“Winter” Approach Shoes

Neither Sue nor I will wear leather or suede shoes in the bush ever again. Never.

We were in Europe doing one of the Grandes Routes (signposted long distance walk, 2 months) one year, and at the start it rained a lot – like every day. This was not actually a problem for us as we had our ponchos and our blue summer tent, but it did mean that Sue’s suede-covered shoes got really, really wet. Some weeks later the rain stopped and Sue’s shoes dried out. The leather shrank as it went from soggy to hard and dry! They shrank so badly that the constriction caused internal bleeding in her feet. Blood pooled at the soles of both feet. Agony!

I did what I could to relieve the pressure (removed liners, removed thick socks, modified lacing) and we walked slowly to the nearest town, to buy her some new 100% synthetic shoes. Fortunately, her feet recovered over the next few (dry) days. Tough girl.

Incidental: the shoe shop owner got up early for us and was really good, but he did not have a suitable pair of shoes – in Sue’s size. Part of the problem was that both of us take a 4E fitting, which is not so common in Europe. Finally, the light dawned. I gave Sue my fairly new 100% synthetic shoes – we take about the same size, and bought a new slightly larger pair for myself – plus some extra thick wool socks. We went off into the sunshine.

Winter? Either skis or snowshoes in the snow, or summer joggers in the winter. Good grippy soles even on wet rock. Never anything heavier.

Cheers

I like the TX4s Mid GTX.  I find them a bit stiff for actual hiking, but compared to mountaineering boots they’re just pleasant ;-) I’ve used them w/ Petzl Leopards on moderately steep snow as well; though, if you don’t use the sort cross under technique with the cordage then they can come loose.

Ryan – maybe try an alternate lacing pattern?

Reporting back that the TX4 Mid GTX + Petzl Leopards is a good combo. I was able to front point up a hard snow couloir ~ 50° with no issues. Steeper than that, or on alpine ice or on mixed terrain w/rock I’d probably want more stiffness and a steel crampon. Thanks for the beta Paul, very helpful.

Glad that works for you. Those Leopards also tend to wear pretty fast in mixed stuff.