CaleHoopes

Seriously. If you've had it, you'd love to have shots so you don't get another strain. Damn, was the worst 3 days I ever spent in Minnesota.

Congrats on the FA! :-) Amazing stuff

Love my Baruntse's. Had a boot fitter in Bellevue (Sturtevant's) work em over and it was a huge improvement.

A really good place for practicing V-threads and anchors is the lower Coleman in the summer. The ice there is pretty good for setting screws and there is more than enough beginner terrain to get comfortable with your anchor building. The first V-thread I've ever rapped off was there this summer and it held great. Built a TR anchor and a few others too. Was very happy with a day out. Granted - this was all in October. It seems like most of the ice here in WA or PNW has sufficient spots for natural anchors. Learn a ton? Go to CO, MT, WY, or Canada for better experience. And if you're just starting out - go take a class.

Headed off to Ouray for the festival. My fourth year up there. Mostly taking clinics and doing 5 days with IMG for fun. Probably get out on camp bird, maybe up near red mountain pass... stuff like that. Maybe silverton if I can hitch a ride from some folks. Really looking forward to getting back to the San Juans.

Yeah, I bet it's mid->late Jan before it's "in" up there. I'm headed to Ouray in Jan... but when I get back, I'm interested in going up to Snoqualmie Pass...

LOL. Spammed again. Suck

I started out with the freewires and like em fine. You can often find em a few dollars off somewhere.

I have many pairs of Zion pants. I love them and use them for everything. Hiking, climbing, work, beer parties, going out, etc. Zion pants are the best travel pants made. Lightweight, roll up great, very easy to move around in. Spent two weeks in Ecuador in them wandering around while not climbing. Very excellent. BTW, they aren't horrible and are generally for colder days, but REI makes a soft shell: Endeavor. And they have convertibles. A convertible soft shell is kinda nice because it gives you that op to tear off (cue the sexy music). Anyhow, they aren't super durable - you might have to replace after 2 seasons - but they are kinda nice for climbing. I've used em to climb on the lower Coleman and then the next day climbed in Leavenworth. Also did some cragging in Mazama and then Liberty Bell in them. They are pretty awesome. Plus, if you got em, take those white long johns, throw them under em and you got the sexy look (with the pantlegs off). Additionally, I've thrown the white long johns under the whole pant and climbed Rainier twice in them on fairly cold/windy days with no problem!

So, in my experience, I've done all these things in my Baruntse's. However, if I had specifically got a branch or something stuck in that faux gator, I bet I could have ripped it as well. It's pretty thin and a non-important part of the boot (in my opinion). I actually think they Bushwhack just fine. The cool thing about the baruntse's is that they ARE a double boot that can do all those things. Would I buy these boots ONLY for Bushwhacking? Hell no. But if I have to do an approach where these boots would be be best for other events on the route? Hell yes. There's a ton of bushwhacking here in WA. However, these boots don't see much here except winter work and some summer work high up (really need a smaller/lighter boot for other events).

Not to be a devils advocate, but do any of the boot manufacturers actually claim, on a non-plastic boot, that they are invincible to a crampon point?

I'm absolutely in support of Dane's comments.... especially about the nylon cuff. I don't think of this as a very important part of the boot to be honest. It works ok and it is easily ripped. I've done a fair amount of bushwhacking in mine and haven't damaged the boots. One thing I will say, I've found Sportiva stuff to be great, but not super durable in my opinion. However, I understand what I need out of the boot and my Baruntse's have performed wonderfully. I also agree, it ain't the boots fault. Sorry dude.

Thanks! Got it. LOL. Guess I shouldn't read one story about Wild Things and write a post about Wild Country.

http://www.wildcountry.co.uk/products/product-recalls/helium-karabiner-recall-issued-10-dec-2012/

Hey, save some money and buy the Baruntse's. I've climbed in Ouray, Rainier on DC & Kautz, and the West Buttress on Denali. I've also done some Snoqualmie Pass Ice Climbing, hiking and snowshoeing in them. They are awesome and cheaper than the Spantiks and I've heard, almost as warm (warm enough for Denali). Anyhow... http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/04/la-sportiva-baruntse.html Fit by a boot fitter (Sturtevant's in Bellevue, WA) Still my go to boot...

