Dane

Batura? They walk well. The don't walk as well as the Trango Series though because the rocker could be better. The same things that make them a good hiking boot makes them not so great on steep ice. They have an extremely soft ankle. Which makes them a good mixed boot. I'm not a fan of zippers, but the beefy nature of the zipper on the outer gaiter proved durable. I'm on my second season with mine. Bit of a pain to get in and out of. Lacing/gaiter isn't all that easy to deal with but managable. The bigger toe box is noticable. Bigger than the Nepal IMO and bigger overall internally. Totally different fit than the Trangos. I wear the same size boot in all three boots (Nepal/trango/Batura). The Batura is by far the biggest boot size wise. "These aren't the boots I choose for multiple nights out, as drying them would become a problem. However, they are my pick for fast, cold-weather ascents in the mountains and winter ice climbing." I agree with the quote from Alpinist. The boot is hard to dry out and gets wet internally from sweat quickly. The Batura does not breath well which makes them a colder boot than they should be. A VBL or Mitchums will help. Over all it is no dbl boot. Nor is it a good single boot with a decent super gaiter. I did a climb last winter in the icefields where I was really, really happy I could keep moving. -25 and knee deep light powder snow for a good part of the approach and decent. Worst combo you can get for cold feet. I have spent time in similar conditions in the Nepal Evo with no problems. The Batura is warmer than the Trangos and better compared IMO to the Nepal Evo and about the same as the Nepal for warm. The Nepal Evo offers much more support for the ankle in every direction and will out last the Batura. Jack Roberts, who I respect a lot, says the Batura is his favorite boot with well over 100 days a year on ice and mixed. Just an observation but I did notice Colin Haley wore Baturas last season in Patagonia and used Extreme Evos this year on his solo of Fitzroy. Me? I'd go for a Extreme Evo with Goretex and a decent insulated supergaitor next time. And I got rid of my super gaitors 30 years ago! The Extreme will lace easier and fit better because of it and will be warmer in the long run because they breath. They'll climb better on hard mixed because of the tighter fit and with the sticky soles better on pure rock. And finally you can replace the supergaiter instead of the boot. But they do look KOOL All the bs, and opinions aside I suspect most will like the Batura just fine and you'll have warm feet. Finally the previous Trangos (any extreme model) or an Ice EVO modified with the addition of lace eyelets ditching the funky lace system both beat the shit out of the newest Prime.

"another comment regards his time off between training days. i think this is highly subjective, depending on the fitness of the climber." It isn't subjective. Getting stronger depends on getting the right amount of rest. You don't get stronger while you are working. You get stronger while you are resting. Your recovery time depends on the level of work and your ability to recover from that particular level.

"The guide service has been getting people up rainier and has a better understanding of what is needed. If leathers were better than plastics, they would recommend them." I wouldn't go that far. Having guided on Rainier off and on during 3 decades I can make some observations. A major revenue stream for the guide services and REI for that matter is rentals. The plastic boot made boot rentals possible for the most part. You should have seen the odd ball collections of leather boots that use to make up the rental fleets. But a number of other reasons guides love plastic on client's feet and few of them have anything to do directly with the client's comfort level. The way a guide service makes money is by volume and eliminating problems for the guide service. Being able to climb in marginal weather is one of them. Guides on the other hand make money by return business. There is a difference. Bottom line is if you want to buy a good pair of boots and use them on Rainier I would. You have very little to loose and more than likely will enjoy the trip more in your own boots. The Trango line or Scarpa's line are all good boots easily up to the task of Rainier in June and July. The Extreme Evo Lt and the Prime are excellent technical boots with some insulation and a water resistant lining that is fairly effective. Both brands of lwt weight boots have been used to good effect in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies in winter and all over the Alps in summer and winter. Conditions that make Rainier in mid summer trivial. Many of the modern fabric/technical boots will do just fine in anything Rainier can dish out in June and July and you'll be more comfortable using them over plastic while you are there.

