oh yeah, and if anybody has any suggestions for ultralightweight crampons to get over the sierras on a TH that would be helpful too!!!thanks
cheeserTOM
And lightweight crampons too
system
#2
we carried camp 6-point crampons with us, and used them twice- on glen pass and on muir. they’re pretty light (8 oz. for the pair) but require a little ingenuity to hook on to running shoes. I was glad to have them the times we did, but we ended up hardly using them.
The thing about crampons is that they’re usefulness in the Sierras depends on the amount of snow, and your strategy for going over passes. if you try to go over early in the morning, starting at the crack of dawn, they might come in handy. on the other hand, if you go over a little later in the day, they won’t do you any good. crampons are useless on soft snow, but they do give you better purchase on ice. You must make a personal choice, weighing the added flexibility they give you to the added weight. If it were me, i would say that on a normal snow year, with an average sierra entry date, they wouldn’t be worth the weight.
As far as lightweight options, I would say the camp 6-point are a very good choice. they function as actual crampons, with good purchase on the ice, but not overkill. If you’re just looking for a little extra traction for just that added “something” on snow, 4-point instep crampons are much lighter.
Remy
system
#3
i agree with what remy is saying. i was in the sierras at the same time as him and i only used my crampons once, but i could have gotten through without using them at all. it really is a matter of timing about going over the passes. you could wake up and go directly over the passes at 5 in the morning and have to use crampons because of the icy snow or you could wake up at 6 and get to a pass at around 8 in the morning and never HAVE to use your crampons at all. if you are going to buy crampons just because of the sierras and you dont do any other mountain climbing, i would say it would not worth it. you can definately make it through the sierras without crampons and ice axe. even in the high snow years like this one.
have a wonderful day and hope this provides some encouragement for you.
a big howdy to remy! i finshed oct 2nd!
TYVEK
system
#5
Well, I’d second what Remy says. The passes in the Sierras are all about timing - and a little luck. We did not carry crampons in March and had little trouble on the passes. You’ve just got to hit the passes when the snow is soft. Now, we could edge up on skis, which I would judge better than hiking boots for icy conditions, but I don’t recall anything really hairy. We had ice axes, but did not use them for going up (just ski poles). We did use them in descending north facing slopes, which were often hard and crusty.
Skiing Jimbo
system
#6
We also used the camp 6-pointers - the increased flexibility we gained from having crampons with us was well worth it. We were in the sierras relatively early (June 1) and found that the mountaineering strategy of getting off the snow before it softened too much saved a huge amount of effort. We also found that the camps are best strapped on the wrong way round, and ignore the toe bail section of strap, just to a basic crossover pattern from the front, round the heel, and back to the front. We’ve used the camp 6 pointers a fair bit and have found this by far the most reliable way to attach them to a range of footwear.
Dave
dave