Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Can I rent crampons?

Can anyone tell me if there are places that rent crampons?
Also do you think they will be necessary on 9/28?
My group was at Whitney on 9/20 but we were not able to summit because of the storm. Were thinking of going back this Friday but two of us don't have crampons and were weighing our options.
I also read the concerns in this thread about crampons not doing you any good if you don't know how to use them and I will take that into account but at this point I don't even know if they will be necessary and want to investigate all of my options.
crampons

Thanks for any help and/or advise.

Hi, I think anyone with any winter mountaineering experience would be a little troubled seeing your question about renting crampons, for the obvious reason that it suggests no- or low-familiarity with a crampon use or technique.

In fact, using crampons requires you to alter your gait (widen your step) a little to avoid tripping yourself up. It probably goes without saying that this is best practiced in non-life-threatening situations.

Though I have not used them personally, friends in the know tell me that Yaktrax (picture snow chains for your boots) come in handy for low angle snow work. They're affordable and available from REI. But Yaktrax are no protection against the perils of ice on the switchbacks or anywhere else.

Please use caution. Maybe others will weigh in on the latest conditions.

Watchout on ice:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003902979_webclimbingdeaths25m.html

Hey Randy,

It's pretty hard to get a straight answer on this forum (not that you can't get good advice -- it's just seldom the advice you asked for). :-)

In short, I don't think you can rent crampons if you're coming from SoCal, but if you could, the two places that would have them would be the Whitney Portal Store and Elevation (http://www.sierraelevation.com/, located in Lone Pine).

If you're coming from Los Angeles, then I don't know of any shops that rent crampons that are in the city. Crampons do wear (and if they're steel, you can resharpen them, but only so much), so they're not an ideal rental item the way an ice axe is.

You can buy a decent pair for a bit over $100.

The previous posters have good advice. Basically, don't do anything stupid.

As for whether you need them, I haven't been to the area for a while and can't say.

-Stephen

Touché, Stephen. In fact, I may have gone nuts because didn't have any idea where to rent crampons. Randy, if you decide to buy, give the Black Diamond Contract Straps a look — light and easy to work with.