Are any of these boots from REI (http://www.rei.com/search?query=mens+mo ... utton.y=23) suitable/comfortable/recommendable enough for first: winter on Colorado's highest peaks. Second: Aconcagua. Third: Denali and beyond. I'm looking for something versatile enough so that I don't have to buy new boots for each of these endeavors! I'm guessing only some of the double/plastic boots there would be fine enough. Or do I need to go to a better shop that doesn't have the best return policy on earth in case they don't work out?

Probably no best boot, as Aconcagua and Denali are very different mountains but hey, maybe have a look at:

LaSportiva Baruntse, Nuptse?
Scarpa 6000
Boreal G1 LIte
Lowa 6000

Mountaintools.com has a good range, as does mgear.com and backcountry.com and zappos.com

the Scarpa Inverno with the high altittude liner is great for acon and denali,
but not so much for lower 48 climbs(very worm and hard if not painful to walk in).
best fo all round use the g1 a litle bit of a pain on approch on the expensive side the LS baturas are great boot both for winter and summer high and low but the zipper system seems to break down eventually.

Oof. The suggestions around $600 might be JUST out of price range.

On both Aconcagua and Denali the easiest routes are mostly walking. To 14K on Denali and to over 20K on Aconcagua. You'll want a boot that is easy to walk in or your trip will be ruined.

Tha Batura is a single boot has no place on either peak. Agreed that Aconcagua and Denal are very different peaks. Denali will be colder for a much longer period of time.

Aconcagua in particular is very rough on boots because you are walking on rocks and gravel almost all the time up high. Denali you'll be on snow from the moment you get off the plane.

Since you are asking. I'd buy a pair of Nepal Evos or Scarpa Mt Blanc, which ever fit better, and use them a lot in Colo. Remember the REI refund policy. By the time your Aconcagua and Denali trips come around you'll hopefully have a better idea of what is really needed.

CastillejaMiniata wrote:Oof. The suggestions around $600 might be JUST out of price range.

I know it hurt$, but for Acon and Denali, your feet are your life - or can be (not to be too dramatic) - take the hit this time; I'd skimp on everything else if I had to, but the boots have to be invincible. Baruntse or Spantik or Invernos with Intuition liners or similar if you have to buy and not rent. Several stories of people getting frost bite on both of those peaks and the Huandoys and Huascarans wearing anything less.

I agree with Sharperblue... Your feet are your foundation and you need to look after them. We only get 10 toes in this life, and I'm partial to each of mine. Divide the cost of your boots by 10 toes and any on the market are a bargain.

Consider what you might mean by "and beyond." I work with a lot of Denali climbers and typically recommend that they think carefully about what their personal "and beyond" might mean. If an 8000m peak or Antarctica is on their alpine radar, they should give serious consideration to one of the many triple boots on the market (Oly Mons, G1 Expedition, Phantom 8000, etc). They are generally lighter overall, and are simpler to use. I'll often shove my feet in to get out of the tent in the morning and just zip my Oly Mons shut w/o lacing them. I'll get breakfast sorted out, pack for the day, etc and then either tie them up right before hitting the trail or just run them unlaced if the day just requires hiking and not steeper terrain.

If not, then a double boot will be sufficient and will save them a bit of money. It doesn't actually save that much, once you purchase overboots for Denali- which you will need with double boots like the Baruntse, Spantik, G1 Lite, Invernos (even w/Intuitions), etc... You do want a true double boot, with a removable liner. The LS Baturas climb great, but are not suitable for Denali. They'd be OK for Aconcagua, but not my choice.

Most Denali boots will be overkill for Colorado in the winter, but might be welcome overkill on some days!

Aconcagua does not require as warm a boot, but you'd still want to be able to pull you liners to dry them, just in case you have a rough weather trip and need to wear your boots from 14K on up. Often, you can wear your trail runners to darn near 20K, but you shouldn't count on it!

