Those old BIG leather boots?

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Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Jun 13, 2016 - 08:16am PT

Some of you youngsters may not know this story about old leather boots. Just after the war,
when most Brits were poor as church mice, there was a rescue callout. Two blokes found
the deceased and promptly went to it to determine who got his boots.

"Well 'e bloody well won't be needing 'em!"

Think of that ye who disparage old 'eavy boots.

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Jun 13, 2016 - 11:10am PT

I still have my steel shank boots I purchased in Chamonix when I lived in Geneva. I think they were Galibier. Warm and great for crampons. Amazingly, I used them all one summer when I taught for Outward Bound. I quit hiking in them when I went to Nepal and learned that an average Sherpa day was twice as long as an average OB day and they were way too heavy for that (or my legs were way too weak, one of the two). I hiked in tennis shoes in the Himalayas after that all the way up to the snow line. I even hiked in Nepal sometimes in rubber thongs like the locals. Hard to say if the arthritis in my feet now comes from the boots or the sandals.

I also skied in these boots and I'm thinking to use them again for alpine style cross country. I've been told that the new plastic boots result in torn ACL's instead of broken ankles like the old leather ones. Personally, I'd rather have an ankle break than a messed up knee requiring surgery and modern boots aren't going to improve my ski style that much I'm pretty sure. Any advice about a good compromise?

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Jun 13, 2016 - 11:14am PT

^^^^ Breithorn alert!!!!!! It would be very hard to take that pic today
without at least a few other people in it. Was that before the telepherique
to the Klein Matterhorn was built?

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Jun 13, 2016 - 05:35pm PT

No, we took that telepherique and started from there. It was the middle of the week however when we were up there and we didn't see any other tracks.

nutstory

climber

Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Jun 27, 2016 - 05:25am PT

McHale's Navy

Trad climber

From Panorama City, CA

Jun 27, 2016 - 10:49am PT

I was an early convert to lightweight footwear. While guiding in the Tetons in the early 70's it struck me that hiking on dry trails with heavy boots made little sense.

In the early 70s a friend, Ken Horwitz, wrote an article for Off Belay that talked about the damage the heavy boots were doing to hiking trails like the Muir Trail - mostly through meadow areas. Maybe the article never made it since I can't seem to locate it but this piece about climate change caught my eye:

Off-Belay, 1972

Jan 1972, p. 11: Lloyd, Darryl, "Climate Changes and Northwest Glaciers"
Washington state contains three-quarters of the glacier area in the western contiguous U.S., which totals about 200 square miles. There are nearly 700 glaciers in the Cascades alone and more than 100 square miles of permanent ice north of Snoqualmie Pass. In the late 19th century, following the peak of the "little ice age," virtually all glaciers began to recede. Between 1920 and 1950 some observers considered the recession catastrophic. The period from 1913 to 1943 was relatively warm and dry in western Washington. The climate shifted around 1943, and glaciers began to respond by the late 1940s and early 1950s. In Washington, glacier expansion reached its peak around 1956-57. From that time until this writing, most of the state's glaciers have remained in apparent equilibrium. The article includes a fine aerial photo of the Klawatti Glaciers in the North Cascades by Austin Post.

Dolomite

climber

Anchorage

Jun 28, 2016 - 04:53pm PT

I let these Lowa Civettas go in 2008 after about 35 years of service. Loved 'em, but too heavy these days. I had a pair of Makalus that hurt my feet so badly that I left them in Peru to insure I would never wear them again--which I probably would have done, being a cheap bastard.

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 28, 2016 - 07:45pm PT

Interesting stuff showing up here.
First, from Fritz's post:

The Habeler boots were featured in the 1972 & 1973 editions of Chouinard's catalog.

So, Fritz, I wonder if the Klocker boots from the Chouinard catalog and the Habeler Superlight were one and the same?
Just before plastic boots came out, I really wanted to switch out my Superguides for a pair of Superlights.

