Shoes for long ski approach

[rod9301]

Occasionally I have a long approach to my ski objective, carrying skis and boots on my pack, with food and gear, probably around 35 lbs.

Often I have to scramble on rock so good edging is good to have, and so is sticky rubber.

Snow patches need to be traversed.

It would be nice if they were light and packable.

Am I asking for too much?

In the past I tried la sportiva approach shoes, killed my feet.

Now I have some five ten shoes with sticky rubber, they don't edge well, not bad though.

any ideas?

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[Gripen]

Occasionally I have a long approach to my ski objective, carrying skis and boots on my pack, with food and gear, probably around 35 lbs.

Often I have to scramble on rock so good edging is good to have, and so is sticky rubber.

Snow patches need to be traversed.

It would be nice if they were light and packable.

Am I asking for too much?

In the past I tried la sportiva approach shoes, killed my feet.

Now I have some five ten shoes with sticky rubber, they don't edge well, not bad though.

any ideas?

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Not sure what five tens you have but my Freeriders are death on snow and mud. Nice and sticky on my pedals and rocks and such though but the stealth soles are terrifying on snow and wet mud.

[XXX-er]

I use la sportiva gtx wildcats with gaters for hiking without a pack/ trail running/ running in knee deep snow cuz they fit my feet but if a shoe kills your feet is it because it is a bad shoe or because its the wrong shoe for you ?

[rod9301]

with the la sportiva s, I felt every pebble.
I have their evo gtx boots and are great for what I want, but bulky.

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[Lindahl]

Look for approach shoes with a plastic sole plate and real lugs (snow/mud). Might be hard to find, but sounds like thats what you want. The approach shoe market usually wants something super flexible unfortunately. I'd look at 'approach shoes' by more conventional shoe makers. My guess is the best you'll find are lightweight mountaineering style boots though, which, as you say, are too bulky. You could try and find a resoling company that would put a mountaineering sole on a plastic plated trailrunner (which have what you want but no edging platform). Montrail has a good one for this (used to be called the hardrock). Most resoling companies won't touch trail runners though.

[kevino]

Sounds like you need an approach shoe with a stiff sole. Look at scarpa or salewa.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Salewa Mountain Trainer.

[thin cover]

The millet trilogy gtx. the most comfortable and capable approach shoes I have owned. I have wide big feet though.

[skimaxpower]

I use trail runners for this. Lightweight, easy to stash, and comfy around camp.

[Hugh Conway]

most trail runners have shitty soles for snow ime.

[auvgeek]

^^And even worse for edging.

[Lindahl]

^^And even worse for edging.

Yeah, that would be my biggest complaint. They also tend to have more durable and less sticky soles.

[hop]

If it fits you, you just described the Scarpa Zen.

Read the reviews and try on for yourself so you don't have to take the word of an industry douchebag like me.

[rod9301]

Thanks ,i tried the zen pro and liked it a lot.
I was a bit worried about the weight though

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[bodywhomper]

They never fit me right, but many friends swore by the old model garmont sticky weekend - indestructible. It looks they've been rebadged as dragontail mtn.
http://www.garmont.com/en/outdoor-sh...ntail-mnt--gtx

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[rod9301]

I decided on the boulder x, seems to do everything I wanted.

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[grubbers]

I'm going to commandeer this thread as I'm in the market for some approach shoes at the moment. Looking for something that can handle longer approaches and can climb up to 5.7. I usually hike in the Brooks Cascadia 9, which fit me well, but the rubber isn't as grippy as I would like and they don't edge worth shit. I've tried on the Salewa Wildfire, but I don't see my feet being too happy in them during a long walk-off. Some other shoes that I'm considering (at least until I try them on) are the Five Ten Camp 4 (not sure if I'll like the weight/bulk), La Sportiva Ganda (expensive, but I have heard some really good things about them), and the Adidas Terrex Scope (not sure where I'll be able to try these on and I usually avoid waterproof footwear).

[bodywhomper]

Look for approach shoes with a plastic sole plate and real lugs (snow/mud). Might be hard to find, but sounds like thats what you want. The approach shoe market usually wants something super flexible unfortunately. I'd look at 'approach shoes' by more conventional shoe makers. My guess is the best you'll find are lightweight mountaineering style boots though, which, as you say, are too bulky. You could try and find a resoling company that would put a mountaineering sole on a plastic plated trailrunner (which have what you want but no edging platform). Montrail has a good one for this (used to be called the hardrock). Most resoling companies won't touch trail runners though.

Tom of Berkeley Resole has resoled many trail running shoes of mine, always with 5.10 dot stealth rubber (i agree with others that that rubber is not great for snow). Tom's a skilled craftsman. For those interested, it would be worth contacting him about needs and wants. Tom does many custom jobs. i have always been impressed and heard good post-use feedback about the custom jobs he'd do on wall shoes. http://berkeleyresole.com/

regarding stiffness and super flexible shoes for "approach" use, something to consider is the terrain that you'll be generally using these. talus can be pretty rough on the feet with a super flexible sole because there's less protection underfoot.

the stiff-soled shoes, like the garmonts that I mentioned in an earlier post, need to fit really well, especially in the heal cup, or you are going to likely have issues with blisters.

