I'm heading to Canada to climb Mt Forbes. It's a long way in for wearing mountaineering boots and I don't own approach shoes. We also have to cross a river and need something to protect our feet. I don't want to carry the extra weight of my regular hiking boots. I've worn regular sneakers for years on the gentler approaches ( but not in over 10 years) so tell me why I'm crazy if I just bring sneakers.

Cons:

Sneakers do not protect your feet from sharp rocks. Without a stiff footbed they will get battered and possibly injured if you aren't careful about where and how you step, especially with a heavy pack.

They have no ankle support. The high top and, more importantly, sturdy heel cup and stiff sole of a hiking boot offer better resistance to rolling your ankle.

Most sneaker rubber grips poorly to rock, and the soft soles are terrible for edging. They are probably the worst footwear for technical rock climbing.

The low tops let in snow, dirt, and mud, and leave your ankles exposed to talus. The latter is probably the only considerable safety concern regarding sneakers in the mountains.

Pros:

They are light, greatly reducing fatigue in many situations.

They usually dry somewhat quickly, meaning you can often wear them on a fording without worrys about cold feet days later.




Personally, I use trail runners for nearly all hiking where I don't anticipate significant technical climbing, snow, or talus, and where my load is light (30lb or less). In the northeast US, that's most rock approaches. Out west and in Canada, it's much rarer. But, you may be able to hike for a long way before encountering any of the first three - if so, sneakers will be great.

Check out Five Ten Camp Four's or Five Ten Exum Guide's, comfortable, grippy shoes that protect your feet well but are still very comfortable.

I clung to the idea of using hiking boots in most situations until I started climbing mountains against the clock to train for mountain races. That's when I finally came to understand the HUGE difference in efficiency that comes from lighter footwear. From my results, it would appear that a medium weight hiking boot degrades hiking efficiency by about 20%, and a heavy boot by about 35%. When you get to be our age, that kind of energy difference is massive in terms of how you feel at the end of a long march.

After that epiphany, I hiked for a long time in straight running shoes and I did fine, even on talus, scree, and rock scrambling. What you lose in "protection" you gain in being so much more nimble and able to avoid stumbles. So you're not crazy to consider going in sneakers. You'll want to use good hiking socks in them (which adds a bit of needed cushioning), so they'll have to be big enough to accommodate that.

Approach shoes or trail runners are a bit tougher and usually have better soles for not slipping on dusty or wet trails, if you can afford them. Nowadays, I love my Vasque approach shoes and lightweight Salomon trail runners.

I think sneakers would be fine for most of the approach. For fording the stream I'd consider something like a pair of cheap water shoes or surf booties. That way you'll still have dry shoes for the rest of the approach (or rest of the loooong walk out after the climb). You won't want to do it barefoot.

You are on track. That is the way those of us with experience do it....and you would be shocked at how light our boots are for a climb like Forbes as well. Good Luck.

I've seen people wearing sneakers do amazing things. Caveat: your feet and ankles should be tough. Sneakers also wear out quickly.
http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.p ... _id=487653

I just wear some leather moccasins. They climb pretty well too (5.10)

I use La Sportiva Slingshots (or similar) and these ankle supports http://www.swedeo.com/TarsalLok.htm
These shoes get wet quickly, but also dry quickly. I think nothing of approach shoes - too stiff soles with (relative to the sole) to little ankle support, too heavy. You need more support in the ankles than the soles, IMHO.

With these braces I can also trail run comfortably on rough terrain - with approach shoes I cannot.

And yes, on the photo that is me.

I don't own a pair of hiking boots or approach shoes. I have trail runners, Salomon XA Pro, and I'll climb 4th class and maybe easy 5th in them no problems. They dry quick, I often run through streams on trail runs and keep going, no problems. I've done lots of backpacking, long approaches and distances and not had any issues with ankle support while carrying a pack. Do it. If it hurts a little along the way, well it's better than hurting all the way in heavy boots. Hell, now that I think about it, I've gone up a couple of lower 48 glacers with my Stubai's on trail runners. If you're worried about rocks and dirt in your shoes, use gaiters.

ideal approach shoe:

also available in more formal brown...you know if you like have a wedding to go to afterwards or something

MoapaPk wrote:Sneakers also wear out quickly.

http://hwstock.org/horse/html/IMG_4151.htm

How old was this shoe???

cp0915 wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:Sneakers also wear out quickly.

http://hwstock.org/horse/html/IMG_4151.htm

How old was this shoe???

Didn't you go through 6 pairs that summer?

Sounds about right.