I have a pair of Salewa Crow's that I've been using for many of the local peaks (Hood, Adams, St Helens, South Sister, etc). and they've worked well for my climbing season preference of late spring - summer. I'd like to slog up Mount Rainier (DC route) at some point but I am not sure my Salewa's will do trick come summit day. I was thinking of taking along my Koflach Arctis Expes specifically for use on the summit attempt.

Has anyone carried a second pair of boots for a climb? If so, any suggestions on how to carry them externally? Can't seem to find any products specific to that.

Thanks!

I have carried a second pair of boots for summit day as you describe. Just use the boot laces as well as a couple of extra laces to strap them to the outside of your pack on any loops or tie down points... I put one on each side.

I will never do it again. Just a bunch of dead weight that makes the approach more miserable. Better to go in wearing the summit boots.

I am not sure why you don't think your Salewa Crow boots are not fine for the summit either. Unless they are ripped open or otherwise in complete disrepair they are perfectly fine for DC on Rainier.

Thanks, maybe I'm overthinking it. I'm concerned mostly about whether they are warm enough. I'm not that concerned about the carry weight to Muir, but if I can keep down the weight all the better! Overboots maybe?

mrchad9 wrote:I have carried a second pair of boots for summit day as you describe. Just use the boot laces as well as a couple of extra laces to strap them to the outside of your pack on any loops or tie down points... I put one on each side.

I will never do it again. Just a bunch of dead weight that makes the approach more miserable. Better to go in wearing the summit boots.

I am not sure why you don't think your Salewa Crow boots are not fine for the summit either. Unless they are ripped open or otherwise in complete disrepair they are perfectly fine for DC on Rainier.

Insulated supergaitors would be the way go. La Sportiva makes the nicest ones I've used or seen.

After actually looking at a pair of Salewa Crows, I would recommend a warmer, drier, and overall burlier boot for any route on Rainier. I have a pair of similar boots, Scarpa Charmoz, and I only wear them on peaks lower than 10K in Washington State. Your Klofach double boots are kind of a no brainer, they would be my choice. They are prefect for summit day and you already own them. The approach from Paradise to Camp Muir is quite short, really, and depending upon the timing or your trip you could be on snow from the parking lot. Forget about approach foot wear and bang out the whole approach while wearing the Klofachs.

I have the Salewa Rapace, which look similar to the Crow. There is one quirk of Salewa's lace-to-toe design: snow collects near the toe, above the tongue, melts, and wets through the edges of the tongue. Maybe that issue has been fixed; mine are three years old. I've made little waterproof "caps" that fit over that area of the toe (and about 4" back), which are held on tightly by the crampons. A supergaiter that fits over the toe (as suggested above) would be a really good idea.

Darn it, I was quite liking your Supergaiter idea...

ExcitableBoy wrote:After actually looking at a pair of Salewa Crows, I would recommend a warmer, drier, and overall burlier boot for any route on Rainier. I have a pair of similar boots, Scarpa Charmoz, and I only wear them on peaks lower than 10K in Washington State. Your Klofach double boots are kind of a no brainer, they would be my choice. They are prefect for summit day and you already own them. The approach from Paradise to Camp Muir is quite short, really, and depending upon the timing or your trip you could be on snow from the parking lot. Forget about approach foot wear and bang out the whole approach while wearing the Klofachs.

I haven't had that issue with my Crows (yet). I was investigating the Supergaiters, could only find the one from mountainttools. The La Sportiva seems to be no longer produced. Too bad, was really nice looking too!

MoapaPk wrote:I have the Salewa Rapace, which look similar to the Crow. There is one quirk of Salewa's lace-to-toe design: snow collects near the toe, above the tongue, melts, and wets through the edges of the tongue. Maybe that issue has been fixed; mine are three years old. I've made little waterproof "caps" that fit over that area of the toe (and about 4" back), which are held on tightly by the crampons. A supergaiter that fits over the toe (as suggested above) would be a really good idea.

Thanks! Seems like the vote count is favoring the Koflachs for the whole trip. Problem with my Koflachs is that they hurt like hell on my arches when I do anything in them (stock insoles). If not for that I wouldn't mind booting on up with 'em. I haven't used them for awhile. I'll take them out on a short hike this weekend and see how my feet do.

Just out of curiosity, how much weight were you carrying for your climb?

Puma concolor wrote:Agree with mrchad.

Done both the DC and Emmons routes and wore my plastics from trailhead to summit for both. Was mostly a no-brainer on the DC route since you are into the snow pretty quickly. Kind of sucked a bit on the lower part of the Emmons Route (Arctic Expes, BTW), but sucked less than carrying them while wearing approach shoes as I was already carrying a soul-crushing amount of weight. Was a big point-of-discussion the night before our climb but we all ultimately came to the same conclusion.

Good luck.

The first time I climbed Mt Rainier was via Liberty Ridge. Like many green alpinists, I carried too big a pack. We topped out at Liberty Cap at the same time Mark 'King of the Kahiltna' Westman's party topped out after climbing Ptarmigan Ridge. Mark pointed to my pack and said something to the effect that he owned that exact pack and it was too big, didn't carry or climb well, etc. There I was, being pack shamed on Liberty Cap by one of the best. I bought I new pack shortly after.

I think Mark was right, it kind of all starts with the pack. If you carry a 5,500 liter monstrosity up Liberty Ridge like I did, well its not going to be fun. Limiting yourself to 50 liters/3,000 cu inches will force you to make smart choices when it comes to the rest of your kit.

Berghaus still makes the Yeti, and e-bay has some Berghaus gaiters for a lot less. But yeah, if you are going through the trouble of carrying all that crap...

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_sacat=0 ... us+gaiters

I had the old version of these bought in 1983, back when the boot sole had to have a special grove on the outsole for a good fit. The original boots have long gone, and the supergaiters do fit some of my other boots, though not as tightly. I think they gave up on the special soles years ago, so the newer yetis are for general boots. They were an incredible pain to put on when your fingers were cold or the outsides of the boots were wet.

An amusing video instruction

https://youtu.be/M_3eYX9oE0Q
40 below makes complete overboots, which must be worn with crampons.

Depending on the time of year you could also wear approach shoes or just sneakers for the area around Paradise before you hit the snow. Then put your boots on.