I envy your being in Bombay and all that eyecandy just a hop, skip, and a jump up the road and train track. There are so many lesser peaks to fine tune your technique on and you could opt for a "tourist" climb like Island Peak. Good luck, keep me posted with your success and learning curve. At your apparent age and interest level becoming a guide is not unreasonable.

> I'd make selections for your first trip(s) Huzefa

Doug, thanks. I missed that. 7 summits is not going to happen anytime soon. Infact I expect my first of my 7 summits to be Denali in 2012 or 2013. I know that it is very cold there, so making my own UL gear is the biggest challenge in front of me.

Thomas, Scarpa Omega were exactly what I had in mind when I said in the previous post >For hard ice I need stiff/full shank crampon compatible boots.

I now this sounds ironic. But I realised that I need full shank boots for ice climbing and I had rather go with plastic then leather so I can double them for skiing.

But I still one more idea which I would like to consider before I jump to plastic boots:


>I envy your being in Bombay and all that eyecandy just a hop, skip, and a jump up the road and train track.

yes thats what I love about Mumbai. It is lot of fun hiking in monsoons and winter and we have several challenging treks too. But right now in summer the temp here is about 100F. I prefer to sit at my computer in AC.

That picture with "WildSnow.com" is from Lou Dawson's web site, and is a VERY old telemark boot with a hacked downhill ski boot added, to give more ankle stiffness, if my memory is correct. They used things like that 20 or 30 years ago, but nobody, and I mean NOBODY, uses such a claptrap piece of junk nowadays.

Robert, can you explain me why such boot wouldnt work for ice climbing?

From what I understand, a ice climbing shoes need a stiff, full-shank sole, and a good fit in the heel that helps keep your heel down when front-pointing. Also the sole of the boot needs to be narrow and cropped close to the outer and toe edges of the inner boot for precision and control. This is exactly what this vintage boot offered. So why was the concept abandoned?

My idea is to make a waterproof down overboot with stretchy/durable fabric such that they can worn over trail runners on approach and over these plastic boots when front pointing is required. The aerogel insole will prevent loss of heat by conduction from the sole.

Huzefa: Sitting right next to me as I type is an old pair of leather telemark boots (without the plastic addition). As you said, "ice climbing shoes need a stiff, full-shank sole." I can bend the sole of my telemark boots into an "L" shape with my bare hands. That is the reason these boots can scoot along so easily: the toes are clamped onto the ski, and you can raise the heel up as you push ahead. Another problem with these boots is the duck-bill extension of the sole. This has 3 metal-lined holes in the bottom to fit over 3 little pins that poke up from the telemark binding. But the duck bill makes it very difficult to attach a crampon. Also, if you tried to kick a step into hard snow, it's too wimpy, and you would also probably slam your toes into the end of the boot. I very much like your tendency to think new thoughts, and picture new configurations of old elements. That's what Einstein did. But don't forget to give old climbers their due: Reinhold Messner climbed Everest solo without bottled oxygen, had a custom-made ice axe, titanium, custom-made crampons, titanium, custom-made tent so small he couldn't even stretch out in it, custom-made bag and custom-made tailored suit filled with Eider down, because Eider is lighter than goose down.

Being awed by the concept I didnt notice that its leather. My idea is to hack an alpine ski boot in order to reduce as much weight I can and probably my end version will be something similar to this. From different forums I have researched, I have found that ski boot work with most ice climbing crampons.

You may be trying to re-invent the wheel, because the ski industry already has "AT" or Alpine Touring boots. These are like downhill ski boots, but lighter, and with Vibram soles to help in climbing rock. Yes, they do accept crampons. Personally, I own a pair of Scarpa Denali AT boots, which are 4-buckle, fairly heavy, but very supportive on the downhills. I also own a pair of Scarpa F1 AT boots, which have a bellows on the toes, so you can walk and flat-ski more naturally, and are close to the lightest, if not the lightest, AT boots on the market. The trade-off is that they are not as supportive on the downhill portions.

Lot of compromises to think about.. I suspect a racing style AT boot wont climb as well as ice ckimbing boot because of the height and the aggressive angle.

while researching ski mountaineering I found a device called alp control


Looks pretty simple. If I can get right materials it would be a interesting MYOG project.

just wanted to thank everyone who commented.