The slope steepens, you sink past your knees, up to your waist. Behind you is a four-foot deep trench you've dug with your hands. With fibrillating heart and the blood sugar of a diabetic coma, you turn and shuffle home. Approaching winter climbs doesn't have to be that way. Sure, you can boot to roadside wonders quicker than the jerk can pull your morning espresso.
Skis rule when the snow is untracked and deep, and the only power available is muscle.
They work well for approaching climbs, and ski mountaineering has become its own noble branch of alpinism. Options, options Skiing spawns a confusing array of gear, technique, and terms. AT bindings also accommodate plastic or leather mountaineering boots, making this rig the best one for climbers. If you're looking simply to approach climbs, go cheap. Buy a used pair of beater alpine skis at a ski swap or used equipment outlet, have them run through a tuning machine, mount AT bindings that will accommodate your mountaineering boots, and you're set.