question Is Arcteryx Acrux Boot Warm Enough for Denali

[mzamp]

I am in the planning stages for a 2019 Denali ascent with a group.  I own the Acrux, but have only used them ice climbing, a cold day on mt hood, and a warm day on Rainier.  I was wondering if anyone has experience or knowledge if they will handle the cold temps of Denali?  I sure would like to use these as opposed to my old plastic boots.

[keenwesh]

Could be warm enough, depends on the style and time that you'll be up there. I would say if you're going in June, and are fit and confident enough to climb to and from the summit quickly they very well could be perfect. If you are planning a trip where you'll stay at 17 camp and be on a rope team the whole time, and therefore more limited in your ability to turn around and be back in camp quickly if your toes get cold, I'd say you might consider going for a different set of doubles. Whatever boot you choose to go with, make sure it's comfortable! You'll be spending a lot of time in them, and tender toes are not fun or worth it. I stupidly brought a pair of boots that were warm, but didn't fit my feet very well. I made it back to 14 camp with screaming feet, and once I removed my socks, found that I had a silver dollar sized blood blister on the bottom of each of my big toes. Wore my (also ill fitting) ski boots for the rest of the trip. 

 

Bottom line is they're on the lighter side of warm, and denali can be a very cold place.

Edited January 13, 2018 by keenwesh

[DanO]

Fresh toe warmers do work, old ones do not. Make a big difference, also may check on heated socks as an alternative.

Old toe warmers loose their strength sitting on the store shelf. 6 hours of toasty toes per install, do some testing to see

if you like and concur.

 

 

[montypiton]

I'd concur with Keenwesh with one further consideration: the fit needs to be ROOMY.  Even a heavily insulated boot won't keep your feet warm if the fit is tight.  For my two Denali seasons 1981 & 82) I wore a double booth that was a full size larger than my summer alpine boots.  I also had acquaintances that got away with using Galibier Superguides (the most popular single alpine boot in those days) two sizes oversize, wearing more socks and insulated supergators.  Another acquaintance, dealing with a pre-existing condition of previous frostbite, had good experience with electric socks.  whatever you decide, test it on shakedown trips  as cold as you can find (Icefields, Montana-Wyoming-Colorado) before you head to Denali

[glassgowkiss]

A short answer is- NO. Not for multi day in that region. You will be on glacier entire time, hence you need to protect your feet. They are equivalent of Scarpa Phantom Guide (or Tech), basically a single mid warm boot. They are design to climb well in hard technical terrain. If you climb light and fast, single push- maybe. For multi day trip you will end up with frostbite. If you are planning on doing regular route (West But) just use AT boots with intuition liners. Most of West But is just flat glacier, and skis are way to go. AT boots will be good enough to go from 14K to summit, but skis are going to be much more handy below 14K.