Water

yeah summited with lonelysummit and some others this morning - lots of crap raining down, though yes much of it in the chute was just from climbers above. we left timberline at 10:30 and were right behind a big group who took a snow cat up. someone else took a baseball sized piece of ice to the face as we ascended the chute, but it was because they looked right up when ice was called. they flailed for a moment, but then turned around, hope they didn't bust a tooth or anything more than a scrape/bruise.

well thank you to everyone for your thorough two cents. I have landed on the Lowa Mountain Experts after trying on a lot lot lot lot of boots. I found the mountain experts for a really good price at a local store and even though zappos was awesome and let me try a bunch of other boots, I found the overall fit of the lowa boot matched my foot best. Now that the boots are done.. (and thank you again for your advice on it), I am curious about crampons choice. A few of you said you preferred fully auto due to the more secure fit - and a few things I've read about the lowa mountain expert toe welt was that some folks are okay with it and others don't exactly trust the size of it (it is noticeably smaller than a toe welt on la sportiva or scarpa boots, it seems). I am looking at the BD sabertooths and thinking newmatic would be better because there isn't any worry about it popping off the smaller toe welt/it would work on other boots that don't have a toe welt (leaves it open for a wider range of future boots..). 2cents? I'm ready to finish (at least for a season) my gear search for a while and be out using it!

hehe, thanks for the advice frikadeller. lighter boots are great but not as durable! yupp Well I tried on a few pairs and was surprised actually at scarpa freneys seeming to fit better in my exact street shoe size instead of sized up a half size. The La Sportiva Nepal EVOs.. the more I look the more they look like they would be suitable for me and beyond - but I think they may just be a bit overkill for me to begin with--including in the pocket book if a deal wasn't found. Right now I am looking at some Scarpa Summit GTX - looks fairly clean without an excess of different fabric and stitching, has a toe welt and looks like it would still keep the dogs warm if the temp got low. Probably placing an order for some soon, will update this as I get a fit/find a boot so future newbies can read and see a conclusion (hopefully).

Wow! thank you for the thorough responses detailing your recommendations and personal experiences with different boots. I didn't mean to convey I heard nothing positive about plastic boots - within the context of my class though they seem at the margin as the course is to prepare folks for A and B Mazama climbs. I'm taking the class because I'm comfortable on the A scrambles I've done but didn't want to do B category stuff (Hood, jefferson, etc) with trial and error/winging it (duh-okay to do that for backpacking..) Thus the climbs I'm applying for this year are Hood, Jefferson, and Sahale, and other than hood (May), they are late summer climbs. I get the impression the plastic boots are for a bit colder conditions/colder feet/multiple days on the snow? My current intention is that I would be sticking to B climbs, and probably wouldn't be doing any serious winter climbing and at present no plans on any waterfall climbing, to give context for boot usage. rhyang: when you say you feel better about the Lowa Mnt Experts vs the cristallos, for rock scrambling/easy climbing -- is that in that they have greater flex and sensitivity - ie the cristallos are overkill/less agile for when you can get by with less? secondary question: are mountaineering boots the same as backpacking when it comes to the insoles? ie: might as well throw them out and put in your own orthotics? I'm pretty flat footed and monster stiff arch support kills me (superfeet) - so I've got an insole that I'm pretty happy with - can I use it with these mountaineering boots? Now a few people have recommended the La Sportiva Nepal boots - I am heading to a shop tomorrow and will try things on. Thanks for the recommendations. I definitely agree that the more stitching and multiple patches of material increase the chances for problems - thats why I went with a lowa banff for backpacking (single piece of leather). Toe welt seems to be prudent for any boot I choose, thanks for high lighting that too. thanks again for your tips help.

Hello, I'm completing a Mazamas basic climbing course and wanted to get any advice about mountaineering boots from anyone more seasoned, here. I've done st. helens, south sister, peaks in the wallows, yada yada yada, but my intention with boots is Hood, and then any other PNW peaks that would come after that. Though like everything, everyone has their preferences and there is no end all single-solution, it seems like from what I've read that plastic boots for a lot of climbs in the PNW are overkill/people aren't hot on plastic boots. I have a pair of Lowa Banff boots now that I use for backpacking and I really like them a lot. I'm not a gore-tex fan if I don't have to be and treated regularly and cared for they stay pretty dry for 8 hours in the snow--though can get a little wet in the toe box (half of it sweat, i'm sure) after a long day. They are fairly stiff and it seems like I could do hood with them, but they're definitely on the margin for that. With that said, I'm inclined to look at the Lowa brand for mountaineering boots because I know they fit my feet well (after having tried asolo and a few other brands & models when getting a backpacking boot). Does anyone have any thoughts on these three over at Sierra Trading Post? Lowa Cevedale Lowa Cristallo X Pro Lowa Ice Expert The Cevedale looks good and seems to fit the bill - but I'm always a sucker to spend more for something I think might be better--I'll be honest about that, haha. The Cristallo-X-Pro seems a bit tall and maybe overkill, and while the Ice Expert looks a bit more robust than the Cevedale, I'm not sure how far towards ice (vertical) climbing it is suited, vs general mountaineering (what I can find says for rock and ice). thank you for any suggestions and advice!