanks!

All are similar tools, only one (Petzl has a grip rest) is made to have a trigger or a grip rest. If you think you want a grip rest and trigger step up to tools that have them installed from the factory. Nothing wrong with any of your choices for moderate snow and easy ice but I would not call any of them alpine ice tools, more all around mtn axes I would think. It aint the arrow, it is the indian when it comes to climbing alpine ice with any of these tools. Dave's excellent article is worth the read and may help. http://cascadeclimbers.com/ice/gear/

Now that is what we are talking about! Well, you are talking about anyway. Nice work Marc!

Some good days out seeveral months and a couple of winter seasons http://www.youtube.com/user/theWayne1112#p/u/1/ZkMcVF6XsdY Then a few typical days out, back to back, a bit farther north. http://www.youtube.com/user/theWayne1112#p/u/0/tb0Hj_VssTI

And I was thinking $1000 was about right for a permit if they had a $100K bank guarantee for search and rescue with $50 all inclusive policy for the locals (US citizens).

Short days but this looks to be a good location as well. http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/climber_meeting_in_lofoten_norway/

Seriously you shouldn't be able to flex the soles on the better La Sportivas in a 44. Being a light weigt even less so. FYI the Hypertraction?...I tried some on yesterday...weird lacing system. Looked warm though. Be interested in what you think BigSky.

Dude! Tell them to call back in late July! Partners aren't hard to come by. But good climbing is. Weather and avi dependant and way worse than Canmore generally...and Canmore can be bad enough. But when stuff is in, it is amazing. Lived in Canmore and the cascades and when it is good they are every bit the equal. It just aint in very often around here. But you have to walk/ski some..most times for hrs to anything worthwhile. And the skiing can really suck here as well in comparison. Montana, Bozeman or Cody are good bets. Canmore or Cham as well. World class locations but the Cascades aren't, for ice in the winter imo. I make do 'cuz I live here. And then spend a lot of time driving to the Parkway. I'll be in Cham the entire month of March this year if that tells you anything. Photo courtesy of Jon Griffith: More here: http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions/1529242-late-to-say-im-sorry-aiguille-verte

What size are your boots? Kaylands are very stiff. Doug Shepherd says his 6001s are even stiffer than his M11s were and was able to go to a flexible crampon in his 47s from a rigid. FWIW the Kaylands fit me very true to american shoe sizes and fit my narrow feet very well. I think Powderhound (Brian) is in the M11+..and seems to like them. Ping him on a PM and ask. What is Frieh climbing in these days? Most everything flexes some now a days. (Kolflachs don't flex If you have big feet everything seems to flex! But my 45s Nepals I sure couldn't flex by hand! My Baruntses are even stiffer, they don't flex. I can slightly flex my Trango Extremes and flex the Phantoms in any version. I flex them all a bit as well as the Spantik some. Obviously a pair of Rambos help but I like the light weight so I am willing to put up with a tiny bit of flex in the boot and use the Sabertooth, Dartwin or Cyborg. 45 seems to be about the turning point I think, 46s even easier to flex 42's way stiff. I like a really stiff boot (ankle and sole) for steep ice. The more I do (amount of vert in a day) the stiffer the boot I want. But I have learned to climb much better, faster and with less energy with a less supportive boot..by climbing more like it is rock on steep technical ice. New trick for an old dog. Not something I easily came to though. But put me on 60 degree endless alpine ice and I want stiff..really STIFF. Which is why many will be on Spantiks climbing hard alpine ice. It is more like a ski boot than a climbing boot for support imo. Nothing wrong with that.

Phantom Guide is one of the best..walks well. Climbs well. Warm enough. No single boot is good for 3 plus days out without a place to dry them out (or a very careful camper)..compared to a dbl. But it has to fit...your feet. Batura is similar. I like the Trango Extreme Evo GTX as well. My go to boot for most things local. Little chilly for full on winter outside the Cascades. But trust me...there is no "perfect" boot. If I could only have one, it would be the Nepal Evo GTX. But then it also fits me very well.

If you wear a 45 in the Nepal Evo you'll generally wear a 45 in the Spantik and the Baruntse and all the other La Sportiva boots. . The lasts are some what different on every boot. The Baruntse is closer to the Nepal Evo last in my opinion that the Spantik last for example. No matter what La Sportiva says. The size is listed as the interal foot volume. So 45 to 45 comparison is just as we would list a 11.5 street shoe or a 11.5 logging boot if that makes sense? The real difference in a dbl boot is the added insulation, so you get a bigger, but much warmer boot. Generally the dbl boots will be more comforable climbing, less comfortable to walk in. But the big plus on a dbl boot is that you can actually dry out a dbl boot in the field, when you generally can't dry out a wet single boot with out a hair drier .

Having owned all three...Spantik, Baruntse and Guide I can tell you they all fit very differently. Although the Baruntse's inner boot is easily moldable and should give most a perfect fit if the boot fitter knows what he is doing with the foam the liners. Baruntse has a much wider toe box than the Spantik. Phantom Guide and Nepal Evo are very similar in fit. Best thing to do is try them all on.

Actually dispite what La Sportiva says the Nepal, Batura have a different last from my experience. Batura has a bigger toe box in the same size boots. The Spantik has a totally different last but is also very similar to the current Nepal Evo. Dbl boots in general have such a higher comfort level, even if the lasts were the same you'd be hard pressed to know it. Try the Trango Extreme Evo, Silver Bullet, it seems to fit most with little complaint.

cc.com Hotties! Nice work you three

One Quark, or 1/2 a pair, like new shaft, new cascade pick, grip rest, new 2011 Petzl 2nd grip, tape on the upper shaft. Hammer head, no wrist sling. $190. shipped in the CON US. $180 if you pick it up in Issaquah. Send a PM if you are interested

G12 Serac pro Sabertooth pro BD's web site shows them both at 2# 2oz for the clip models as a comparison for weight. I have not climbed in the Serac but from the design I would say they would climb every bit as good as the G12s. Which is saying a lot, as the G12s are a very good crampons. I think the less pronounced set of horizontal points might make the Serac a better NA crampon as we generally see less neve which is part of the G12s design. Make sure you get the solid connecting bar and not the spring bar if you want to use them on technical water ice or with a stiff boot. Nice to have the advantages of stainless as well. Hard to believe the Serac doesn't weigh a bit less than the Sabertooth.

Another one worth looking ta but not a synthetic is the EB lady's s XV.

I have found the opposite. Surprised at how the BD came out of the box and how sharp they have stayed with use. I work with steel (stainless and chromoly) every day and was actually surprised by the durability of BD's stainless. Typically your observations would be true of stainless used in other applications. Obviously BD hit an alloy that works well in crampons. I sharpen crampons from all the different manufactures and don't find one material or brand easier/harder than the rest. If I wasn't going to change anything on the crampons..I think the front bails on the G12s suck...and personally wouldn't use them as they come from the factory. The extra circle on the Grivel's bale wire is to absorb shock to keep the bale from breaking or popping off the boot lip. The loop gets in the way and is annoying on mixed. It is a piss poor design. Better to use a material that can take the shock and load instead of having to design around using it because you chose an inappropriate material.

Good read here on the same subject: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/982342/Strap_On_or_Clip_In#Post982342