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General Climbing Discussion

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Gear for New Zealand Alpine climbing 13-Jun-2007 At 9:10:37 PM Andrew_M

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All good advice so far. Just to say it again...what gear you need depends on what kind of climbing you're going to do.

Boots: K3s are great for NZ conditions. They're essentially rigid with just a little bit of flex (makes a big difference on the walk in/out). Some binding systems are definitely better than others on these boots. Do NOT use ye olde style strap on bindings for any length of time. They are a pain in the arse to put on/off, and even though K3s are solid, you risk having to overtighten the straps thereby cutting off circulation. Step in systems (with a safety strap) are good but be aware that after moraine bashing will eventually destroy the seating grooves in the front rand so that the bail will no longer seat. This has happened to mine but it did take several seasons. Charlet moser has/used to have a system that was a hybrid (clip at back and strap at front) that works well, but does cut the circulation a bit. Also, when you buy the crampons, take your boots with you to ensure a good fit. Not all binding systems mate well with every boot, and you sure as hell don't want them to come off.

Crampons: Semi-flexible is good. eg charlet super 12s or blackice (if they still make them) or equivalent. Probably err on the side of more technical/aggressive if you think you are going to go down that route as these will still be OK for general climbing. A decent pair of semi-rigid crampons with aggressive (horizontal) front points works fine even for serious water ice.

Tools: Some people like long and some short. At least buy a short technical hammer because that will be useful under a range of circumstances. Traditionally long axes have used for general climbing and one of these is probably best if all you think you will do is walk ups, but a lot of people now days just use short technical axes for everything. Short tools add to the versatility of your setup. Some folks then add a ski/trekking pole in place of a long tool for probing crevasses etc (this depends on the approach/route etc). If you will be doing wilderness approaches in NZ then shorter tools are also worth it just because they don't catch in the jungle on your pack. In addition to less leverage with short tools, reverse curved picks on technical tools are a bit tricker to arrest with, but depending on the manufacturer you can get interchangeable "traditional" picks for their tools (eg BD doesn't have them on their website but does have a stock).

have fun eh