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Go big or stay home |
Alpinism is an all-rounder's game. Choose equipment that does a variety of tasks adequately.
Leather boots are better than plastic boots for general alpine purposes. They're stiff enough for sections of steep ice-climbing, yet have the ankle flexibility and sensitivity for flat-foot crampon techniques and rock climbing. They're also more comfortable for walking. Get plastics when you go somewhere super cold.
Crampons that strap and snap to your boots have an important advantage over crampons that just snap to your boots—they're less likely to fall off—which is the only thing that a pair of crampons can really do wrong. Don't discover the hard way how desperate you'll be with a crampon dangling from your ankle in the middle of a hard lead.
Flat, triangular front-points give more support for snow and neve than thin-bladed front-points specifically designed for steep waterfall ice climbing. The flat-points will work well enough for short sections of hard ice.
Use your gear hard. It's okay to crampon over rock or to bang your tools against stone. Abused gear is cool, new gear is not.
Tied slings are more useful if you have to retreat and build your own anchors.
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