Trailrunners on a class 4

[Stuart Burke]

I am planning on doing a CT hike this summer and while I am in Colorado I might do Pyramid with my uncle. I am taking trail runners to do the CT with and I am thinking that I should also bring a pair of boots to do the Pyramid climb. I was wondering if anyone here has climbed something like Pyramid in trail runners?

[Sam Haraldson]

All the peaks I bagged in Glacier National Park when I lived there I did in a pair of Salomon trail runners, Stuart. I don't know any specifics on Pyramid per se so I may not have a worthy opinion. All the peaks I did were at the height of summer and were snow-free. We did some higher class (dangerous) ropeless faces and lots of scrambling. I was younger and dumber then but alas, it was what we did.

[Stuart Burke]

Thanks for your input Sam. I guess my biggest concern about climing Pyramid in trail tunners is slicing the mesh of my flyrocs on sharp rocks. Here is a description of the route with pictures. My ankles are pretty rubbery and strong so I am not too worried about rolling an ankle. Snow could certainly be a concern since we would do the climb in late june. I have to admit I am a little nervous about doing the climb and the only reason I am considering doing it is because my uncle is a very experienced climber.

[Nat Lim]

I'm actually young and dumb…Runners work fine, did quite a bit peak bagging in the Sierras over the summer, runners worked fine up to low-moderate 5th class ropeless climbing…
If in doubt bring a pair of climbing slippers? 5.10 Moccasyms work wonderfully.

[Nat Lim]

Not sure if this will help

One thing that actually helped me get comfortable climbing in runners was to actually go out and climb in them in a safe-ish environment

i.e. go bouldering or go rock climbing in them, it makes sense b/c over time one develops the feel of the shoes over the rock, honing confidence, abilities, balance and feel on the rock.

Also, imo, having runners compared to boots can help in situations where one might have smear or rely on mobility of ankles to help with balance issues (as opposed to boots which are great for edging but can be difficult to use in balancy situations…kinda hard to explain.)

If you are going to need to jam your foot in a crack, runners or boots work well, though again, imo, b/c of the ankle mobility in the runners will make it easier to 'feel' the jam.

It really depends on what one feels comfortable with, if in doubt about the really steep sections get yourself a pair of lightweight climbing slippers or shoes.

Peace

[Joshua Knapp]

Hi Stuart, I would definitely go with the runners. Nimble vs. Clunky. I'm sure those flyrocs will hold up just fine. However the ultimate shoe would have sticky rubber on it. I've climbed many class 4 and easy class 5's with the Five Ten mountain masters.

[Chris Jackson]

Stuart, I have used the northeast ridge as a descent route on two occasions in August/September. IMO this route is at the easy end of the class 4 spectrum, borderline class 3. Gerry Roach's guide says that "an occasional class 4 move is required". I usually use rockboots on sustained class 4, but for this route I would be comfortable in trailrunners provided the snow had melted off and the rock was dry. I wouldn't tackle the route if it was wet or snow covered, even with boots, since the chance of a fatal slip is so much higher. I don't know whether the snow will have melted by late June. You might want to ask Will Rietveld for his opinion. This is a very popular route with tons of loose rock, so rockfall from hikers above is the a major concern. Avoid the weekend crowds and try to rent a helmet in Aspen.

[Christopher Chupka]

I have done a few class 3 Fourteeners in my Montrail Hardrocks, even accidentally moved into a few class 4 sections with them. I am not sure of the other brands but the Montrail rubber sticks quite well.

[Robert McGaughey]

Stuart, I climbed Capital Peak in Montrail Vitesse and they were just fine. We had to cross several snow fields on teh back side of K2 and they were no problem either. The vitesses aren't quite as "sticky" as some when wet, bet great when dry. You might have an extra pair of Flyrocs available after Pyramid just to make sure. Best of luck…

[Stuart Burke]

Robert, I was also thinking that I would bring two pairs of flyrocs out to Colorado. I have a pair that I am using now that I will train in this spring and will probably buy a new pair to use on the CT. Then I would use my old pair to climb Pyramid in case I shread them. Thanks for your info on the Capitol climb. It makes me feel better to hear that someone else has done a class 4 in the Elks with trail runners.

[Robert McGaughey]

Stuart, we did the Bierstadt / Evans combo via the Sawtooth this past summer. I wore brand new Montrail Hardrocks. While this is a class 3, we did the route more unconventionally and were definetaly in some class 4 terrain. The Hardrocks did just fine, even in a lot of loose sharp stuff on 1 section of the sawtooth. Take your extra pair and you should be fine. I would love to hike the CT, but with a small business and 2 little boys at home, I can't plan it just yet. Best of luck, it sure is beautiful county.

[Al Shaver]

I know rock guides who have a cobbler resole their trailrunners with 5.10 sticky dot rubber for guiding.
Rubberroomresoles.com

For snow and ice I have used trail runners with GTX socks, instep crampons, and 1.5 oz gaiters on moderate terrain (40 degree slopes). With my heavier 490gm/17.3oz CAMP full crampons I can go steeper with trail runners.

Kahtoola.com sells crampons designed for trailrunners.
19oz aluminum, 23oz steel

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