Scree and talus are the terms that are used to describe broken fragments of rock at the base of steep mountainous formations, such as cliff faces.
Such fragments can be small enough so that a hiker's step results in the shifting of their location downslope (this is called scree) while fragments that are large enough to be (generally) immobile are referred to as talus.
Some will claim that the size that divides scree from talus is based on rock type, slope angle, and moon phase, but most of these chaps seem to be professional geologists or forum trolls. Experienced mountaineers will tell you that scree is comprised of rocks less than about the size of a cantaloupe, while talus is comprised of rocks larger than about the size of a case of beer ("beer talus"). Sizing up from there, one can find "fridge talus" (talus blocks the size of a refrigerator), "car talus" (talus blocks the size of automobiles), and "house talus" (talus blocks the size of houses). The latter can also be referred to as "BAT" or "big ___ talus", but I find this term to be overused by novices, and it should be reserved for talus fields where the blocks are predominantly bigger than American low-income housing units. BAT is a special sort of talus because the techniques used to travel through it are more akin to climbing off-widths and caving than to mountaineering of any sort. One employs stemming, tunneling, fingernail scraping, screaming, and sometimes swimming, in order to navigate through fields of BAT. It's something worth trying once.
I generally find steep scree to be treacherous and hostile to lightweight footwear, pant seats, and general well-being, and stay off of it whenever possible. The exception is fine scree (less than about the size of a baseball) not located above cliffs, which offers a fun step-slide-brake activity affectionately known as "screeing" by hikers who wear boots. For lightweight hikers who wear dubiously durable sneakers and discover the temptation to scree down a field of Madison limestone cobbles, the activity may end with shredded shoes and the realization that this could be a very expensive if not mildly entertaining hobby.
Managing scree requires no particular skill or determination, and is more of an exercise in having the good sense to manage one's own stupidity by avoiding scree slopes above cliffs, scree slopes overlaying slick bedrock, and scree slopes that are steep enough such that a risk of over-ending (British mountaineering literature calls this "tumbling") might result in various forms of bloodletting between the top of the head and the tip of the toes.
On the contrary, I find talus to be thoroughly enjoyable (most of the time). My clients, students, trek mates, Scouts, and family all know me to have such a positive relationship with it that one has to wonder at some point if a codependence is not involved. For me, a trip without talus is a depressing trip indeed.
The purpose of this article is to help you cultivate a relationship with talus that lasts a lifetime by offering you some tips for maximizing your technique while traveling to high places over this glorious mountain terrain.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Talus Defined
- Where Talus is Found
- Classification of Talus
- Foot Placement
- Footwear Considerations
- Shoe Lacing Strategies
- Trekking Poles
- The Rhythm of Talus
- The Dangers of Talus
- The Four Secrets of Talus Success
- A Case For Talus
# WORDS: 4840
# PHOTOS: 10
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Discussion
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Companion forum thread to:
Techniques for Talus
First, @Darcy: the blue soled shoes are probably from Patagonia. Possibly the Evermore?
I largely agree with Ryan's assessment of appropriate talus shoes. Just want to add: I feel there's no need for a leather upper unless you're CLIMBING 5th class terrain. For most hiking, where only a small share of time is spent off trail on talus, the best shoe I've used is the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor, which balances sticky rubber with great hiking performance. The best talus shoe used to be the La Sportiva Exum Pro, but they discontinued it (much to the disappointment of many climbers).
If you want the ultimate rock hopping and climbing shoe–one that hikes relatively poorly but climbs extremely well–the La Sportiva Ganda can't be beat.
Slightly outdated comparative pproach shoe review here: http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Approach-Shoe-Reviews
The Salewa Firetail and Firevent are very appropriate for this application. I can attest to the Firetail sticky rubber on a Via Ferrata route in Utah, where the owner of the property tested the shoes by only smearing the hardest route.
"Growing up in the Colorado Rockies, we called the small loose sharp stones scree. Larger stones that still can shift pretty easily we called talus. Areas of bigger stuff that mostly stayed put were called boulder fields."
Agree. But whatever you call it, maybe "shale" scree or shale talus, next to wet mossy tread with no traction whatsoever, is what I dread most. Because the flat pieces of shale slide over each other, and it makes no difference how well your footwear holds to the rock. This is found in the Gore Range in CO, which explains why many of the routes near the Gore peaks are left to climbers.
Also found some steep shale in the Collegiates, further south in CO. Went up Frenchman Creek, just a little NE of Mount Columbia. All nice grassy terrain until over the pass, where a 'trail' on the map descended North toward Pine Creek. Nothing but steep shale. Before this hike, had used only walking sticks, but had decided to bring along and try out a Leki hiking pole bought cheap at the local Bean's outlet. Thank goodness. Was able to poke around with the pole for a solid spot, move one foot onto it, then poke around for another solid spot, and so on, always keeping two points of contact with the shale. Still, could not negotiate down the slope, and had to contour way out of my way to get down. So submit that poles have their place in the heights, albeit not amongst the boulders as stated.
"A lot of times that is just normal hiking in NH ;"
That's because the AMC throws rocks into the middle of the treadway.
Good article. On shoes, I am currently using the New Balance 886. They seem to be all terrian (including talus). I have only had them for 4 months, so I am unsure of durability.
I know this is an old thread, but I ascended this yesterday (the pass in the background):
which had a backside of this:
I got down it, but it took me about 20 minutes longer than my friend, and I started some mini-slides that I had to get out of. It was so soft and loose but it was almost straight down. When I tried sliding it started the mini’s above me. I made small switchbacks but how do you descend this safely and quickly? I am not too new to talus, but this was my first time doing a slope of this extent (angle downhill and length) and loose scree.
For perspective, at the very bottom, here is my friend:
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