SummitPost.org

A buddy and I are going to be spending about 7 days on the Emmons side/Camp Curtis area this June conducting glacier "research" (grad school side project stuff). Probably will wrap up with a summit shot. We'll have to make two trips to haul food and separate science gear to our camp from the parking lot. I own some Scarpa Triolet singles and my go-to Invernos. I reaallly don't want to have to make the back and forth turnarounds in the doubles, and I'm not sure I'll have room to strap them on my pack. Could always carry them in hand though.

Anyone worn Triolets or similar up Rainier in early summer that can comment on the warmth? As far as I've gathered they're a less warm sibling to Mont Blancs/Nepals, I couldn't find any insulation specs online. Colors aside, they look identical to the newer model of Scarpa Manta boots. I wore them up the Easton on Baker last July and my feet did get a bit frosty at pre-sunrise breaks. The coin toss is that I don't want to be stuck with boots of inferior warmth for a week, nor do I want to be doing approach repeats in double plastics. I've only ever worn my Invernos on Rainier.

Thanks y'all.

I think you are focusing on the wrong thing. Whether they are warm enough is probably irrelevant, you need to consider if you can keep them dry, which will be difficult for 7 days in the June snow pack on Rainier. By the time you make your summit bid, I would expect them to be fairly damp, and therefore, cold.

Ah, did not even cross my mind until now. Light and comfy the singles are, waterproof they are not. Thanks- I wish I had turned to the beauty of advice seeking on this site sooner.

You mentioned you are going to be shuttling loads to camp in two trips. Maybe make the first carry with your comfy boots, then change into your plastics for your last trip up?

On a trip to the Bugaboos in August I ran into a party of Scottish climbers. They wore plastic boots, even for the rock climbing on Bugaboo spire! They each brought two large back packs and would hike up the trail about 1/4 mile, drop the pack, hike back down and pick the other pack up, shuttle it 1/4 mile past the first pack and so on, all the way to the Kain hut. I don't recommend this approach.

ExcitableBoy wrote:You mentioned you are going to be shuttling loads to camp in two trips. Maybe make the first carry with your comfy boots, then change into your plastics for your last trip up?

Yeah, that is a solid plan of attack. I may also wear running shoes and carry the doubles. Dump the shoes when I hit snow from glacier basin and vice versa on the way back down again. Hide the shoes under some rocks on the final trip up.


Last September just seconds after this photo was taken, we were spooked from the side of the trail behind us by a kooky dude and his wife trying to give a couple of kids a jump scare. Between the two of them they had maybe a full set of teeth. He was wearing an Uncle Eddie hat and had a 36" machete tied to his waist with shoelace. Let's just say I had to hike in my boxer shorts for a bit so my pants could air dry on my pack.

Yury wrote:A solution for this challenge is to use closed cell foam inner boots like Intuition Liners or to use two pairs of inner boots and air dry them in turn during the day (this would work only in case of a sunny weather).

I think the OP was asking specifically about using single, leather boots (Scarpa Triolet) vs. double plastic boots (Scarpa Inverno). I agree, to keep my liners dry in my plastics, I eventually switched to Intuition liners, which do not absorb water like the stock liners, but also continued to use vapor barrier liners, so only my thin, liner socks would need to be dried out at night. I also discovered on an extended trip that merino wool liner socks are golden, while poly socks smell like death after the second wearing.

ExcitableBoy wrote:but also continued to use vapor barrier liners, so only my thin, liner socks would need to be dried out at night.

How is dealing with the non-breathability? Worth not having to dry out your socks?

staringcontest wrote:

ExcitableBoy wrote:but also continued to use vapor barrier liners, so only my thin, liner socks would need to be dried out at night.

How is dealing with the non-breathability? Worth not having to dry out your socks?

Plastic boots aren't breathable in the first place, so it simply confines the dampness to one pair of socks, rather than thick socks and the bootie. I only use this combination in very cold climates, so perspiration is already somewhat limited. This approach absolutely requires a fastidious attention to your feet. I wash my feet with snow as soon as I roll into camp, put alcohol gel hand sanitizer on them, and change into dry socks.