 Poster: A snowHead
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I've been reading a few of the trip reports and looking at the pictures of people heroically climbing up exposed ridges and noticed that most people have crampons on. One of the real weaknesses I have in my skiing life is a strong dislike of exposed faces, narrow ridges and generally climbing about in ski boots. I've no problem on steep slopes once the skis are on, I just don't like getting to them. I've only ever used crampons once in my life, when hiking up the Franz Josef glacier in NZ and I did feel much more secure. Question therefore - can you get crampons for normal alpine boots, any advice on using them, and which ones do people recommend?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| BGA wrote: |
| Question therefore - can you get crampons for normal alpine boots, any advice on using them, and which ones do people recommend? |
alpine ski boots? Yes crampons should fit okay, probably automatic front and rear fixing.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Maybe time to get touring boots? The vibram sole with rocker makes a *massive* difference to how steady I feel on my feet in scary places. Crampons are helpful too provided you don't get tangled up with the spikes. They do require a bit of practice
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I have been thinking about the touring boot option Arno but most of the stuff that I've been doing has been a quick 10/20 min scramble over a ridge to get to the good skiing, and I like the rigidity of my normal boots, which is why I was wondering about the crampons for them. Might try renting some touring boots to see how I ski on them. (nice photos on the trip report by the way - that's what lead me to posting this)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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BGA, you'll be lucky to rent decent touring boots and there is a huge difference between cr@p ones and good ones which fit properly and are made for high performance skiing (rather than high performance climbing...). I recently got some properly fitted Scarpa Spirit 4s and am tempted to ditch my downhill boots altogether. Only problem is that I have Look bindings on one pair of skis which don't take a touring boot too well. My everyday skis are fat and stiff and I feel that more slop comes from the Fritschi bindings than the boots.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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yes... the SMALL one did a great job on helping me choose and fitting them 
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| Arno wrote: |
| I recently got some properly fitted Scarpa Spirit 4s and am tempted to ditch my downhill boots altogether. |
The only thing against that is that ski touring boots will wear more quickly than alpine boots. My Spirit IIIs are beginning to fall apart after 80,000 meters climbing and this is pretty typical for the Spirits from what I've seen. If you are not skiing too much they might last 4 years which is a typical replacement cycle for ski boots anyway... or you may be rich and like to change boots regularly. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Ignorant question, but touring boots and normal alpine bindings? Does this work? I have a selection of bindings on my skis, but the skis that I use most are my Gotamas which have Salomon 914 bindings on them. I will soon have VIST bindings mounted on my new Faction skis as well. Is it possible to use touring boots with alpine bindings?
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| BGA wrote: |
| Ignorant question, but touring boots and normal alpine bindings? Does this work? |
sometimes but you cannot guarantee the boots will release correctly, hence boots like the Andrenalins with swappable soles.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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BernardC, will I ski as well as you if I get the boots? 
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You know it makes sense.
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I see Telemark say those boots work in alpine bindings. That your experience?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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achilles, Yep thats true and as of next year, the Tornado is supplied with both Alpine and Rando soles.
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Poster: A snowHead
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achilles, ...... in fairly deep powder one day .... I did check that the 'release' on alpine bindings worked .....
.... purely a technical experiment you understand ...
.... they worked ..... 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, and BernardC, Thanks. Looks a possibility for next season.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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achilles, They be White with a big Booster strap on them, the new thermo 'Intuition' looks to be a winner too, jury's out.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| achilles, Yep thats true and as of next year, the Tornado is supplied with both Alpine and Rando soles. |
Another ignorant question. I'm guessing the Alpine sole fits alpine binding. So what binding does the Rando sole fit?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| abc wrote: |
| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| achilles, Yep thats true and as of next year, the Tornado is supplied with both Alpine and Rando soles. |
Another ignorant question. I'm guessing the Alpine sole fits alpine binding. So what binding does the Rando sole fit? |
The only issue for most touring boots is the rubber sole which provides more friction compared to a plastic alpine sole. This means that it won't slide / pivot on the toe piece in the same way as an alpine boot so your DIN settings will not be accurate.
Touring bindings get around this to a greater or lesser extent by having a sliding plate or very slippery piece of plastic under the toe. There are a lot of variables affecting boot release when touring (such as a heavy rucksack) so ski tourers tend to rely less on the accuracy of the DIN release.
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BGA, the other thing that might make an, ahem, big difference is the forward cuff tilt on regular alpine boots. Not so much good, particularly if there's a bit of downhill on the way up. So, another vote for the free/rando option unless your alpine boots have a ski/walk switch. If you do have a ski/walk switch make sure the rear clip of the crampon clears it, esp on something with a honking big lever like the BD Sabertooth.
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BGA CAMP XLC crampons - I'm sure they'd be ok for helping with climbing in the snow in your alpine boots. I've heard some good things about them, and they ain't too pricey either. Not any good for ice-climbing, but I gather from your questions that that's not your intention anyway.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Cheers petemillis, they look like a good option.
Certainly got me thinking about the touring boot option though. Am off to NZ for 2 weeks in September and am unlikely to be in the Alps before then, any suggestions on best place to kitted up in the UK? Or do I need a flying visit to Chamonix?
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FAQ
and I wish I had known about them earlier 
.... still better late than never ... 
