Ripcord Adventure Gear Guide #1

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Flashback: Mountaineering Boots
The Development of High-Altitude Expedition Boots
With a total weight of 3kg, the Asolo boots are a great match for
high alpine pursuits and were used by doctors and scientists on the
Xtreme Everest 2007 expedition, when they reached the summit to
carry out medical experiments on hypoxia.
Looking back, we might well think that boots from the early 1920s
were not suitable for high-altitude climbing, as no modern-day
mountaineer would survive in such basic footwear. When examining
the development of high-altitude boots over the last century,
however, it is easy to get carried away with our criticism of the early
Everest expeditions. Indeed, many climbers have expressed their
disbelief at Mallory and Irvine’s possible achievement. In 1980, an
Italian climber, Reinhold Messner, who that year soloed Everest and
two years earlier was the first to climb Everest without
supplemental oxygen (together with Habeler), expressed his doubts
that Mallory could have ever reach the top with such a poor
equipment. Conrad Anker, a well-known American mountaineer,
who in 1999 found Mallory’s body and, later, set out to conquer
Everest dressed in replicas of the 1920s gear, concluded that, "It’s
phenomenal that they were able to get to 28,000 feet [8,530 metres]
in what I would basically call clothing you’d wear to walk through
the forest.”
As the design, fabrics and technology for making high-altitude
boots have improved over the decades, the one thing that remains
unchanged is our desire to achieve the almost impossible, to climb
the highest mountains. And if anyone is wondering why that might
be the case, Mallory’s words sum it up well: “Because it’s there.”
Ascent Boots: The Asolo Ascender GV Women
While mountaineering boots are specifically designed to perform well
at high altitudes, the footwear required for an expedition approach
trek is of a rather simpler build. The Asolo Ascender is a perfect
match for such a trek as its lightness (770g per boot), makes them
comfortable in warm temperatures, whilst the rigid design gives a
good grip on rocks and difficult approach paths.