IF YOU’RE JUGGING LINES, CROSSING LADDERS AND STAYING IN FIXED CAMPS ON AN 8000m PEAK THEN ALMOST ANY 8000m BOOT AND CRAMPON SET WILL WORK. THESE DAYS HIGH ALTITUDE BOOTS ARE GOOD ACROSS THE BOARD STRAIGHT FROM THE BOX, AND ANY CRAMPON THAT’S GOT AT LEAST 10 POINTS BUT ISN’T OVERLY TECHNICAL WILL WORK SO LONG AS IT HAS A FLAT CENTER BAR THAT WILL BALANCE ON THE RUNGS OF A LADDER. BIG ESTABLISHED CAMPS WITH LARGE TENTS WILL GIVE YOU PLENTY OF ROOM TO GET YOUR BOOTS AND CRAMPONS ON, AND THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL 8000m ROUTES HAVE NO NEED FOR PRECISE ROCK OR ICE CLIMBING. BOOTS NEED TO PRIORITIZE WARMTH FOR WAITING IN LINE WAY AHEAD OF PRECISION FOR STEEP CLIMBING, AND CRAMPONS NEED TO EXCEL AS TRACTION ON MEDIUM STEEP SNOW SECTIONS AND COMPACTED RIDGE TRAILS. THESE DAYS ALL THE MAJOR COMPANIES CATER VERY WELL TO THESE DEMANDS AND IT’S HARD TO GO WRONG OUTSIDE OF BASIC FIT.
HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINE ASCENTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, DON’T WORK SO EASILY.
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ROUTES LIKE THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2, REGARDLESS OF ALTITUDE, ARE STILL REAL ALPINE ROUTES THAT REQUIRE THE SAME FROM FOOTWEAR AS ALPINE ROUTES ANYWHERE, ONLY PUSHING THE ENVELOPE BY BEING HIGHER/COLDER. THE CLIMBING NEEDS PRECISION, THE CONDITIONS ARE CRAMPED AND YOUR CRAMPONS NEED TO WORK ON A VARIETY OF TECHNICAL MIXED TERRAIN. WHILST SHOWING UP IN YOUR MILLETS AND G10’S FROM EVEREST WILL COVER SOME OF THE DISTANCE, WHAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR FEET FOR THE REST NEEDS ATTENTION TO DETAIL NOT USUALLY COVERED IN COMMERCIAL 8000m CLIMBING.
BOOTS
PRECISION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME HERE, MEANING A BOOT-FOOT INTERFACE THAT LETS YOU PLACE YOUR FEET SURGICALLY. THIS IS A MIX OF LOW WEIGHT, LOW BULK, MINIMAL MOVING PARTS & A SOLID INTEGRATION OF THE LOT. NOT ALL 8000m BOOTS ARE MADE WITH THIS IN MIND, HAVING INCREASING THICK SOLES, MULTIPLE INNER COMPONENTS AND COMPLEX LACING SYSTEMS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH ALL THE BULK OF INNERS AND BIG SOX – WHICH IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR COMMERCIAL TRIPS.
THE SECRET LAYS IN WHAT PRO CLIMBERS HAVE ALWAYS DONE; MATCHING UP A STREAMLINED BOOT TO A CUSTOMIZED INNER AND MINIMIZING SOCK VOLUME, WITH ALL THREE ELEMENTS CHOSEN TO WORK TOGETHER.
START WITH THE INNERS. THIS IS WHERE THE MAJORITY OF YOUR WARMTH AND INTERFACE COMES FROM AND THE BETTER IT DOES THAT THE BETTER THE REST WILL WORK AROUND IT, LIKEWISE GET IT WRONG AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO WITH THE SHELLS AND SOCKS YOU WON’T OVERCOME THE ISSUES. SEVERAL COMPANIES SPECIALIZE IN ONLY DOING INNERS AND THE BEST MONEY YOU CAN EVER SPEND WILL GO ON FINDING ONE THAT WILL THE INNER THAT SUITS YOUR FEET AND A SERVICE THAT THERMOFORMS THEM. BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT OUTER BOOTS, GET THIS SORTED, THE MAIN INGREDIENT HERE BEING THE RIGHT SOCKS (AND INSOLES IF YOU WEAR THEM) FOR THE JOB SO YOU CAN THERMOFORM AROUND THEM.
ONCE FORMED – AND TAKE YOUR TIME HERE TO GET IT RIGHT, AND A GOOD FORMER WILL UNDERSTAND ALL THIS – TAKE THEM TO TRY ON YOUR OUTER BOOTS, BASICALLY IGNORING THE INCLUDED INNERS OTHER THAN FOR REFERENCE. IGNORE TOO POSTED SIZES – THEY ARE INCONSISTENT ACROSS BRANDS – AND TRY ON EVERY PAIR YOU CAN REGARDLESS OF BRAND, COLOUR AND MARKETING, THOUGH PAYIMG ATTENTION TO THE MORE PRECISELY DESIGNED BOOTS WITH A LOWER PROFILE FOREFOOT. BEAR IN MIND, TO A DEGREE, ONCE SIZED TO YOUR INNERS & SOCKS, THE INNERS CAN BE FURTHER FORMED TO ACCEPT THE OUTERS.