A June Rainier climb will be on snow the majority of the time. Without plastics you'll have wet feet in almost any other boot. I climbed in plastics for years but haven't climbed in plastics now for years and won't likely ever climb in plastics again. None of the Sportivas are water proof in typical sloppy wet June conditions on Rainier. The Prime, Evo light or Evo Ice are OK but even the Evo Light, which is goretex lined, will be wet by the time you get off the mountain. The Prime is new and yet to be proven but I wouldn't expect it to be any better than the Evo light. On a reasonable June climb no real problem with a wet boot. Especially if you are climbing out of Muir from a hut. On a bad weekend even with a guide service you could end up with some minor damage to your feet and an uncomforable summit morning. Any version of the Sportiva Trangos make a great summer boot for Rainier if you get to pick your weather. Their light weight and comfort slogging up Rainier can almost make up for a few hours of cold feet on summit day for me. If you go to the Trango Series for boots, even with the new Prime, take a good knee high gaiter. That addition has proven to keep my feet drier much longer.

Outstanding!

It is a pet peeve of mine but I just love to see reviews that make comparisons or a review at all of a product the reviewer has never used And end up guessing wrong. It should be obvious by this thread that there are a lot of hoody designs out there made from many different materials. Should be easy to find one that matches your needs.

More here on selecting ice climbs: http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/inc/PM-MP/visit/visit7a12_e.pdf

Thanks for the idea, I finally squared mine away. The heels were ground with a bevel to the outside which was keeping them from fitting any crampon correctly. Took 5 minutes on a grinder once I figured it all out. Now just about any crampon works fine evn in the bigger size. Hopefully that might help someone else if the problem comes up. Spantik and House on Nanga Parbat? Actually they didn't use Spantiks on Nanga Parbat but the Sportiva Nuptse. There was a good picture of House on the summit of the Rupal face on the old Grivel NA website. He was obviously using the Nuptse in the picture. I've seen the video a couple of times and noted he never says he used the Spantik on Nanga Parbat (although it is certainly implied imo) just that he likes a double boot and how to keep them clean. The rest of the gear was specific to his and Anderson's Nanga Parbat climb. Last I checked House was sponsored by Sportiva....always good to promote the newest product pictures from Nanga Parbat Here is the video again : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6682751795170095622

Will do Paul. Doing well, few things keep surprizing me but finally back at work full time just this last month. 6000M Peaks? It is a Great Show!

So the guy solos Willis wall BITD while tagging along with two NW legends and then makes some lame ass comment about local park LE and S&R. Then all you guys want to do is talk about LE and S&R. You miss so much.

Reilly you are unappreciated by the kids here. That answer deserves an entire thread!

Hey Reilly! was Rainier even a National park back then? rotflmao NPS paper work is only there to scare off the ones that shouldn't be thinking about it anyway. Soloing or climbing above 10K unroped and being ticketed means a day in Federal Court. Paper work is easier and cheaper. Federal Judges seem to have little sense of humor. Need a rescue for any reason? No permit and you'll pay the bill. What do you think a Chinook rents for by the hour? Back in Reilly's day bi-planes were $5 a day

Earlier this week. One of several about the same size coming down during the week. 3s and 4s have been common. Not much better now and people still climbing on Cascade. Much to the wonderment of the locals. Sobering. Y'll be careful out there!

Bird dog is right on...my post was assuming you had climbed Rainier. If not I would suggest a 3 day trip. Depending on the route a night at 9 or 10 and a second night out at 11 or above will make summiting a lot easier. I really don't like 2 day trips on Rainier because so many either get sick or are just too tired from the first day going from 4 or 5000ft to 10K. And yes, you do need a permit to solo Rainier (which takes a few weeks to get) or for that matter to climb unroped above 10K feet as we found out on our first one day climb. Three of us climbed "together" on DC. We didn't rope up and were seperated by several minutes on the route both getting to Muir and above Muir. That wasn't the original intention as we did bring a rope, it was just the way it worked out. None of us were concerned. Clients and their guides commented to the Park Service, who then made a point of talking to us. I wouldn't say soloing Rainier is hard by the easiesst routes. I live close to the mountain and it is the easiest way for me to climb it when the weather is good and conditions are solid. But and it is a BIG caveat I don't think soloing any route on Rainier is the smartest idea.

