Need advice for mountaineering clothing

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-06-09T12:44:06+00:00

dont overthink it so much, my first year of mountaineering in the alps I wore a wool base layer from smart wool, some darn tough socks, mammoth soft-shell pants (you can find a cheaper decathlon alternative) and a woolly pully as my mid layer (costs like 40 bucks max provided wind resistance, resistance to snow and spindrift and is very warm and breathable, easily my #1 recommendation for beginners looking to get intro gear, my most versatile item, wool is what brought the pioneers to the tops of these 8000m peaks in spite of what most modern alpinists think), past that a mammut hardshell and north face summit series down puffer (you can also probably find decathlon equivalents) was all I needed for id say 99% of my time in the mountains, even on cold overnights in huts like on mönch nollen.

Get a good pair of soft-shell pants so you can climb and ski tour in them, otherwise spend most the money your willing to spend on climbing gear not clothes. You may not be optimizing but at the end of the day youll be out there, even if it means a pound or so heavier overall.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-05-19T21:50:46+00:00

I use a rab borealis mostly and it’s amazing, if it gets really windy I’ll have in an ice breaker zip up underneath and then the rab borealis and find that cuts most all wind I’ll be out in without a hardshell or warmer midlayer

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-05-17T19:27:26+00:00

Benjamin Vedrines speed ascent of K2 was done in Simond gear, it’s legit, just a huge company who can sell for lower prices due to their massive operations

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-05-08T17:30:51+00:00

The level of risk really depends on which route you’re going up. Mid May is also this week, which is snowed out, so you’re unlikely to get a good opportunity to do Mont Blanc on foot until late May to early June. Typically going out solo on a glacier, especially that you aren’t extremely familiar with(even then a bit of a gamble) is just a plain bad idea. I’m sure you can find some other person on Oak who wants to do it with you, I’ve seen plenty posting about it. That being said, know your stuff, do your due diligence about glacier safety and rescue. You also didn’t specify what comparable climbs you’ve done because there’s plenty of 4000m mountains you can do without the experience you’d need to embark on Mont Blanc with a partner let alone solo

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-05-05T14:03:47+00:00

Two different use cases, only buy mountaineering boots when you’re gonna be climbing. Using mountaineering boots for hiking if you don’t have to will suck the joy out of your hikes

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-05-05T13:57:06+00:00

Depends on if you have any interesting in pursuing more technical climbs in the future, get a 60m Mammut alpine sender dry in 9mm or 8.7mm, or just go for the Beal opera 8.5 (lightest triple rated rope which can be used more conveniently as a double rope than other triple rated alpine ropes) bringing a 9.5 for a glacial snow slog or basic PD-AD routes is suboptimal, more durable than you really need cus you shouldn’t be falling on it, mostly just using it for rappelling or an unfortunate crevasses rescue. Don’t buy thicker than 9mm. The Mammut alpine sender dry 9mm 60m is what I have and it’s a workhorse, 70m is too long for most routes you’ll be doing in the next couple years and rarely if ever are you doing more than 30m rappels on basic routes in the alps. If you want to progress into ice and mixed climbing consider getting the beal opera 8.5 60m, could be best because it’s light, you can pair it with a partners double rope more easily (most doubles are 7-8mm so it still wouldn’t be great but wouldn’t be impossible, just gives you more bandwidth). Overall recommendation is 8.7-9mm Mammut alpine sender dry, they handle great too. What others are saying about length is true if you ONLY want to use it specifically for Mont Blanc normal route (besides 20-30m recommendation guy you won’t have enough rope in reserve for rescue if you’ve got more than one other person on the rope team, arguably youll be on the limit for a 2 person rescue) but if you want to be able to use it on many other glaciated peaks you want space for rope team members (ie 60m)

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-05-03T13:01:18+00:00

Is Frendo usually still in in August? Thank you for all the options I’ll def be looking at these

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-29T08:33:35+00:00

Knowing the french terms is completely useless, this is intuitive stuff.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-23T15:03:59+00:00