Mike12, Dane has a good review of the Phantom 6000 and indeed says that the Baruntse liner will fit in the boot: http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-back-scarpa-6000-dbl-boot-and-2.html From his blog: The Baruntse has a more modern lace system on the inner. Hard to break or have a failure in that inner boot. The Baruntse is the easiest of the three to use and the most durable. It is the inner I think the Spantik should have been delivered with. It fits better and is lighter in weight. The lace system more closely mimics the Spantik shell system as well but no durability issue. Nice that my Baruntse inner will fit any of the 6000 outer boot. IMO the Baruntse inner is the best of the three for fit and ease of use. It weighs only 1/2 oz more (@6 oz) than the 6000's inner (5.5oz). The Spantiks' inner boot weights 9.0oz. I also love the lacing system of the inner on the Baruntse. I will be giving it all another go at Ouray in a month's time. I can tell you that because the Baruntse liners are fairly flexible they should be BETTER than the Scarpa liners as far as the flexibility (I find mine very flexible and comfortable).

FYI... As a board member from another club... there are some others out there! :-) Mountaineers, Washington Alpine Club, Boeing Alpine Club, Bushwhacker Climbing Club, ETC. Each of them offer some courses, but have memberships who like to socialize and climb. I heartily suggest our guiding community as well. We have the best guide community in the world - here in WA: American Alpine Institute Alpine Ascents Inc. International Mountain Guides North Cascades Mountain Guides Northwest Mountain School KAF Adventures International Sherpa Guides Mountain Madness Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. Pro Guiding Service That's a pretty damn impressive list for the state of Washington (and I'm sure I missed a bunch). Go get some instruction, like Matt said. Awesome stuff there. Oh and the instruction at Vertical World is top notch. Can't vouch for Stone Gardens but it's probably just as good!

Granted, I've had my pair for over two years, but I have that colorization as well. I think it's just how they seal it. :-) Once you get the fit, I think you will be really happy with the boots. I'm at the point where the boots are ultimately so comfortable for me that when they get worn out I might attempt to get another pair. Probably definitely replace the liners before I get rid of them for sure. Good luck!

Holey Crud, Kurt... that's a good deal. Too bad I'm not ready to build my trad rack yet. That deal for the 6 is pretty good! $360!

Hey Monty Piton... who sells these anymore? I used to get em done at REI in Seattle... do you know if there's anyone in Seattle that does the cork superfeet?

Dane! Thanks for your responses. That's some great perspective because what's interesting is that that flexible upper doesn't feel totally horrible when I'm on the ice, but feels horrible if I'm trying to do something very low angle on water ice. So, I probably just need to work on my technique a bunch. I'm taking my Baruntse's to Ouray but I'm gonna try as many singles as I can at the festival and maybe rent some Batura's or Nepal Evo's. We'll see. Thanks for the input. I also agree BTW, the boots don't break in, your feet get used to em. I had my Baruntse's boot fitted at Sturtevant's and still love them greatly as a wonderfully warm mountaineering boot.

NOTE: The Batura's have been "upgraded" - The latest model is 2.0 and has been improved. The link above is the Batura 1.0s. http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2012/04/la-sportiva-batura-20.html

I'm very interested here too. I'm totally looking at the Batura's and can't wait to test both in OUray at the festival.

I don't disagree with ColdFinger. While I bought my Baruntse's with that in mind (both mountaineering & technical ice), I find that working in the Baruntse's with a lot of mountaineering actually compromised it's technical ability some. Mountaineering on those boots & climbing technical ice worked ok on those boots when new. Now 3 seasons in, the upper part of the boot is getting so flexible that it's hard to keep the boot stiff enough to make it comfortable on technical ice. I have to re-lace the boots a bunch during the day when climbing technical ice. All of it makes me want to get a boot like the Batura 2.0s and keep my Baruntse's for mountaineering. The Baruntse is an excellent mountaineering boot and not bad on technical ice.

No problem! Just let me know. I have gone through all of this before, so I feel your pain. My boots did well on Denali - however, I feel like the Baruntse's need to get retied often if you put it through a mix of technical/low-angle work all in the same push. Otherwise, you'll have problems with it tipping over when trying to plant crampons. Good luck and let me know if I can help.