Cheap Approach Ski Setup Options

Skiing with mtn boots and climbing pack is mostly survival sking. gear is not optimal and sking with pack sucks. that being said a good skier can cover ground quite quickly.    Might take you 3 seasons of really working on just skiing to get good at it...   ????  It can be a fast learning curve if you are an ice skater? 

No idea what boots these are, but this guy had no problem on vertical ice. Crampons were Petzl M10s with standard toe bail.

Darren Mabe wrote: With a mountain boot setup like you guys have, how easy is it to go say 3 miles on flat ground? How long would that take with a light pack? I've never really skied before. 

Easy peasy.  I wouldn’t race the Birkie in it and it sucks for skate, but can cruise 10 miles with full climbing pack in under a few hours.  Really pays off on the low downhill glides...way outperforms AT on anything not full blown technical downhill, as well as a lighter xc rig that doesn’t have strength for tight turns. 

Glenn Exum soloed the Grand in football cleats so you can make anything work.  This debate is strictly on the optimal rig for primarily approaching climbing as the main event in skiable terrain.  If you’re gonna ski in climbing terrain, use AT.   If you’re just gonna ski in rolling terrain, BC Nordic is the way. 

Boil it all down and buy more stuff! MORE STUFF!!!

Nick Goldsmith wrote: those duds aint  normal...  Yes you can climb in AT boot and yes it sucks compared to climbing boots and yes I have done it though I suppose modern AT boot  might be a touch lighter than these...

Yeah there are a ton of AT boots that are actually lighter than mountaineering boots.

Mark Pilate wrote:

Easy peasy.  I wouldn’t race the Birkie in it and it sucks for skate, but can cruise 10 miles with full climbing pack in under a few hours.  Really pays off on the low downhill glides...way outperforms AT on anything not full blown technical downhill, as well as a lighter xc rig that doesn’t have strength for tight turns. 

Glenn Exum soloed the Grand in football cleats so you can make anything work.  This debate is strictly on the optimal rig for primarily approaching climbing as the main event in skiable terrain.  If you’re gonna ski in climbing terrain, use AT.   If you’re just gonna ski in rolling terrain, BC Nordic is the way. 

I'm thinking skiing into rock climb

Forthright, I think your talking out your ass on that one. I have demmoed the Dynafits etc and nothing in our back country ski shop comes even remotely close to  as light or dexterous as My asolo Eigers…  additionaly aboslutly none of them had anything even remotely close to the finesse that my Asolos have...   Yes You can climb in AT boots but its not as comfortable or fun as climbing in climbing boots. yes you can ski in Climbing boots but its not as comfortable and fun and skiing in AT boots. Choose your poision.   I am guessing the dude's who went into Chimny Pond and banged off a bunch of routes in AT boots were skiing steep stuff the get down. neither of those guys uses AT boot at The Lake, Cannon or Cathedral etc.  

I certainly don't want Dynafits almost up to my knees on Ragnarock though I have no doubt that Peter and Silas could hike  the climb in AT boots. The kind of skiing it takes to get up there and back is perfectly suited to climbing boots and ultra light skis.  I could certainly see wearing AT gear to climb gullys in Hunnington with the goal being to ski.  Climb Pinnacle and ski Central, South etc. If the Goal on Katadin was to climb and ski mountain terrain then by all means AT boots are the answer. If the goal is to ski into chimny pond to camp and climb ice then the gear of choice for me would be climbing boots.  Cruising across the lake to climb ice, No brainer..  and it ain't AT gear. its a few mile ski into this climb. Ragnarock.  Green circle on the way out.  

Nick Goldsmith wrote: Forthright, I think your talking out your ass on that one. I have demmoed the Dynafits etc and nothing in our back country ski shop comes even remotely close to  as light or dexterous as My asolo Eigers…  additionaly aboslutly none of them had anything even remotely close to the finesse that my Asolos have...   Yes You can climb in AT boots but its not as comfortable or fun as climbing in climbing boots. yes you can ski in Climbing boots but its not as comfortable and fun and skiing in AT boots. Choose your poision.   I am guessing the dude's who went into Chimny Pond and banged off a bunch of routes in AT boots were skiing steep stuff the get down. neither of those guys uses AT boot at The Lake, Cannon or Cathedral etc.  

You're twisting my words. I said nothing about dexterity.

