Hey guys, I’m an avid hiker and climber, and want to level up and get into mountaineering. I’m in SoCal and will be starting off with Baldy, Whitney, and over the years move my way up to Rainer and eventually Denali and beyond. I guess my point in saying that is, I plan on having some longevity in mountaineering so I’d want to buy gear under the notion of ‘buy once cry once’ haha. Anyways, with the minimal research I’ve done I’ve been eyeing the Grivel G12s for my crampons and the La Sportiva Nepal Cube for my setup. What do you guys Think? For my use case would you recommend anything else? Thanks in advance!
Wow thanks for the insightful reply!
I am new to the ‘sport’ (idk if it’s a sport or lifestyle, and I don’t want to insult if it’s either or. Idk with surfing some people would get up in arms and say it’s a lifestyle lol 😂). With that being said, I would assume I’d want to go in the shoulder seasons and even winter rather than in the summer time for ‘proper’ California mountaineering. Idk maybe I’ll learn more once I get into it of course.
Also, I know this topic in general has probably been covered a million times, but I want to ask you since we’re in somewhat of the same area, but what’s the best way to get started with mountaineering? I was thinking just try baldy and then take some avalanche courses in bishop then go from there. Potentially hire a guide but I’d like to be frugal about it all…
Lastly, thoughts on the g12? I assume you didn’t say anything because they’re just that good there’s no question about em..
Anyone who would bicker with you about whatever label they put on their climbing practice is not worth your time haha. Shoulder season makes sense for CA. High summer in the sierra is rock climbing season. I’m a guide so obviously my answer is biased but I think getting some basic experience (enough to know what’s going on and ask good questions) and then getting mentored by someone good on an objective you couldn’t do alone is the best way to learn. That can be a guide or someone else you know and trust, but as with anything be choosy about who you pick up habits from there’s lots of people out there getting away with bad mountaineering who simply haven’t been burned yet. For easy stuff like baldy or Avy gulch Shasta most people can self teach enough and get out there and try, just listen to your gut and don’t swim out farther than you can get back. If you’re always being guided or always climbing with way more experienced people you’ll never really hone that intuition.
I started when I was a teenager on the easy peaks and progressed into more formal training later. The more formal systems based training that you’d get from a club, mentor or guide will be more important once you need to deal with belayed climbing and glacier travel. I live in the PNW now and can’t speak to the club climbing scene in socal these days but it was not awesome when I was there.
G12s are fine crampons, a little heavy maybe. I like petzl because they’re modular and I’m often swapping components for different boots.
Thanks for all the info! I’ll definitely look into some clubs for SoCal. Lately I was lucky enough to befriend a sport climbing guide with decades of experience so that saved a good amount of cash on that end haha 😂. Was hoping I could do the same with mountaineering! I come from a surf/outdoor background so this is all very new to me but I must say I am hooked when it comes to this branch of sport/lifestyle. Something to do when the waves suck 😂.
Anyways one last question and I’ll leave you alone lol, how should I size the La Sportiva trango? I’m typically a 11.5US/45eu for street shoe, climbing shoes (solution comp and TC pro) I went 44 and those feel great (if that means anything). Tryna grab em now for the upcoming season as theirs some good deals goin on!
Nice, lucky break! I usually size a half EU size up from my climbing shoes to boots of the same manufacturer but it’s always best to try them on.
Sorry to annoy with another question but I have to ask! Only a half size up from climbing shoes? If I size down a whole size climbing shoes and then size up only a half size for mountaineering boots that’s still a half size down from my STREET shoes. I would have figured you’d want atleast a half size up for doubling up on socks and foot swelling?
I guess I size my all day trad shoes pretty generously. I’m in those suckers for 12 straight hours sometimes
Haha I feel that, I had to grab a pair of TC pros because I was doing some multipitch for only 3 hours and my feet were absolutely killing me in the solutions haha. Only thing is, I still downsized the TCs because I thought they’re inherently more ergonomic? Idk that’s a problem for another time lol.
Anyways, would you say general rule of thumb for mountaineering boots is to size up, down or true to size? Just want to have a good idea of what size to order online in hopes I hit the nail on the head the first go around haha.
I second the scarpa charmoz for SoCal mountains as a beginner. They're modest price, light and warm enough for SoCal winters. They also take heel locking crampons.
There is a limit on how much of a temperature range a boot can span. There's also a limit on how well a boot can both walk and climb steeper ice.
