Howdy

Just wondering if any parents (or uncles or big brothers or whatever) have any experience trying to outfit kids for alpining...? I'm thinking about taking my oldest, who's 7, gonna be 8 this spring, on a low-altitude climb or two, and having a hard time finding info on footwear.

Firstly... do they make junior size crampons? They don't need to be aggressive, just something that'll bite snow. I haven't seen a single pair of pons for juniors in 30 minutes of Googling this morning. Do you just chop the bars on a pair of regular crampons?

Secondly... I'm also not finding any boots for juniors, but I am finding very small sizes on some. REI carries size 5 Invernos- which is hella small, but I still don't think it's small enough for a 7 year old's feet.

Any experiences, recommendations, suggestions appreciated

-Ben

Boots and clothing are tough for the little mountaineers. I have a four year old that likes to go out with me. I just fit my lightest crampons to his ski boots. This is only for ice not walking around. That works great. I adjusted my super light Camp crampons by putting a bolt int he adjuster bar to make it smaller. I was able to collapse the crampon so that the front and back halves are together and that works fine. Just remember to get the lightest crampon you can find. I have an extra pair of Grivel Air tech light aluminum strap ons that I would sell for $80 not including shipping. The spacer bars for crampons are relatively cheap so try cutting a set down for your little guy. We cut down my wife's spacer bars because they stuck out the back of her crampon an inch or two. The bolt works really well because it moves the spacer bar up. The strap on crampons work well with any cold weather boot. I have found very small sizes of boots at REI and other shops. My wife has tiny feet. and my son almost fits into her boots. I would take your little mountaineer into several stores and have him try small boots on. take the insole out of the boot and have him stand on it to see sizing. There are tons of super light axes out there. Good luck its great to see other parents looking to solve the same problems with outfitting kids that I am having.
Dallen