Gary, I had forgotten that I used those shoes on Cathedral with you. They were very uncomfortable for anything over a couple of hours, and despite the advertising claim of "climb up to 5.12!" they performed well below a real rock shoe. BTW, when I was younger and bolder, I once led Cathedral wearing a pair of technical ice climbing boots. It was pretty dicey, and I used a LOT of protection.
I was willing to use approach shoes and solo up and down Cathedral Peak because I've done it 50+ times, and I know every move by heart. Besides, the SE Buttress on Cathedral was rated only 5.4 for the first dozen or so times I climbed it. The route hasn't gotten any harder, but the rating keeps going up. III 5.7? Give me a break!
I didn't know exactly how tough Thunder Mountain would be, so I brought rock shoes, just to be sure. The rock shoes make any climb much easier, and they are a lot lighter than a rope and related gear that I probably couldn't use effectively by myself anyway.
Last edited by bobpickering; 08/21/14 06:10 PM.