[ak_powder_monkey]

what do you backpack/hunt in?

use those

[ryan b]

La sportiva shoes vary a lot in their design and abilities from model to model. I love my vertical k's for a light shoe that can handle dirt miles on trail but they have a cushy soft midsole with no plate so you can really feel things and not edge or kick steps in snow though they do have great traction for how minimal the tred is.

I had a pair of c-lites which were better in rocks, snow and mud thanks to the really aggressive tread but they shrank/curled up or my feet grew to the point I would get hotspots in them on long descents (I have wide toes). Might get a pair of those or the similar anaconda in a bigger size if they come up cheap.

The patagonia rover looks nice for a hybrid running/approach shoe but I'd have to see how the toes worked in practice. I generally like the fit and simplicity of their trail runners though none have the aggressive tread of the c-lites.

I've found hiking long miles and edging on rocks demand different fits in the toe and I'm happiest if I wear looser running shoes, smear more then edge and throw a pair of mocasyms in the pack for real climbing. One trick some people use is to cut a bit of ensolite pad to stick behind their heal and tighten up their shoe for the climbing bits.

I found sportivas "frixtion" dot rubber terrifying on snow or wet rock so i'd tend towards vibram if you get heir approach shoes. Five tens are a bit better but a more aggressive tread is nice.

[Jonathan S.]

La sportiva shoes vary a lot in their design and abilities from model to model. I love my vertical k's for a light shoe that can handle dirt miles on trail but they have a cushy soft midsole with no plate so you can really feel things and not edge or kick steps in snow though they do have great traction for how minimal the tread is.

Yes, the Vertical K is amazing!
When they first arrived, I wore them around the house just for several minutes, and concluded that I wouldn't be able to use them for very long -- especially when carrying any weight -- until my feet got very beat up.
So I brought them along for an overnight hut trip that I figured would have just some short dry portages at the beginning and end.
Whoops, not quite: it was our worst spring ski season ever, so the tour was almost all hiking to link up different ski lines.
At the end of two days, my feet felt . . . totally fine!?!

Be forewarned though the upper is essentially just a sock.
Which in turn is connected to pretty much just an outersole.
However, the entire package is so well designed that somehow it works.
And the weight -- or rather lack thereof -- is amazing both for carrying it around on your pack once you finally reach snow, and for lightening up your stride too.

I had a pair of c-lites which were better in rocks, snow and mud thanks to the really aggressive tread but they shrank/curled up or my feet grew to the point I would get hotspots in them on long descents (I have wide toes).

I also have the Crosslite 2.0, which I think has been modified slightly to become the C-Lite (unless they just reverted to the nickname).
I still use it occasionally for very short outings where weight doesn't matter, especially for this one trail that has some steep descents on loose rocks and slippery slabs ... with our daughter riding on my back.
Traction is stunning -- almost feels like those little blocks are miniature crampons!

[Island Bay]

If you like the idea of trail running shoes, I can recommend Inov-8 RocLite 315. Weight - ta daaah, you guessed it, 315gr - soles very grippy on dry rock, mud, loose dirt, snow, the lot. Edging obviously won't be their strong point, but otherwise perfect.

I use mine - and RocLite 295s - daily for running. They've spent quite a bit of time on snow around Craigieburn, and last year in the Mont Blanc massif, and I never had a sketchy moment on snow.

Like other Inov-8 shoes, they look strangely clunky, but just plain work.

[PNWbrit]

I've been really pleased with a pair of Garmont Dragontail approach shoes I picked up for cheap a while back.

[ryan b]

Jonathan, I've lost track of all the different iterations of the c-lite/cross-lite/x-lite/cross-leather/anaconda but one of the differences between the models is the ramp angle. At the moment I think the c-lite 2.0 is the ramped one and the anaconda is a flatter one with a new upper that is supposed to address some durability issues. Lots of ultralight backpackers prefer the flat ones for walking but I'm pretty used to walking in running shoes. I just grabbed a pair of c-lites from sierra trading post a full size up from my last pair and they still have a bunch of sizes if anyone is looking.

I actually also have some salewa mountain trainer mids which are a great boot on the light end of the spectrum but I rarely find myself reaching for boots over trail runners except when I need them for warmth.

Downside of trail runners is that they do wear out pretty quickly so try to buy cheap as you'll be buying often.

[GeezerSteve]

I use old trail running shoes, e.g., gen1 Brooks Puregrit for the trail approach on our Mt. Daniel/Lynch Glacier tour last weekend. They smear pretty well but, of course, don't edge worth shit. When I need edging power on firm snow I put on my TLT6Ms.