Ice climbing in approach shoes

Pete Spri wrote:http://www.camp-usa.com/products/crampons/tour-nanotech-universal/ Think this is as good as you can get for light alpine steel crampon. They also have step in and semi-auto bindings, but the universal is probably what you would need for the flexible shoes you are talking about.

Oddly enough cant find them in europe

Pete Spri wrote:http://www.camp-usa.com/products/crampons/tour-nanotech-universal/ Think this is as good as you can get for light alpine steel crampon. They also have step in and semi-auto bindings, but the universal is probably what you would need for the flexible shoes you are talking about.

Those look nice and light, but they are missing side posts. Have a look at my photo here:

people.bath.ac.uk/dac33/hig…

you can see these crampons have an extra post. This works well with soft shoes as it keeps the shoe and crampons together even on relatively steep ground.

They have got me up stuff like this when needed: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe…

I see you writing off a lot of the suggestions that a lightweight mountaineering boot would be your ideal setup. Just a word of advice, going light and fast doesn't mean compromising safety to go as light as possible. If you read any of Steve House's, Mark Twight's, Vince Anderson's, etc climbing writing, they used the equipment that was specific to the job, even if that meant a bit more weight. The added security of being confident in your gear allowed them to move fast instead of futzing around with strap on crampons and approach shoes in order to save a few ounces. Plus you look like a dillwad when you wear stuff like that.

Tyler Kempney wrote:Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold used an approach shoe and strap-on crampon setup for their Fitz Traverse so it must work and has an UL application. Although a very specific one. In the Bugs its a common setup to wear a light alpine boot/shoe (Scarpa Rebel Pro or La Sportiva Trango Cube) and crampons. It just depends on the objective. Hope this helps!

TC & Honnold could probably climb 5.11 in golashes, but that is certainly not ideal & foolish for mere mortals to attempt.
Same for doing any serious ice climbing in approach shoes & strap-on crampons. Might be ok for hiking up snowfields but when it gets vertical you want a stiff boot and decent crampons.

If you watch the film, Alex didn't even have the right crampons & had to borrow some. While he can get away with it, I would not recommend ice climbing with non-standard gear. Dangerous enough with good gear...

David Coley wrote: Those look nice and light, but they are missing side posts. Have a look at my photo here: people.bath.ac.uk/dac33/hig… you can see these crampons have an extra post. This works well with soft shoes as it keeps the shoe and crampons together even on relatively steep ground. They have got me up stuff like this when needed: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe…

I see your point, yet the added benefits of steel are going to outweigh aluminum, IMO. Would not be harder to add an extra strap in the middle if you are worried about sliding out.

Honestly, I'd go for the nanotech and the lightest mountaineering boot you can find. Learn to climb more in a mountaineering boot. If you are climbing in an approach shoe, the route can't be that technical.

cragmantoo wrote: If you watch the film, Alex didn't even have the right crampons & had to borrow some. While he can get away with it, I would not recommend ice climbing with non-standard gear. Dangerous enough with good gear...

Alex actually bought a crampon that was to technical, he bought a crampon with toe bails, you can (or could) see on the patagonia website exactly what tommy bought and they were a pair of aluminium crampons the black diamond neve strap. Funny thing is the other pair who were going to climb with more ice and snow also chose a strap on crampon. The whole reason i went for those approach shoes were because they are basically the same boots as what Tommy and Alex used on the traverse.

The weight is going to suck but i'm probably going to go for these simond.com/en/cat/Crampons/… they are heavy but they are also cheap, durable and best of all stiff, if i'm not going to have my shoe be stiff i at least my crampon to be stiff, I couldn't imagine anything worse than trying front point and then have the crampon collapse under me.
EDIT: They are a C2 crampon.

If you have a flexible shoe, you NEED a flexible crampon - ideally with a spring steel central bar, otherwise you will either break the connecting bar or force the crampon off the boot when the boot flexes. I got into this game through alpine hiking and a lot of people will deliberately make crampons more flexible when using with flexible (i.e. hiking) boots by either buying a special spring-steel bar, or by removing the stock bar and re-inserting it such that it only engages the last slot and effectively acts as a hinge (this method is very much at your own risk).

