Hiking, Scrambling, Mountaineering, and Climbing

Go try shoes on. Hopefully the centre will stock some. The fit varies so much between brands, and models you can’t just buy size 42 or whatever, and expect them to fit. Get something quite flat, not downturned for starting out. You want snug but not discomfort. Don’t believe people who say always go down x shoe sizes. Any harness will do you fine for autobelay, I like DMM for some reason. Enjoy!

As other recommendations, go to the centre and try on some shoes. The staff there will be able to help you find a fit much easier than we can. I would echo other peoples comments about avoiding too much downturn (often called aggressive shoes). If bouldering is the goal over sport/trad I would pick velcro personally as it makes it easier to walk around the centre between problems if you're primarily climbing indoors.

Thanks @el_presidente @JonD & @Tenners good forum advice as always.

Oh and if you (or anyone else) happen to be U.K. size 5.5, I have some to sell you…

5-10 Anasazi labelled U.K. 6 but too small for me. Bought two pairs, one for me, one for wife, before we realised 5-10 sizes had shifted slightly.

One pair brand new, the other used for 3 indoor routes.
£50 posted.

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Dull post warning, no discussion of spiky axes/climbing fetish wear hereafter.

Looking for recommendations/ideas for a hiking holiday in Italy / Austria border? I'm in Innsbruck area for a wedding early June. We've got 5 days thereafter to do something and need to get back to either Munich / Venice on the 6th day I guess.

A quick check of some random refugios suggests most are closed until mid June when the season starts proper which sort of makes me think it's a bust. Assuming wild camping is a no go / very bad idea / certain death?

Ideally would love to do a trek place to place but if any other suggestions to base ourselves somewhere that is actually open / has lots of nice routes nearby then I guess that could be a nice compromise. Alternatively it'll be a cycling holiday but would much rather walk across tops of mountains than cycle up and down them.

I can't give specific suggestions, but often if the refuges are closed, they will still have a 'winter room' where you can sleep year round. Closed often means they are just not serviced so you have to take your own food and a sleeping bag.

Hadn't considered they might still be open in that regard. I guess it'll be a hard sell to convince the gf to subsist on dehydrated meals for the best part of a week.

Spent a week in Talloires near Annecy learning to fly these things - it’s great fun. I was also able fit a nice hike over the weekend to get on top of Pointe de Talamarche (16km, 1000m of elevation in one big afternoon which left me nicely sore).

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Super cool! Learning to paraglide is next on my list of stupid shit that can kill me

It killed my friend in Bir ten years ago, an eagle landed on his canopy and it collapsed. Quite common apparently.

Still, you gotta go somehow

Crikey, that's crazy. I'm sorry.

Ah no worries, clichéd but he died doing something he really enjoyed. He wasn't particularly well in life would have got worse with age, so maybe for the best.

He was found with his hands still on the controls and hadn't deployed the emergency chute (maybe it's called something else?) so it was probably quick.

Nice! Paragliding is not for me but the walking looks good.

Lower key but I was up on the Isle of Rum over the weekend, glorious sunshine for the first couple of days but swiftly turned wet & windy! Loads of deer & seals were seen, plus two otters feeding on crabs which was cool. Here's a shot from Mullach Mor over to Hallival & Askival:

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No wrist shot from 1500m in the watch thread?

Looks fun!

Oooh - I used to paraglide, and hang glide before that. Haven’t really thought about it in years.

There were quite a few hang gliders in the sky as well and these looked scary!

Planning a road trip down to Italy in September. Looking for somewhere to stop around Geneva/Bern. Any recommendations? currently looking at Glacier 3000 area. Somewhere for nice walks with dog.

Please can I be a bit lazy because of short notice and ask what hiking back pack people recommend for a five day walk? Last year I crammed everything into an Osprey Talon 33l and it wasn't happy so I'd like something in the 60L range with a budget around £200. Thanks lufgus.

Ooooh, you're in my neck of the woods there! Camping or hotel? Glacier 3000 can get a bit busy with coached in tourists, but that's mainly just on the cable car. I would recommend the Les Mosses area just up the valley for nice peaceful walks though. Much more low key, there's a few nice lakes to walk to, more rolling terrain than steep cliffs. I live slightly further north in Charmey, which (although I am biased) is also a nice area for hiking. A bit further south and I would recommend Van d'en Haut, it's near Marecottes but has a small good value campsite popular with climbers. There's a nice walk up to Lac de Salanfe. If you do stay somewhere between Fribourg and Gd St Bernard, drop me a PM, I'll be happy to make some more recommendations.

Once you get to that size, you really need to see what fits you well. A bit like shoes, the fit of your backpack can really make or break a multi day trip!

Further to what @chiroshi said, fit is important, features are important but also making sure it carries everything you're taking comfortably. It's not just about volume.

E.g. One of my packs is 42L and weighs about 300g. It has no frame, no hipbelt and is just a cavernous hole. That probably wouldn't be comfortable for what most people are carrying, but is for what I have.

So: what are you carrying? Are you backpacking? Tent? Sleeping bag? Guessing not if you fit stuff into a 33L pack?

@chiroshi @JB

Solid advice, thank you. I also spoke to my sister who is a mountain leader who said 60L is stupid, get a mid-40 and pack better. Which is a fair comment but I hate washing clothes on a trip as it eats into my cider and pizza time.

@JB We’re walking the South Downs Way ~ 5 x 20 mile days, just carrying clothes, maps, lunch, 3L water, chargers and wash bag and the usual miscellaneous crap like head torch, first aid kit, etc. Waterproofs, down jacket and beanie obvs. My sister told me to take two changes of clothes and that if the weather is bad you should only be carrying your toothbrush in your backpack. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I took seven pairs of hiking socks last time.

Anyway, I’m gonna pop to GoOutdoors and check out the Osprey Kestral as a contender.

3l of water seems a lot - must be some taps on the Way?

Listen to your sister!!!!

One pair of darn tough socks
one pair boxes
one pair merino/poly blend top
etc