Remember when those wood shanked Habeler Superlights became available with something called an aveolite liner? (I wouldn't be surprised if I previously mentioned this somewhere up thread).
Not exactly a double boot, sort of halfway there IIRC. This really seemed like the right boot to have at the time. Lightweight, with the thin silver liner (maybe closed cell foam), and, IIRC, also designed by Peter Habeler.

*Maybe the Superlight was a later incarnation of the Klocker, or maybe Habeler just designed for two different boot companies.
IIRC, the Superlight was marketed by (and probably manufactured by) Kastinger.
I'm guessing they came out around 1978 or 79.

...............................................................

Then, from McHale's Navy:

Jan 1972, p. 11: Lloyd, Darryl, "Climate Changes and Northwest Glaciers"

This brings back fond memories of Darryl Lloyd and his brother, Darvel Lloyd.

In 1976, I spent 10 or so days circumnavigating Mount Adams, under Darryl's tutelage, along with a handful of other climbers.
He and his brother Darvel owned and operated the Mount Adams Wilderness Institute.

In the second post of this thread, and in a subsequent post, I posted pictures of myself from that trip, wearing Superguides.

I just did a quick search on Darryl Lloyd and came up with this:

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2014/07/mount_adams_attracts_darryl_ll.html

The 1970s were the Lloyd twins' main era on the mountain. They founded the Mount Adams Wilderness Institute in 1970 to teach mountaineering, one of the first such formal programs in the Northwest. They ran 75 eight-day to two-week sessions, nearly all of them completely full, until 1980, when nearby Mount St. Helens erupted. The Forest Service placed Mount Adams in a red zone, an area unsafe for humans to visit, and the Lloyds wound up losing the business.

But not their love for Mount Adams.

ddeike

Trad climber

yucaipa, ca

Jun 28, 2016 - 08:32pm PT

Dane, been lurking round the camp fire and happy to see your still posting. Great memories from N Idaho and Canada mi brochacho. Keep in touch.
Dave

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 28, 2016 - 09:09pm PT

The record shows Dane last posted here February 19 of 2015.
Sadly, I think we have lost him, as we have many others to the overall decline in the quality of the forum.

Todd Eastman

climber

Bellingham, WA

Jun 28, 2016 - 10:24pm PT

Tar, the Habler Superlights were different from the Klockers. I got to borrow some Superlights for ice climbing in Vermont and the owner had to threaten me with an ice axe to get them back. They were light, climbed really well, and were super comfortable.

Scole

Trad climber

Zapopan

Jun 30, 2016 - 03:32pm PT

I bought my first pair of Super Guides in 1974 at Sport Chalet for $19. I bought my second (and third) at Mountaineering Outfitters in Driggs, Idaho (RIP)in 2005 for $19. They still had the original pricetag.

I climbed in lots of different leather boots like Makalus, Asolo 8000, Putereys and Superlights over the years, but I still love my Super Guides.

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Jun 30, 2016 - 09:59pm PT

Thanks for the reply, Todd.

Scott: fun Crystal Crag picture!

nutstory

climber

Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Jan 10, 2017 - 02:56am PT

nutstory

climber

Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Feb 20, 2017 - 02:09am PT

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Feb 20, 2017 - 03:27am PT

We all had Habeler Superlights with Supergaitors on Latok1 in 1978. The best combo avaltable at the time but, let's face it, vastly inferior to what is available today.

With size 12 feet I don't think I would still be alpine climbing at my age if I had to wear the clunker leather boots from bitd.

nutstory

climber

Ajaccio, Corsica, France

Feb 20, 2017 - 05:16am PT

donini, I well suspected that you would react quickly after my post... ;-)
Great photo!

jstan

climber

Feb 20, 2017 - 12:18pm PT

In 1987 while on a ferrata in northern Italy, a waiting line developed. A diminutive young lady in front of
us was wearing huge leather boots that seemed a good six inches across. She complained, "there is no
place here for me to put my feet."