I've got a pair of these stubai-bergsport.com/crampo… with the universal binding, and whilst they are a little heavy and probably not ideal for ice cragging, they climb really well on any of the alpine stuff I've done (arguably significantly better than the standard 12 pt offerings from BD and the like). I typically use them with a stiffer boot, but I have worn them briefly with approach shoes, and they felt pretty solid. Wouldn't really want to climb anything that needed two tools (i.e. WI3) in approach shoes though.

This makes me think of the Scott expedition to reach the South Pole. No one on the expedition could ski, and they brought HORSES! British people! ;)

I guess the new question is now then, any body fitted Grivel G12 crampons to a flexible boot?

Pete Spri wrote:http://www.camp-usa.com/products/crampons/tour-nanotech-universal/ Think this is as good as you can get for light alpine steel crampon... the universal is probably what you would need for the flexible shoes you are talking about.

that guy named seb wrote:Oddly enough cant find them in europe

Really? bergzeit.co.uk/camp-tour-na…

Martin le Roux wrote: Really? bergzeit.co.uk/camp-tour-na…

Thats really odd i checked bergzeit and didn't see it.

Clifford Meece wrote:

I know this is a necrobump, but the topic is very close to my question, so maybe it is ok...

I was thinking about doing a winter ascent of Mt Whitney East Buttress in winter and was looking for recommendations for footwear.  It's a long snowy approach but shouldn't be too technical, the rock is mostly ice and snow free at 5.7 (11 pitches) and then a couloir descent that is snowy and icy.  What kind of setup could work across this kind of terrain?  I am leaning toward an approach shoe/boot and something like the GrivelAir Tech Light Crampon.  I don't expect any real ice climbing, just snow hiking and icy descent on the mountaineer route. 

It will depend much more on the temperatures expected and the actual conditions when you are doing this route than on the route itself, which goes for pretty much everything in winter mountaineering. I'd say play it safe and bring a proper winter boot but YMMV. 

As the OP and with many more years of experience under my belt I can now say, if your asking these questions about these recommendations, go standard, it's a learning process, start at least somewhat safe. At 4,200m in winter you need at least a warm single boot, climbing 5.7 in winter in the alpine is no joke. 

low tech works for sure.   Ive used Kahtoola type micro spikes for many years to climb steep snow and angles, even multi pitch rock routes up to 5.9 in winter with mixed snow/ice on them. A short nrs type cinching strap over the toes/forefoot keeps them in place. I find allot less foot & calf fatigue and more natural feel. Works for low angle icy slogs like Adams but also have collapsable crampons for technical near vertical ice. I don’t like vertical ice so no comment there. Do what works for you. My profile pic is with this setup and here is some similar choss I’ve climbed earlier this winter at night.

On the GWI a few years back...Drew gettin' it done with running shoes and micro's:

A pair of camp aluminum crampons Pico Humboldt in Venezuela:

I wouldn't care to use aluminum crampons on water ice or even hard glacial ice.

I think if you have a bunch of experience using standard gear on alpine routes, then, cutting corners might make sense.  Otherwise?  Maybe not.

Clifford Meece wrote:

I know this is a necrobump, but the topic is very close to my question, so maybe it is ok...

I was thinking about doing a winter ascent of Mt Whitney East Buttress in winter and was looking for recommendations for footwear.  It's a long snowy approach but shouldn't be too technical, the rock is mostly ice and snow free at 5.7 (11 pitches) and then a couloir descent that is snowy and icy.  What kind of setup could work across this kind of terrain?  I am leaning toward an approach shoe/boot and something like the GrivelAir Tech Light Crampon.  I don't expect any real ice climbing, just snow hiking and icy descent on the mountaineer route. 

One option, depending on the cold conditions and your tolerance is maybe the Mammut Taiss Light with a light crampon.   This rig will climb WI 4+ For about a pitch or two…but is super light and warmer than an approach shoe.  Climbs rock decently up to 5.8 imo.