Mountaineering Boots
Backpackers who leave the valley-bottom trails in pursuit of high summits will sooner or later find themselves confronting a steep, hard-packed snowfield. Dealing with such terrain isn't hiking anymore: it's mountaineering, with all of the dangers that that implies. Gravity works with surprising speed, and a slip not checked immediately on a 45-degree snowfield quickly becomes as unstoppable as a free-fall off a vertical cliff. Mountaineering places a whole new set of demands on judgment, skill, experience and equipment. If you're interested in learning about mountaineering, seek expert instruction first, then begin upgrading your gear.

Among the new items you'll need are a pair of mountaineering boots that can be fitted with crampons, the spiked steel frames that climbers attach to their boots to gain traction on snow and ice. Some old-fashioned crampons lash on with Neoprene straps. Modern crampons clamp on with a mechanism that's reminiscent of a much-simplified alpine ski binding. To accommodate the pressures generated by attaching crampons, mountaineering boots must have rigid soles and stout uppers. That makes them feel heavy and uncomfortable when used for ordinary hiking.

Today's leather mountaineering boots are all single boots, meaning they have no removable inner boot and very little insulation, making them suitable for summer use only. Plastic double boots, by contrast, are now the universal standard on cold, high peaks from Alaska to the Himalayas. These boots have a molded plastic outer shell and a removable inner boot made of leather, vinyl, foam or felt. The non-absorbent plastic shell is a vast improvement over leather because it doesn't absorb moisture during the day, then freeze hard as iron at night.

Take extra care when fitting mountaineering boots. Leather models soften only grudgingly; the shells of plastic boots don't soften at all. With plastic boots, your only hope is that the inner boots will pack down a bit with use, allowing the foam or felt to mold comfortably to your feet. Sometimes, however, the foam compresses to the point where you'll need to wear an extra pair of socks to keep your feet from rattling around inside your boots. Heel lift is a common problem in boots this stiff, so try to find a pair that cups your heel snugly. Whether leather or plastic, mountaineering boots sell only in limited quantities, so the price is high.

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