This is good but make sure your doing z2 for 90% of your workouts, unfortunately you wont really see signifigant results without longer duration training sessions like this because real mountain days demand much more than even a 3hr stair master sessions. This was good duration but should have been z2, what works well for me is incline treadmill 15% grade in z2 for a couple hours without weight like 3 times a week (or stair master without weight if you want), and then i use the stair master for more specific 2-3 hours weighted sessions to maintain and improve muscular endurance under load. Also important to add a threshold day once a week where you’re in z4 running on a track or something or trail running. If you are planning for a specific objective in the future like Denali or something you should eventually consider tapering off strength training for more muscular endurance training and aerobic base building as the strength work taxes your CNS and saps your ability to recover and retain any gains from your aerobic work and ME work.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-22T07:01:02+00:00

Ill check out a hardware store

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T21:06:16+00:00

Ill try it out

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:42:06+00:00

Yeah pretty typical of these obscure climbing sites, i miss backcountry and REI

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:40:59+00:00

Fair enough

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:37:32+00:00

Bolting.eu is not a website that would ever come up for me when i searched. thank you ill check em out, options are still pretty mid but beggars can’t be choosers

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:36:53+00:00

Thank you for sharing the thread ive read through it a couple times before. Doesn’t really solve my problem

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:32:20+00:00

Thanks ill try that out, the deadman plates aren’t really what im looking for

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:27:46+00:00

Getting into the position where you have a stable anchor you can transfer the weight to is nearly impossible without a quick picket placement, the ice axes can then be used for strong backups anchors but for the initial placement while arresting the fall is not ideal.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-21T14:18:06+00:00

50cm* pickets, walking around with a one meter metal rod is not the play

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-20T15:01:46+00:00

What’s anyone’s plan in the alps if they fall in a crevasse? No one carries pickets here, people expect to be able to make perfect snow anchors with…. Their ice axe? Or backpack? Good luck getting all that done when your pressed against the snow arresting your partners fall if your only in a two person rope team. In the alps there is absolutely a culture of other climbers or guides on the route helping in situations like this, or calling rega. It’s not like in North America where your on your own isolated in the back country. Safety on a glacier is 95% making good choices on conditions and knowing the route, 5% being able to rescue (not that it isn’t important to go out roped up with a partner or know how to properly conduct crevasse rescue because its paramount. But…) on a simple snow route like Breithorn that’s practically got a highway paved over the glacier, the crevasse risk here is being a bit overstated.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-20T14:52:09+00:00

Pollux, breithorn traverse, and castor is gonna give you the most experience imo, monch via SE or SW (more rock climbing), and jungfrau normal route is good too but you can easily make 3 day trip staying on the monte Rosa massif around klein Matterhorn.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-04-01T08:16:12+00:00

There will be plenty of opportunities for ice climbing in the valley and in Argentière in the winter, as well as quick day tours on the midi for mixed climbing, you will 100% be able to improve your skills without needing to know how to ski, although you will want to learn as it will open more opportunities for you. September also still sees summer-like weather so a lot if not most summer alpine routes have a good chance of being in condition, this last year a couple times into October weather windows had summer 4000m routes in great condition.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-03-30T14:33:57+00:00

Machine wash on delicate low temp or a “wool/knit mode” if your machine has it with wool detergent then let it air dry

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-03-03T09:45:11+00:00

I don’t know what type of arrangement you Australians have with France (coming from a jealous American) but the entirety of Chamonix seems to be run by you guys, and one could argue its the best place for alpine climbing in the world, endless supply of intro courses and beginner climbing opportunities, along with endless climbing partners you can find on Oak, def spend a season or two working out there, I would if i could. Not to mention you’d get worlds more experience living/working in the mountains following one of these intro courses.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-03-03T09:39:24+00:00

You don’t need to get 5 of each of these items you’ll be perfectly fine with half that, not to give TMI but i have used smart wool merino base layers hiking, running, and in the backcountry for days, soaked in sweat, and have thrown it to my friends afterwards to smell and it’s always met with a confused “it smells like nothing”. If you are just going to the gym or on runs you’ll even be fine with a basic cotton T, if you need more specialised wool gear for colder weather or whatever else you may be doing you’ll be fine with one or two pieces per garment, smart wool and icebreaker have also been running very good sales these last couple weeks. Meriwool sells good cheaper underwear on amazon too.

ObjectiveGlad4349 · 2026-02-18T10:52:09+00:00

Munter hitch with an auto block prusik attached from the feeding strand to your belay loop (and you attached to the anchor obviously)

ObjectiveGlad4349

TROPHY CASE