Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What to put on my feet

I am looking for advice on good all-around mountaineering boots. I currently have a pair of Salomon XA Pros that I use for hiking and racing. I just started doing some alpine hiking and am getting ready to do Whitney on the 21st. I am tiered of wet cold feet when sloshing through summer snowpacks. Plus I plan on doing some ice climging in Telluride this winter with a friend and eventually want to do some glacier trekking (maybe go back to Rainier) since I got that bug when I was in Seattle. I was thinking the LaSportiva's Makalu's or Glacier's might be a good choice. Primary use will be summer hike's like Whitney, but would like something that will get me to the top of Rainier and that I can also use for ice climbing. So spending a little extra $$ if I can get everything in one boot is acceptable.

I think you are probably going to wind up with two pairs of boots. Ice climbing requires much more boot than the rest of the activities you mention. Something like the La Sportiva Trango S EVO GTX should be fine for summer hikes involving significant amounts of snow, and they will take a crampon, but they are too flexible for ice climbing. For that you will want something with a full shank and probably a lot warmer. I would hesitate going on Rainier with something that light, though people do it. There are a lot of good boots in both categories, but I can't really make a recommendation other than to try on several brands and models and see which ones fit you best.

Footwear appropriate for summer trail hikes are not appropriate for ice climbing and vice-versa.

If you don't want wet feet from summer slush consider a mid-height lightweight gore-tex shoe. Brand and model are far less important than finding one that fits the unique shape of YOUR feet. Take your hiking socks to the store, try out every pair that even approaches being the right type. Spend a lot of time there. Put different models on each foot and keep discarding the one that isn't as good a fit.

Once you have found the perfect fit, buy 1/2 size bigger.

Or so I say.

Well something like the Makalu has a full shank so it can be used for ice climbing so I suppose it would be warm enough for Rainier most of the year, but I guess it might be too much boot for hikes like Whitney in June (not summer trail hikes)?

What I would like (in a perfect world)...if I knew there was going to be little or no snow on the trail then I could wear my trail runners otherwise I could make the decision to wear something like the Makalu even though the conditions might not quite warrant it. It would be nice not to have to get the in between pair.

Thanks for all your input.

(The perfect world would be very deep pockets and free gas)

I tried a pair of Makalus a few years back and liked how they fit but they are heavy and VERY stiff. The boot fitter noted that they take a long time to break in so unless you use them a lot, they may beat your feet to a pulp for quite a while.

I ended up with a pair of Salomon Adventure 9 Mountain boots. Things I like about them: They are much lighter than the Makalus. They have a ski-boot-style hinge at the ankle, so fore/aft have excellent flex but are still quite stiff laterally, so the ankle support is great. They are step-in crampon compatible. Much of the uppers are fabric, so they are cooler for normal trail hiking (see tradeoffs).

Tradeoffs: They are NOT waterproof above the beginning of the lacing. Some of the internals are mesh and so they are useless for ankle-deep stream crossings. They are some of the ugliest boots I have ever seen...a combination of black soles, green fabric and brown leather.

Having not done any of the big snow/ice climbs like Rainier, I won't speculate on whether you could get by with a pair or Makalus for both Whitney and Rainier, but the Salomons definitely would not be adequate for Rainier. Personally, I figure I'll need plastic boots for Rainier but I haven't done enough homework on that subject yet...

Not to change the subject... but want people's opinion on using Vasque Velosity ( trail running shoes with molded plastic base plate) for a July 31st day hike...either from Portal or Outpost Camp

I love the velocity, may even be wearing them this weekend up there.

Look on ebaby , I purchased a pair of Vasque ice 9000 , which are a double boot , which im taking to Shasta , rainer and Denali in 2010, and a pair of Vasque Super Alpinstas which are a single composite\leather upper boot which im taking up Boundary peak and The Mountaineers route this week coming up. I got them both from a seller brand new for under $ 300. But know your size for the model you plan on buying berfore you buy on ebay or any mail order, i learned that the hard way with a pair of Kolfach and some Scarpas . Good luck , ill will be on the summit of Whitney on 21st.