Don't be offended...bet the owner was just as shocked as you are just seeing the video. My dub-ass labor doddle puppy did the same thing through a half opened rear window out of my truck at 45 mph when he was 7 months old...trying to get to some kids on bikes. Why? I have no idea other than he loves to run with me on the bike. Bounced off the pavement and slowed him down to a walk to the kids...kinda in a daze. I get to see the entire thing out the rearview mirror as my wife looks on in horror. Scared him BAD, eyes the size the tea saucers. Scared us even worse since we were in traffic! I locked up the tires, skidded to the side of the road and bailed out to pick up what I thought would be a dead dog. Thank GOD he is a wooley bugger because he wasn't hurt at least externally. But didn't seem to slow him down later in the day. He hasn't come close to bailing out a window sense. Not that I give him half a chance. Love him to death but he's still a silly dumb ass Just like his buddy, our female Rottie. Gotta love them!

I've done Rainier in under 12 hrs r/t by two routes, several times. And almost half that time once on DC. With normal gear..well sorta because we never roped up and one of my buddies never bothered to put on crampons the first time. And in today's super lwt stuff, again unroped last summer. None of them would be considered a "speed" ascent. Gear you'll use isn't a big deal..gear you carry (or more importantly what you don't) on your back is. I don't carry much and not much of what the Mountaineers ( or NPS for that matter) would want you to have. Runners (running shoes or trail runners) to Muir or close to Muir every time. Boots the entire way on the other routes, Katz and Fuhrer Finger. I took 3 liters in bottles on the first trip and 4 liters on the others. Pushed fluids the day before and just before heading up. I like to summit with a full liter. Last time I took a MSR stove and brewed up at Ingraham flats on the way down in the morning. Didn't have too but wanted to enjoy sunrise and morning. I've started at any time between early evening to midnight depending on how fit I have felt. As I've gotten older I have found I like an early evening leave time which gets me to Muir in time for a nap in the hut and a little something to eat and drink out of the wind. The guided parties usually wake me up and I am out the door before they are and then long gone. Hate to be climbing under big rope teams or having to pass them in the middle of the night so better to just be off before they get started. Which is easy enough to do. Just my opinion but if you are in reasonable shape and take care of yourself during the climb with hydration and food a one day climb is the easiest way to do Rainer. If you start to feel bad just turn around. Pretty quick to get off if the conditons are good. Which they need to be for me to make a one day ascent. I look for a good cold spell with a clear sky just after a warm weather period. I also like to see the trails lower down clear of snow. But that isn't required as long as the snow is hard for easy walking to 10K. Planning on a north side route this spring, done in the same way and coming down through Muir. Couple of guys have posted on their one day speed climbs. Worth hitting the search function to look at those.

