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The cold world of skimo & alpine climbing

The cold world of skimo & alpine climbing

Friday, November 23, 2012

Mera Peak and the Scarpa Phantom 6000




"Mera Peak is a mountain which lies in the Himalayas, in the Sagarmatha region of Nepal. At 6,476 metres (21,247 ft) it is classified as a trekking peak. It contains three main summits: Mera North, 6,476 metres (21,247 ft); Mera Central, 6,461 metres (21,198 ft); and Mera South, 6,065 metres (19,898 ft)."

"Nov. 23, 2012

Hi Dane,

I wrote to your blog a few times to figure out if I should get Phantom 6000 or Spantik for going up Mera Peak. You were very gracious and made all kinds of recommendations. Well, here I am in K-du after a successful summit - in Scarpa Phantom 6000. I'm particularly pleased b/c my feet stayed warm throughout the whole climb (while some other expedition members in Spantiks complained about feeling a little cold). On one occasion, my feet felt the chill but I just wiggled my toes and I never felt anything remotely chilly again.

I really want to thank you because these Scarpas are GOLD. It took all of 30 seconds to get my feet into both of them; lacing up took all of 3 seconds, there was no fussing with laces on the inner boot (very warm!) and I believe I summited with ease b/c I didn't have lead bullets on my feet - just sleek, warm double boots that took zero time to put on and off. Here's a shot of these beauties, loaded with Grivel Cramp-o-Matics (fit like gloves). No blisters, no heel lift, toe bang, nothing, nothing, just awesomeness in size 41 with double socks.

Thank you again for the help!

:-)

Xtine"

Congradulations to Xtine!  Well done!

Stuff like this is why I take the time to write the bog,  thanks!

More here on the Phantom 6000 with 3 more detailed reviews:

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-back-scarpa-6000-dbl-boot-and-2.html

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/11/scarpa-6000-boot-review-by-dave-searle.html

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2012/09/double-boots-part-3-scarpa-6000.html

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Well thats my mind made up! Scarpas for Mera next year! Thanks for the post!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting, Dane - and just to state the point - it surely was -20C on Mera Peak and slogging up those 6 hours to the top wasn't just on packed snow . There was certainly some fluff to go around and the Scarpas kept up. The benefit is that it takes NO TIME to get in them, which is crucial for when you've got less than 10 minutes to gear up.

Unknown said...

I was on 16th November on Mera also but with LaSportiva Nepal Evo Gtx with no problems.