I'll also second Mountain Tools as a really great boot fitting resource. The owner, Larry, is a foot/boot guru and has helped many, many climbers have happy feet. Alternatively, you'll often find good used boots online.

Good luck!

OPHIRTODD wrote:I agree with Sharperblue... Your feet are your foundation and you need to look after them. We only get 10 toes in this life, and I'm partial to each of mine. Divide the cost of your boots by 10 toes and any on the market are a bargain.

Consider what you might mean by "and beyond." I work with a lot of Denali climbers and typically recommend that they think carefully about what their personal "and beyond" might mean. If an 8000m peak or Antarctica is on their alpine radar, they should give serious consideration to one of the many triple boots on the market (Oly Mons, G1 Expedition, Phantom 8000, etc). They are generally lighter overall, and are simpler to use. I'll often shove my feet in to get out of the tent in the morning and just zip my Oly Mons shut w/o lacing them. I'll get breakfast sorted out, pack for the day, etc and then either tie them up right before hitting the trail or just run them unlaced if the day just requires hiking and not steeper terrain.

If not, then a double boot will be sufficient and will save them a bit of money. It doesn't actually save that much, once you purchase overboots for Denali- which you will need with double boots like the Baruntse, Spantik, G1 Lite, Invernos (even w/Intuitions), etc... You do want a true double boot, with a removable liner. The LS Baturas climb great, but are not suitable for Denali. They'd be OK for Aconcagua, but not my choice.

Most Denali boots will be overkill for Colorado in the winter, but might be welcome overkill on some days!

Aconcagua does not require as warm a boot, but you'd still want to be able to pull you liners to dry them, just in case you have a rough weather trip and need to wear your boots from 14K on up. Often, you can wear your trail runners to darn near 20K, but you shouldn't count on it!

I'll also second Mountain Tools as a really great boot fitting resource. The owner, Larry, is a foot/boot guru and has helped many, many climbers have happy feet. Alternatively, you'll often find good used boots online.

Good luck!

Great post, thanks! Interestingly remote part of the state you live in. I will look into the TRIPLE boot concept, and wasn't even aware of it. They sound even more versatile overall.

Great post, thanks! I will look into the TRIPLE boot concept, and wasn't even aware of it. They sound even more versatile overall.

Triples? They aren't appropriate for what you have planned (short of Denali) or very durable. The new Phantom 6000, the La Sportiva Baruntse and the Spantik are warm boots on Denali as well and none require over boots there except in April or a summit in early May. No compariosn to a Scarpa Inverno in warmth or price.

I've used runners to 23K on Aconcagua. No way I'd want to summit in a Batura there. Too cold and too risky. And I've done a lot of winter climbing in Canada in the Batura. Any of these boots will do everything you want, the new Phantom 6000, the La Sportiva Baruntse or the Spantik. All are over kill for anything in Colorado during the winter short of a big aid line on the Diamond or a week out at a time mid winter. Make one your daily climbing boot and by the time you get all these peaks done you'll have gone through two pair of them. There are better economics and better plans.

I'm not going to get into a pissing match; but I would never recommend that an "average Joe" (no offense Castilleja!) buying his (apparently) first pair of boots for his first trips up a big, cold mountain like Denali should take any of those boots without overboots.

Pros or highly experienced climbers like yourself have a slew of tricks and ways to better keep their feet warm and kit dry and functional. Someone on their first trip will not have those skills and should err toward caution and warmer boots.

I thought I'd intimated that yes, most of those boots would be overkill for Colorado, but someone on a multi-day trip without a higher level skill set to keep their single boots dry should bring a pair that they can pull the liners from and dry out.