No question stuff falls off the left side as well just not generally in the hundreds of tons that you get off the right side on a regular basis. A lot of the left side gets wacked/knocked off over there by climbers getting on the pillar so the amount of ice is generally a lot smaller. Although we climbed up to the last tier on the left last year and did the tier on the right by walking behind it. Pretty common as well 'cuz the left hand exit can be a little spooky hiking out onto the vertical. The right hand curtain had come off the week before on that trip and again -30 temps during the day. Tons and tons of ice covered by the snow along the donkey trail. My point is that on a grand scale Louise Falls is one of the safer ice climbs in Canada. No real avi danger to start with. It is the first place I go when the avi danger goes up. Although in the right conditions you could easily get buried or dumped into a tree on the walk down off to the top. Ice fall is always a danger on any water fall climb. No disrespect but Louise looks awesome any time it is up and is only a death trap if you aren't aware of conditions and how those conditions might effect you. But that is why you call them "traps" You wouldn't go there if you are aware of the danger. Hey, we have all had good scares and get caught if you do it long enough. And trust me, glad it was you there and not me when that curtain came down. Even happier you can write about it. Again and I mean this, no disrespect intended. Be happy you can learn from the experience. Major weather changes either way, chinooks or big freezes, any amount of wind, snow in any amount, and the volume (high or low) of water in the falls are all things that need to be looked at closely while weighing what you want to or can climb. Fun stuff to think about on your next trip north Pretty obvious now but making the wrong choice on those things can easily get you killed on Rogans Gully or Weeping Pillar. Technical difficulty has little to do with how "hard" ice climbs might really be. Same climb, same week from a year ago, '08. Typical conditions in early Jan. I think 9 or 10 of us climbed it that day. Two of us on the left side at the top of the last pitch. At least one huge colapse off the right side recently that season although it is hard to believe from the hangers on there now. But hardly a "death trap". Also easy to see the trough where most of the shit comes down the first pitch.

Hey, at least you're out there doing it! New route as well...nice

You left out the most obvious..."he seems to fall off a lot" Nice photos though!

Rockies ice climbing isn't what most of us try to deal with on WA ice. In Canada it is generally the deep cold snaps that pop the hangers not the chinooks that come later. Gadd and Issac both note that fact in their technique books. I supect you'll find similar info in both the ice and mixed guides to the area. Same reason most locals don't climb water ice when the temps drop radically or below -10/15. That said Louise is one of the few moderate climbs that most can get on with big hangers above them. Instead of the desperates that are free hangers all on their own. I've climbed Louise dozens of times over the years. All but a couple via the far left side to the upper tier. Climbing on the far left you get a longer climb and are protected from any ice fall and trash kicked off by the others likely on the climb. Keep the temps in mind and at times the upper right hand curtain can make a fun climb. But it also falls off several times each season as they get deep freezes. Take it as a learning experience and just be thankful that you lived. Obviously it could have turned out very differently. There is nothing "safe" about climbing waterfalls, even the easy ones can bite you if you aren't aware of how conditions effect them.

Took snow shoes once. Next half dozen trips I took touring skis with lwt weigh touring boots not atc gear, carried my dbl climbing boots. Always left skis at 11K on the west but and no regrets. So much easier to move quickly in lwt gear it makes carrying your mtn boots no big deal.

I suspect this applies to any really big boot as well. I wear a 46 Spantik and have a really hard time getting crampons to fit properly to them. For those that haven't seen them, Spantiks have a big rocker and a huge sole profile compared to most single boots. Gone though a bunch of different crampon styles trying to get a good fit. Some of the modern crampons aren't wide enough under the forfoot to really perform correctly on these boots. On others the sizing seemed just a bit off. Enough so I wouldn't want to use most crampons on these boots on a difficult terrain. Not happy with the 'pons I was able to fit up "right" so I kept playing with the boots and the several pairs and styles of 'pons I own. Turns out what made all the difference was the heels on my particular boote were ground with a bevel to the outside of the boot sole. Rear bales and 'pon length sizing was really hard if not impossible to get right. I finally noticed the problem on the sole. It took 5 minutes on my bench grinder to change the bevel to the inside. Most crampons should now fit to my satisfaction and my own crampons fit perfectly. Most importantly to me I can get a pair of Dartwins on them. I suspect a close inspection of any boot sole is worth a look if you plan on using clip on 'pons and are having problems. Hope this helps someone else down the road. It has been bugging me since last year on the Spantiks.

Not saying you can't die doing this sort of thing but remember it is someone else speaking for Steck in your quote. If you have kept track, Steck seems pretty squared away doing this (climbing hard mixed) kind of stuff. Blood from Stone comes to mind as well. http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/pillagecanadaice07/ http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/swissrocketmen07/

http://www.alpineexposures.com/pages/ueli-steck-smashes-the-grandes-jorasses-north-face-record wowsiers!