But weight (per pair)...
(all of the skimo race boots)
Atomic Ultimate 1480g
Dynafit PDG2 1654g
Asolo Eigers 1690g
Scarpa Alien 1770g
Alien RS 1840g
La Sportiva Sytron 1974g
Dynafit TLT7 Carbino 1984g
Fischer Travers CC 2008g
Nepal Evo 2024g (more representative of the average leather single boot weight)

....And technically you're comparing a single boot to a double with your Eigers to AT Boots. The boots that were used to climb and ski the Lhotse couloir were less than 100g heavier than Spantiks.

Also so many guides and badasses in Chamonix climb hard af Alpine in AT boots. That stuff makes east coast climbs look like a playground bolder.

Hold on...I'm gettin' the popcorn ready...

Okay, go..

Brian in SLC wrote: Hold on...I'm gettin' the popcorn ready...

Okay, go..

Heavy or Light Butter sir?   

Light buttah and just a touch of salt.  That pink Himalayan salt.

'Preciate ya.

Forthright wrote:

You're twisting my words. I said nothing about dexterity.

But weight (per pair)...
(all of the skimo race boots)
Atomic Ultimate 1480g
Dynafit PDG2 1654g
Asolo Eigers 1690g
Scarpa Alien 1770g
Alien RS 1840g
La Sportiva Sytron 1974g
Dynafit TLT7 Carbino 1984g
Fischer Travers CC 2008g
Nepal Evo 2024g (more representative of the average leather single boot weight)

....And technically you're comparing a single boot to a double with your Eigers to AT Boots. The boots that were used to climb and ski the Lhotse couloir were less than 100g heavier than Spantiks.

Also so many guides and badasses in Chamonix climb hard af Alpine in AT boots. That stuff makes east coast climbs look like a playground bolder.

He's not even listing the weights of the lightest skimo boots.... The Pierre gignoux weigh 1kgg per pair!!!

My personal boot quiver:
1.315kg Nepal EVO size 48 (w/o extra tongue, last generation)
1.190kg G2 SM size 48
1.410kg Spitfire 2.1 size 31.5 mondo (with powerstrap)
1.610kg Sideral 2.0 size 31.5 mondo (no powerstrap)

I have approach skis with Silvretta 500 Easy Go, and also some Dynafits on touring skis. Boots + bindings favors AT boots and Dynafits. It is obvious what Nick's preference is; I'm not so sure after having spent more hours approaching in my boots than climbing. The fit and comfort of the AT boots for skinning (not just skiing down hill) is far superior.

its all about the terrain. more skiing than climbing or more climbing than skiing.  YMMV

my Asolo Eiger GV  805g 

Nick Goldsmith wrote: those duds aint  normal...  Yes you can climb in AT boot and yes it sucks compared to climbing boots and yes I have done it though I suppose modern AT boot  might be a touch lighter than these... 

Have you tried ice climbing in an AT ski boot made within this decade?

Other People:
https://www.nwalpine.com/blogs/pursuits/the-first-ascent-of-the-pencil-mt-hood

https://www.nwalpine.com/blogs/pursuits/new-routes-on-mt-hood-part-1

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/06/part-2.html

OP, don't bother with some ski binding made in 1973, or some whacky half length ski.  Just get a modern AT setup and climb in the ski boots (for moderate or alpine objectives), or carry your boots if the climbing is truly hard.  I've tried it all, trust me, you'll enjoy life more.

So, I haven't gotten to climb ice or mixed in them yet (soon!), but my Scarpa Alien RS feel like they're the same weight as my Nepal Cubes (they have the same listed weight, but I don't know how the sizes for those standard weights compare). They are slightly more awkward to walk in, but I scrambled up some stuff in them, including a little crampon "smearing",  and I didn't really notice any impairment vs the Nepals. They were obviously much better on the downhill.

I think Mark probably has the right idea. If the approach and "deproach" are flat or rolling, a BCd setup with your climbing boots is probably the way to go. If you'll be climbing up with your skis and then skiing down, whether the same or a different route, AT is probably the way. So for the OP, it sounds like the BCd setup would be better. For a lot of us in CO, AT is a good quiver option to have.

But let's be real, we're all going to end up with an AT setup, a BCd Mountain boot setup, and a true XC setup for different days out!

Lucas hit the nail on the head!   Yes Kyle, my AT boots were made in 2016.  I use them when I head west.  But the OP is a homeboy in my own backyard.   My “graph” above is definitive for upper Midwest (MN, U.P. , or Canada).  

We’re splitting hairs here, but maybe what’s needed for final word  is a comp at several locations.  Bring your rig and put your money where your mouth is!

and don’t forget the key word in the title of this thread.....”cheap...”.      Nothing about modern skimo gear is cheap.