If I only had money for one pair of boots, I'd buy what I needed for the warmest trip on my 2-3 year alpine radar. The Baruntses, Spantiks and P6000's are all great boots and definitely more versatile than any of the triple boots; but most climbers will need overboots for Denali. Any decision to not bring overboots just means that you need to be disciplined enough to kiss good bye some summit opportunities that you might otherwise go and give a shot. If you didn't pack that discipline, then you should be prepared to see what a bleb looks like. Give the rangers up there a shout for multiple opinions: 907-733-2231

Between the three, the Spantiks might be the best for Colorado as they climb ice pretty darn well. I've not tried the P6000's, so they might be right up there to boot (pun totally intended).

Ophir is heaven on earth, amigo! If you get a wild hair, drive over the pass from Durango and say "hey." I'm easy to find.

Thanks for the discourse. Too bad I didn't know sooner, I just got the Wilsons and El Diente a couple weeks ago.

I'm not trying to be a dick here. Just trying to get what *I think* is the best info to Castille or anyone else reading this thread.The problem with asking advice on the Internet is everyone has an opinion. What that opinion is based on or its value is anyone's guess.

"Boots for winter on Colorado's highest peaks. Second: Aconcagua. Third: Denali and beyond"

Good question. But my take is the question is flawed. That should have been acknowledged up front. A season or two of Colorado winter mtneering will answer the question for the OP. The boot required for Denali is not the boot *required* on Aconcagua which for the majority of the trip is a much warmer mtn. Colorado in winter? Good singles or Super gaiter style boots will work fine there depending on what you are doing and time spent out. Sure people use dbl boots in Colorado but like Canada it is the exception these days not the rule. Most winter climbers in the US and Canada don't own dbl boots these days. 20 years ago any one who climbed in winter seriously did. They were Koflachs. Which may just answer your question now for a boot that will do it all if you plan on an over boot for Denali. But a caution, over boots have their own issues.

I read the question as:
Colorado: Good Singles or Super gaiter boots (the typical winter mountaineering boot)

Aconcagua: Dbls (cold weather or multi day winter mountaineering)

Beyond: Super gaitered Dbls. aka Triples (may be Denali or above 6000m)

Technically the 6000 and Baruntse are better climbing boots than the Spantik. The fit is generally better and the ankle flex softer on both in comparison to a Spantik. The Spantik has a tiny edge on either in warmth. But you wouldn't know that unless you had climbed in all three. Endurance ice..sure the Spantik has an foot up there. But no endurance ice that I know of in Colorado or on the easy routes up Aconcagua. Alaska and the Alps are full of it. But miles of walking or skiing on Denali before you ever get on any ice.

Frankly I have two concerns. A cold injury first, poor economics second. (Koflachs or Invernos are a good answer finacially btw)
The boot has to be comfortable and *should be appropriate* for the climb you want to do.
Anyone that slogged up the Kahiltna or from Plaza da Mulas cooking their feet in the wrong
boot will relate.

I could (and have) make one pair of boots answer all the requirements of the question asked.
But my point is, my experience tells me, I wouldn't want to now.

The question was:
"Boots for winter on Colorado's highest peaks. Second: Aconcagua. Third: Denali and beyond."

I admittedly have a bit of a foot fetish when it comes to mtn boots.
I've not spent any time in Colorado. But I base my comments on having climbed and guided on Aconcagua and Denali and in the Canadian Rockies in winter. More importantly I have climbed in the Baruntses, Spantiks, 6000 and Batura among other boots including the newest new Oly Mons. Not everyone gets that chance, so misinformation is easy to come by when making comparisons.

Here is a 6000 review:
http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/08 ... and-2.html

Reviews of the Spantik, Baruntse, Batura and entire Phantom Series are there as well.

If you want a look at any of the better dbl or mtn boots mentioned in this thread just go to google and type in the specific boot model followed by "cold thistsle".

Good luck with all this Castilleja. Please just get overboots if you take any of the doubles mentioned to Denali.
Peace out,
Todd

Thanks again. Would the Koflach Arctis serve on Denali? (correct me if those aren't the warmest boots they make) I liked the fit of the (I think) Degres on Rainier.