Crampons for North Cascades

[spaceman3]

Trying to to some moderate alpine climbing this summer, mainly some alpine rock climbs (West Ridge Forbidden and Prusik)and some snow and glacial climbs (Shuksan/Ruth/Baker).

 

Would anyone have any recommendations as far as the caliber of crampons that would work on them? I have Asolo Fugitive GTX boots if that helps narrow it down...

 

Cheers all!

[DPS]

The Asolo Fugitives appear to lack heel and toe welts, so you will need a pair crampons with front and rear 'basket' type of binding system.

 

The Grivel G-12 New Classic is a solid choice: http://promountainsports.com/index.php/climbing/crampons/classic-trad/g-12-new-classic.html

 

 

 

 

[JasonG]

Those are a solid steel choice. My preferred summertime crampon in the North Cascades is Al, the Stubai ultralight universal (though I don't think they make it anymore?). Several companies make good full strap aluminum crampons.

[Jason4]

I second the Grivel G-12 and would also offer up the Grivel air tech light or the CAMP XLC 490 as aluminum options if you don't intend to climb hard ice and have the restraint to stop and take off your crampons if you'll be walking on gravel or rock. All of the above should be available in strap version to fit your boots.

[robertjoy]

For a first pair of crampons I would strongly suggest steel rather than aluminum. There are many situations where aluminum crampons are not so good, but if they are all you have, you will wear down the points, be too lazy to re-sharpen, and regret trading functional flexibility for such a tiny weight reduction. The only down side to steel is about 7oz (200g) of extra weight. I like my BD Contact Strap at 808g. and the Grivels at 900g are pretty comparable. Grivel aluminum crampons are about 600g.

Edited May 28, 2014 by robertjoy

[montypiton]

for approaches on non-technical glaciers and snowfields (like around Prusik Peak) - consider microspikes. a fraction of the price of a twelve-or-more point crampon, and can be worn on ANY shoe (nice when you want to hike in approach shoes & climb in rock shoes) -- not a good choice for hard-core glacier use, but some do summit rainier using them. for bargain-of-the-century, keep an eye on ebay for the old salewa adjustable twelve-point. this twelve point adjustable crampon was by far the most widely used crampon worldwide in the seventies and early eighties. they usually go for $20 - $50, and come up fairly regularly, probably from estates of old hard-cores. you can pay more for newer, but function wont be much different