UKC

Having trawled the forum archives I realise that these questions are ten-a-penny, but still I ask:

Does anyone know whether or not Asolo Sherpa GVs would be warm enough for an early September ascent of Mont Blanc? Having read plenty of stories of people really suffering with cold feet whilst doing it, I'm taking no chances and going for a pair of Nepal Evos (and Lorpen socks) as my feet tend to get cold relatively easily, but a friend who's also going was interested in these Asolos. I know nothing about them and the spiel on the Asolo website isn't particularly helpful either (it says they're suitable for summer alpinism, but then again so are Scarpa Charmoz apparently and I know of people who found them inadequate), so any advice would be good.

Well this is most unsatisfactory.

In reply to Altitude Addict: I was cold on Mt Blanc and that was in the days of plastic boots and liners.

In reply to David Hooper:

What time of year did you go? Any idea roughly what temperature it was on/near the summit?

In reply to Altitude Addict: Climbed MB early September last year, it was v cold and I run warm. Even had my emergency buffalo mitts on! Clothing is such a subjective issue, what's ok for me may be totally different for you. IMHO, I would not go up MB in a pair of boots that I had not already tested out on a lower peak and got feedback that my feet were ok.

Me?, I'd go for something with insulation in from la Sportiva.

Hth Davey

In reply to Altitude Addict:

Hi I just posted in another similar thread about gloves for MB. I got frost nipped toes in La Sportiva Trango Extremes (the silver ones with insulation) in July last year but it was unusually cold. My girlfriend on the other hand wore Charmoz and had no issues so it is very much down to your physiology!

I generally seem to have slightly poorer circulation than my friends I climb with but despite some very long, very miserable belays in the depths of Scottish winter have never felt the cold like I did on MB. I suspect the altitude and 2hrs sleep under a table might have influenced this a bit too

To try and answer your question I guess it depends on your friends metabolism/physiology and experience in cold climates to date. If he runs warm and has never had issues with cold extremities then the Asolos might be ok.

Iain

Thanks for the replies.

He reckons that his feet are always, if anything, too hot, so the Asolos could be fine for him then. I don't think they'd be ok for me though as despite my circulation apparently being very good, my feet seem to get cold quite easily. I've even considered Spantiks but they do seem like overkill!

In reply to Altitude Addict: I got very cold feet in August a couple of years ago in plastics. Probably didn't help that I'd got frost nipped feet a couple of weeks earlier in bolivia.

In reply to Altitude Addict: Just to add another experience, I went up in very ordinary leather boots that only just about held on some old Everest Salewa crampons before I switched to those dreadful Koflach plastic shell boots for other ascents. I would think heavily insulated boots would be awful on the lower parts of the ascent. Why not look at some of the big French retailer websites and see what they recommend?

In reply to Altitude Addict:
Summited MB Sept last year in a pair of Sportiva Trango Evo's (blue one's) via the 3 Monts Route with my friend in a pair of Scarpa Mantas. It's a tricky one to second guess what the weathers going to be like in advance.. If in doubt, might be even worth looking at a pair of Scarpa phantom guides, etc.

Always look after your feet!

In reply to Altitude Addict: I wore my scarpa charmoz boots for 3MB's route and they were fine (in September). I wished I'd taken my duvet coat cos it was very cold and blowing a hooley but my feet were fine.