HYBRID 6000m/8000m BOOTS
6000m IN WINTER AT HIGH LATITUDES IS A STRANGE NICHE TO CLIMB IN, SHARING MANY OVERLAPPING FEATURES OF 6000m AND 8000m PEAKS DONE IN SEASON. HIGHER LATITUDES AND LOWER AIR PRESSURE OF WINTER MAKE THEM FEEL HIGHER TO THE BODY, AND OBVIOUSLY THE VARIOUS FORMS OF HEAT LOSS, ESPECIALLY FAR REDUCED RADIENT HEAT, MAKE THINGS VERY, VERY COLD. 6000m ALSO MEANS TECHNICAL CLIMBING AT SIGNIFICANT LEVELS, NOT THE MUTED POSSIBILITIES THAT 8000m IMPOSES. THIS MEANS EQUIPMENT THAT INTERFACES FOR M6 AND WI5, BUT THAT COPES WITH THE CLIMATE USUALLY FOUND ABOVE 7500m.
AS ALWAYS BOOTS ARE THE DEFINING FACTOR WITH THIS STUFF, AND IN SUMMER 6000m PEAKS ARE WELL CATERED TO WITH VARIOUS DOUBLES, AND BACK IN THE DAY WE CLIMBED SOME IN SINGLES. WINTER THOUGH POSES A CONUNDRUM THAT NO BOOT CURRENTLY REALLY ADDRESSES, THE ONLY ONES THAT EVER REALLY DID BEING SPANTIKS THAT BECAME A RELIC OF A STYLE THAT PETERED OUT. BUT, APPROACHED LATERALLY, SOMETHING CLIMBERS WERE ONCE KNOWN FOR, SOLUTIONS EXIST HARKING BACK TO THE MISH MASH OF PLASTIC BOOTS AND STANDALONE LINERS THAT CLIMBERS OF THE DAY CONSIDERED NORMAL.
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IT IS ENTIRELY FEASIBLE TO PAIR AN 8000m LINER WITH A 6000m SHELL, FRANKENSTEINING THE BOOT YOU WANT FROM THE PIECES YOU LIKE. COST IS OBVIOUSLY MORE, BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF A WINTER HIGH ALTITUDE TRIP IS NOT MUCH, CONSIDERING THE IMPACT IT HAS ON YOUR CLIMBING.
THE TRICK IS TO START WITH THE LINER AND FIND ONE YOU LIKE, WITH EVERY REASON TO START WITH SCARPA BECAUSE NO ONE HAS DONE IT THEY HAVE. WHAT IS ACTUALLY A LINER FROM A SPECIALIST COMPANY, THESE ARE FAR AHEAD OF ANYTHING WE KNOW, WITH FIT, MATERIALS AND CAPACITY TO BE THERMOFORMED THAT WE DON’T KNOW A SERIOUS CONTENDER. THESE NEED TO BE SIZED COMFORTABLY, IN FULL KNOWLEDGE YOU WILL THERMO-MOLD THEM TO GET THE PERFECT FIT. THIS MEANS INCLUDING ANY INSOLES YOU USE (AND SCARPA MAKES GOOD AFTER-MARKET THERMAL INSOLES), AND FITTED TO THE SOCKS YOU WILL USE.
OTHER GOOD LINERS COME FROM SPECIALIST COMPANIES LIKE INTUITION AND PALAU, AS WELL AS THE SKI RANGE OF MANY COMPANIES AND OBSCURE LOCAL GARAGE BRANDS. SKIERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH JUGGLING LINERS SO A DECENT SHOP WON’T FLINCH, DESPITE CLIMBING SHOPS FIND ALL THIS LIKE BLACK MAGIC.
SHELLS CAN BE WHATEVER YOU FIND GOOD, THOUGH SOME BRANDS FOCUS MORE ON INSULATING THE LINER MEANING THEIR SHELLS ARE NOTICEABLY LESS BULKY, AND MORE ‘SHELL LIKE’. SOME 6000m BOOTS ARE CLOSER TO SCALED DOWN 8000m DESIGNS WITH FLAT SOLES AND LARGE PROFILES, WHILST OTHERS ARE LIKE SCALED UP SINGLES, RETAINING A LOT OF THE DEXTERITY AND ANKLE ARTICULATION THAT’S CLOSE TO A DAY BOOT. WE THINK THE MAMMUT NORDWAND 6000 WORKS, AND ACTUALLY EVEN BETTER THAN WITH THE STOCK LINER THAT CATCHES WHEN TAKING OFF. OTHER BOOTS WILL HAVE A SWEET SPOT WHERE THINGS MATCH UP, SPECIFIC TO SIZE AND THE LINER.
SHELLS MIGHT END UP BEING HALF A SIZE LARGER, BUT STILL FINE WITH THE NORMAL 6000m LINERS AND MAYBE AN EXTRA SOCK. THIS WAY YOU GET OPTIONS WITH THE ONE BOOT, AND IS SOMETHING SOME CLIMBERS HAVE EXPERIMENTED WITH ON TECHNICAL 8000m ASCENTS.
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THERMOFORM THE LINERS ONCE YOU HAVE THE SHELL, SOMETHING EASILY DONE AT HOME WITH A SOCK FULL OF CHEAP RICE AND A MICROWAVE. PUT EVERYTHING ON WITH THE RIGHT SOCKS AND AN EXTRA SOCK FOLDED OVER THE TOE TO FORM SOME WIGLE ROOM, THEN WALK AROUND FOR 15mins WHILE IT ALL COOLS. CRANK THE BOOTS ON HARD TO REALLY PUSH INTO THE SHAPE OF YOUR FOOT, AND KEEP CRANKING EVERY 30 SECONDS AS THE HEAT WORKS ITS WAY THROUGH. SOME LINERS MOLD BETTER THAN OTHERS, THE SCARPA 8000 ONES BEING VERY NICE AND GOING SQUISHY AND YOU CAN FEEL THEM SETTING.
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ONCE DONE YOU WILL HAVE A UNIQUE BOOT, THAT FITS A TYPE OF CLIMBING THAT PRESENTS MANY OPTIONS, AND SKEWS THE NOTIONS PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT BOOT ‘QUIVERS’ TO CREATE A MUCH BETTER RANGE. OBVIOUSLY THE ORIGINAL LINERS FROM THE 6000m SHELLS YOU STILL HAVE, TO HYBRIDIZE IN THERE OWN WAYS. A CASE COULD BE MADE FOR 8000m SHELLS WITH 6000m LINERS, THE POINT BEING TO MATCH OUT THE BITS THAT YOU LIKE.