You'll need at least two pairs of boots. I'd recommend to start out with an uninsulated or only slightly insulated B2, which shouldn't get too hot at lower altitudes and walks well enough to be wearable on the appraoch. Something like the Mammut Taiss Light, Aku Croda, La Sportiva Aequilibrium Top or Garmont Tower 2.0 Extreme.
Thanks for the reply!
Another commenter recommended boots along the lines of that aswell. Something with more rocker and a little less hot so I’m not sweltering In shoulder seasons. They recommended La Sportiva trango and the Scarpa Charmoz. Any experience with those?
There are MANY Trango models. Which one do you refer to? I would be careful with them, both the Trango Tech and Trango Ice Cube have huge durability issues. Though my experience with the Aequilibrium ST wasn't better. The Aequilibrium are the successor to the Trango Tech and are better at pretty much everything. I can't really speak about the Trango Tower, Alp Evo and Cube, they're older models and fairly similar to the Scarpa Charmoz.
Most of these are older (and sometimes discontinued), stiffer and slightly heavier that the boots I listed. They would work (I really don't see the reason to buy a Trango Tech in 2024 though), but I'd personally prefer the Aku Croda or Mammut Taiss Light for the same purpose.
Looking at the taiss light now, I’m pretty intrigued. Would you say they fit snug and I should size up for my use case, sierras and SoCal + some PNW in shoulder seasons? Considering thick socks and foot swelling? Or should I stay try to size for performance fit. Or should I just size up in general because they fit snug nomatter what? I’m typically a 11.5 US and am considering a 12..
I found them to be a little bit smaller (in length) than Sportiva and Aku boots. However, I could not tighten the laces well enough that they would grab my low-volume feet snugly.
In doubt, you could try to go up half a size, but no gurantees about fit. They're awesome boots and I'm very sad that they just didn't fit my feet.
hey another quick question about the taiss light.... as you know im looking to start my mountaineering career here in socal and with that being said, as you have stated before there will be some scrambling to go with the local climbs. So, my question being, because of my use case for my boots, should I not size up as much as one would typically? I would imagine id want a snugger feel so that I would have more confidence and leverage out of my toes? Perhaps not though, others have stated that boots have stiffer soles so it isnt as much as an issue as to regular approach shoes. Theres that and the fact that I will still be doing general mountaineering stuff with em (not just scrambling on rock). Well wither way, if you wouldnt mind letting me know what you think that would be greatly appreciated!
The rule of thumb (quite literally) is that you should have one finger width of extra space in the front of the boot. Whatever you do, make sure that you can in a normally laced boot (snug, but not uncomfortable) under no circumstances hit the front of the boot with your toes, even with thick socks.
Neither of us will be able to determine the right size for you until you try them on.
And yes, the stiffer sole does mean that the front of the boot won't flop away when you try to stand on a small edge. Leverage is still an issue, but you do get MUCH more edging support than with approach shoes.
Scarpa Mantas are incredible.
I have a pair of La Sportiva Trango Tech Leather boots and love them. I paid about $185 for them and think it was a good deal. Since I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to go all out with gear right away, I avoided the Nepal boots.
I've been thinking of upgrading to Nepal's soon, though. They would allow for a wider range of temperatures and allow for full auto crampons. I'm still happy I have my Trango's though since they're light and my feet are always warm. Perfect for summer climbs.
Nepals are found in every mountain town on the planet for good reason. They’re a great boot. Just make sure LS fits your feet. Otherwise, you will 100% be better served with another brand that fits you
The nepals are great single boots i picked up the gtechs and im super happy w them but the G2s are a great double boot for the colder months. The thing with just about all of this stuff is always it depends but as far as a single boot goes you cant go wrong w the nepals imo
There isn’t really a single boot for everything, so if you do it that way that’s all well and good, I’d just plan on being uncomfortable a lot. You’ll swelter in Nepals on pretty much anything in CA in the summer, they hike on trail for shit as well so you’ll either be blister farming or carrying those bricks on the outside of your backpack for a whole approach. Looking forward they probably won’t be enough boot for Rainier early season, and you certainly can’t take them to Denali.
I grew up in LA/Eastern Sierra and If I were you I’d get something lighter with more rocker in the sole for walking off snow and scrambling on rock. There is a ton of dry trail and climbing/scrambling in your area even on the big mountains in winter. Something like a scarpa charmoz or something in the sportiva Trango series if they still make those would be a good choice to get you started in SoCal, Sierra, Shasta and would still be enough for mid season cascades (maybe not rainier cx dependent). Once you’re onto high elevation expedition mountaineering you can cross that bridge.