footwear soles on rock

There are stiff shoes out there, but they are generally not the lightest. Some of the folks who make mountaineering boots also make fairly stiff approach shoes (Garmont for example). You might also look into something with a different sole design, like the Golite shoes.

Hi Ron,
You might want to take a look at the LaSportiva Trango Guide. It weighs ~2# 8 oz in a size 10. It was designed as an approach shoe/aid climbing shoe with stiff(er) grippy soles for moving on rock and standing in etriers for long periods of time. They are mid height, split grain leather with a beefy rand. I found them excellent both on trail and off, until I found something lighter(naturally) that satisfied my requirements. I now use Montrail Namches, which you might also want to investigate. They are apparently being discontinued, but they are still to be found on the web(try Amazon.com where they are listed on sale for $74.98 if you are interested). Good luck.

I only wear lightweight shoes year-round (except for long glacier mountaineering routes where I use the La Sportiva Trango GTX boots). But I feel(and boots are always a preference thing), I feel these are overkill for anything that doesn't involve technical ice.

I like the Golite shoes but not on rock- the decreased surface area puts less rubber on the rock and the friction is poor.

I use Inov8 shoes year-round, but they aren't my first choice for rock scrambling and non-technical rock. You can feel rocks through the shoe.

My favorite for the conditions you mention: the La Sportive Exum Ridge. http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/177 This shoe is super cool. Decent shock absorbsion, a polypropolene protection plate (no rocks hurting your feet), FriXion climbing rubber that climbs like crazy, a narrower toe for jamming, and a pronounced heel for plunge stepping on snow, scree, or coming down soft dirt slopes. They are tough shoes but still quite lightweight. Genius, I say!