I wear a size 50 mountaineering boot. Despite the high value of those boots I don't see anyone even considering stealing them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^


Size 50?

That's either a European size, or you have really, really, really, realllllllly big feet.

This is like climber porn...

"what shoe size do you wear, sweetie?"

"size 11, baby"

Is Bigfoot wearing trail shoes?


And a size 50 in Europe is about equivalent to a US size 15 or so, soooo.....

The worst forced bivy was early in my climbing career. (before internet and cellphones) Soloing the N face of Shuksan in winter and got lost/delayed on the descent. Storm came in, white out, and bivy sack leaked and soaked down bag. Couldn't see the way past cliffs due to white out. Dug my first snow cave with the stove pot, the size of a coffin, 1 can fuel for water and 1 Powerbar. Shivered for 22 hours no sleep, until storm lifted. Got back to a phone 1/2 hour before my rescue callback time. Main mistake was not being sure of descent. Also not taking weather seriously and using an unsealed bivy sack and a down bag.

Main things learned was how to dig a snow cave and how to stay alive by shivering.

Buckaroo, did you take that photo (Slesse?) on your profile? That is one amazing shot!

Sorry for being off topic.

Vitaliy M. wrote:Buckaroo, did you take that photo (Slesse?) on your profile? That is one amazing shot!

Sorry for being off topic.

with conditional permission from John Skurlock, who built and flies a kitplane and takes amazing photographs

http://www.pbase.com/nolock

Oh cool. Great photo. Looks like Devil's thumb in winter...

John is a hero here in Washington. Many winter F.A.s got done due to his awesome images.

So I heard....hopefully he deserved a hero worshiping thread on CC.com

I've had many unplanned bivies while backpacking (I'm more of a hiker than a climber.) Many were uncomfortable, but none were bad.
Some decades ago I was in Wales hitching toward the ferry port of Holyhead without a tremendous amount of success.
Somewhere in the middle of the Isle of Anglesey my last ride turned off the main road and left me in the middle of nowhere
as dusk was falling. In the dark I found a small bank in the treeless, windswept terrain and put up my dad's old WWII
army rain poncho/tarp as a sort of lean-to held fast by rocks. I was cold, wet, tired, and hungry. I crawled into
my humble shelter and had a decent night's rest and kept dry. The next day the sun came out and I reached
my destination. I stopped at a traditional fish and chips shop (harder to find now-a-days in the UK, unfortunately) in town and
fortified myself with a large pile of hearty chips and a substantial plank of haddock generously seasoned with salt and vinegar.

Steve1215 wrote:^^^^^^^^^^^^


Size 50?

That's either a European size, or you have really, really, really, realllllllly big feet.

Euro sizing, obviously. Literally the only boots I could find in that size for mountaineering were the Baruntses. More than a little overkill for ice climbing...

Does losing your bivy gear before a planned bivy in the winter count as an unexpected bivy for the purposes of this thread?