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SOCKS
IGNORE THE MARKETING AND DON’T ENCASE YOUR FEET WITH MERINO. SOCKS AT THIS LEVEL ARE TO PROVIDE A DRY INTERFACE WITH THE INNER AND A LAYER THAT PREVENTS BLISTERS – COMPRESSED & DAMP WOOL DOESN’T DO THAT. ON A COMMERCIAL TRIP WHERE YOU CAN AFFORD TO HAVE LOTS OF PAIRS OF THICK SOCKS ALONG AND THE CLIMBING DOESN’T DEMAND PRECISION FOOTWORK THAN THE POINT IS MUTE, BUT FOR THE BEST HIGH ALTITUDE FOOT INTERFACE A THIN, RAPIDLY DRYING SOCK WITH MINIMAL BULK WORKS BEST.
AT THE ROUTE OF THIS THINKING IS THE BASIC LINE THAT THE WARMTH YOU NEED IS IN THE INNER BOOT, NOT INVOLVING THE SOCK REALLY AT ALL. WITH INNERS NOW MADE OF AEROGEL AND PRIMALOFT THERE’S NO WAY A MERINO SOCK CAN COMPETE, SO YOUR SOCKS VALUE IS IN NOT TRAPPING MOISTURE AND DRYING VERY FAST WHEN IT DOES – AGAIN, NOT HOW A MERINO SOCK OPERATES.
NEW GENERATION SOCKS NOW COME IN PRIMALOFT YARN (SOME WITH AN ACCEPTABLE WOOL BLEND) AND OTHER SYNTHETIC FIBRES THAN RAPIDLY DRY NEXT TO THE SKIN WHEN SWAPPED OUT BECAUSE THEY RETAIN ONLY A FEW % OF THEIR WEIGHT IN MOISTURE TO START WITH. COMBINED WITH A WELL FORMED INNER AND OUTER TO MATCH, THE INTERFACE WITH YOUR FEET COMPARED TO THE BOOTS OF YORE IS LIKE COMPARING A FERRARI TO TO A STATION WAGON.
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CRAMPONS
YOUR BOOTS ARE BASICALLY THE PLATFORM FOR YOUR CRAMPONS AND TO SINK THAT MUCH EFFORT INTO YOUR BOOTS THEN PAIR THEM WITH ANY OLD CRAMPON IS TO MISS AN OPPORTUNITY. WHILST ANY CRAMPON WILL BENEFIT FROM A BETTER PLATFORM INTERFACE, CONNECTING LIKE WITH LIKE GIVES A DEGREE OF PERFORMANCE UNTHINKABLE NOT THAT LONG AGO.
AN 8000m ALPINE CRAMPON NEEDS FOUR THINGS; TO BE PRECISE, TO BE LIGHT, TO BE RIDGID AND TO BE EASY TO PUT ON – AND SOME CRAMPONS DO THIS BETTER THAN OTHERS.
WE ADVOCATE THE GRIVEL G20+ WITH KATANA POINTS AS THE CUTTING EDGE OF WHERE CRAMPONS FOR HIGH ALTIUDE USE IS CURRENTLY AT, AND HERE’S WHY;
- THEY DON’T COLLAPSE DOWN, MAKING THEM EASIER, MORE RIDGID TO PUT ON AND FAR LESS PRONE TO POPPING OFF
- THEY’RE LIGHT, BY >150g PER FOOT IN MANY CASES
- THEY HAVE RELATIVELY SHORT TEETH, MAKING THEM MORE STABLE ON ROCK
- THEY DON’T HAVE THE REAR FRONT TEETH THAT ARE NOTORIOUS FOR SNAGGING CLOTHES AND GEAR
- THEY’RE A FULL TECH CRAMPON, IN THIS GAME YOU WANT THE HIGHEST PERFORMANCE LEVEL YOU CAN GET IN YOUR GEAR, NOT THE MOST COMMON – A TECH CRAMPON WILL CLIMB EVERYTHING WELL ENOUGH BUT A GLACIER CRAMPON DANGEROUSLY WON’T DO FOR WHEN THINGS GET SERIOUS
- THEY HAVE A VERY SIMPLE BINDING THAT DOES WITHOUT THE BUILT IN TOLERANCES NEEDED FOR REGULAR CLIMBING BOOTS THAT DON’T HAVE THE ROCKER IN THEM FOR WALKING SO YOU CAN CLAMP THEM ON TIGHT.
WE PAIR THEM WITH KATANA POINTS BECAUSE THE DURABILITY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARMOR STEEL AND CHROMOLY MUST BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED. WITH KATANAS YOU KNOW YOUR POINTS WILL STILL BE LAZER PRECISE ON DAY 35 ON THE HIGH ROCK TRAVERSES WHEN IT MATTERS MOST.
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SOUND LIKE A BIG DEAL? IN THE SCHEME OF ALL THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH AN 8000m TRIP THIS IS SMALL CHANGE, AND THOUGH ARGUABLY ACADEMIC FOR A FIXED TRADE ROUTE, IF YOU’VE PREVIOUSLY WORN COTS (COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF) BOOTS WITHOUT CUSTOMIZING THEM YOU ARE GUARANTEED TO BE AMAZED AT THE DIFFERENCE.
COST-WISE, YES IT’S A BIT MORE, BUT ON THE SCALE OF CUSTOMIZATION, NOT A LOT, AND IT’S A COST THAT IS DIRECTLY REFLECTED INTO YOUR TRIP WITH INCREASED PERFORMANCE.