UKC

I'm heading to the Chamonix at the end of Feb for some general skiing fun and a bit of climbing.

On the climbing days the plan would be to ski into some climbs and then ski out, an example might be Vent du Dragon then down via the Valley Blanche.

I will be hiring skis and boots (Dynafit bindings), but I can't imagine the rental place are going to give me a nice swish pair of Scarpa Aliens, or La Sportiva Syborgs, so they will probably be big clumpy things.

The question is, will I need to take my normal climbing boots with me in my bag and swap footwear? Is it generally acceptable to do this? Is it a stupid idea to get my little toes out at the bottom of an alpine route in the middle of winter?

I appreciate I can just suck it up and climb in touring boots, but I want to know whether its 'sensible' to take normal climbing boots with me.

Also, if skiing off-piste I know I'll need an avalanche transceiver (which I'll rent), but will I need anything else? The Avalung-type bags seem sensible, but not essential?

General comments and thoughts on how to bolster my normal Alpine kit for a bit of winter climbing/skiing, and the balance between climbing in and/or taking boots would be much appreciated.

Thanks

In reply to edunn:


A good shovel & a probe plus the knowledge to use them - a little practise is a good idea even if you've done it before

In reply to Doug:

Cheers Doug. Just clicked on your profile and seen your article about ski mountaineering, will give that a read too.

Thanks

In reply to edunn:

Are you going solo?

In reply to Rigid Raider:

No, with a partner, potentially two or three.

In reply to edunn:

Call before hand to see what is available... TLT5s and 6s will be more than good enough for mainly ice & snow lines. And they might be something that you can actually rent. A lot better option than luggin' climbing boots, unless you plan on doing harder mixed climbing.

BTW. Syborgs have massive front rocker and most technical crampons don't really work with them. The only pair that works with my 26.5 Syborgs is Austria Alpine SkySteep. Darts, Lynxes and G14s have too long front parts so you don't get a solid crampon connection.

In reply to Doug:


What Doug says is very important. You should be able to rent shovel and probe with the transceiver. Have you used a transceiver before? If so, you should know the principles behind how to search, how to dig and how to probe. If not, you need to learn these things. This will involve reading up before you go. When you get your receiver, practice with it! They are not all the same and if an emergency situation, the more natural it is, the quicker you can get searching.

Re boots, I'd see how heavy the rental boots are but more importantly, how they fit. You can then decide whether to climb in them or not. How about phoning the sop up and finding out what they have in their rental stock? People do carry boots in and swap, especially for people trying hard stuff, so it's not a mental idea.

In reply to galpinos:

Sound advice thanks both.