The Ugly Feet Thread

I've been dealing with Gan"green"...

The Scarpas ( good for my even fatter than before feet , they splayed out and got wider when the toes came off)were like magic and allowed me to size down .I had to size up for comfort previously.Any squeezing of my feet is a no go(still too painful ).The 2nd gen plate pictured is 6061 T6 .063” thick aluminum 1st gen was totally rigid for me at 145 lbs and edged like you wouldn’t believe smearing was downright frightening though. 2nd gen is real close to feeling “normal”

Became very well acquainted with “Gang” green , got to stare at my blackened mummified toes for about 3 months pre surgery.the old Gang is fine to hang with when they’re hard but the soft stuff is stinky and will mess u up real bad.
My injury was caused by a severe case of frostbite , brought on by my acute stupidity.The classic story of a bunch of little mistakes adding up to one big one.

Tried the custom shoe route nobody wants to deal with a foot that weird. My dream is a custom pair for everyday use( spend a lotta time on concrete floors and man do my feet not like me sometimes.),problem is they will end running me about 5 k . 

It's only early in the quarantine and we've already resorted to posting our feet...

We're doomed

Kelley Gilleran wrote:

Toenail fungi in 2 big toes and rt pointer. Removed middle nail on left foot.

How has the nail removal been? My nails are pretty much fine but are a pain in the ass.

It takes a long time to heal because they burn the nail bed with acid. Almost 2 months. Haven't had a problem since with that nail. I don't want to drop anything on it though.

Cosmic Charlie wrote:

these might be the winners ha

truly horrific 

I've seen two podiatrists over the years, and both have told me that the knobs on my toes are just cartilage with callouses on the skin, and nothing to worry about (there's no pain), however the bunions on the sides of my feet are because of my genetics, not from binding my feet in tight shoes as I grew up on climbing teams, and will continue to worsen over time. In the past year, I have started to have pain- mostly in ski boots, or walking barefoot on hard surfaces. The podiatrists suggest bunion removal surgery once the pain actually becomes hindering/detrimental to my quality of life.

 I am curious if anyone here has any experience with foot surgery and how it effects climbing after you've recovered. I'm 20 so not exactly psyched for the state my feet will be in after 25 more years of climbing...

Here are my stompers. The spot right below (above?) my right pinkie toe has some sort of infected cactus spine in it.

Thanks for playing.

Bruno Schull wrote: OK folks....behold my feet.

Size 14 street shoe
Bunions
6th toe
Pronation with no arch
Two surgeries for different issues
Terrible toenail fungus on all toes for 30 years

Climbing shoes: for the last 10 years I have rock climbed exclusively in size 13 5.10 Guide Tennies.  It's great--when I can't climb something (which is often) I have a built in excuse--it ain't me, it's the shoes!

In the last year, I've had sucess with two models of Scarpa actual climbing shoes: the Helix in a size 49, and the Maestro Mid Eco in a size 50.

It's so great that Scarpa is making quality shoes in big sizes, although, of course, these are not down turned anatomic performance shoes.  For me, however, they're great.  

Ski boots: as I have gotten older, and my bunions have gotten worse, my feet have, counter-intuitively, gotten shorter.  I ski in a shell size 30, with punches for the bunion and sixth toe.

Mountain boots: Scarpa or La Sportiva size 48.  In the last year 47.5 ( see above)

Running shoes: Altra (size 13 or even 12) or Hoka One (size 13).

Street shoes: Keen and Lem's work, if you can find a style you like.

Comfort: in Summer Birkenstocks (with closed toes to hide the fungus) and in Winter Uggs...that fleece is so cozy.

New to the forum and this is the first thread I find... rethinking mountains for sec, might opt for chess :D

Bump

It’s not the years; it’s the mileage  

Beth C wrote:

It’s not the years; it’s the mileage  

Your feet are beauties compared to some of these pics :D

Beth C wrote:

It’s not the years; it’s the mileage  

The chaco tan line really turns me on

My feet were not very nice to begin with, but I went and got severe frostbite in Chamonix a couple months ago. A 15 day stay in the hospital in Geneva getting experimental treatments allowed me to keep my toes, though they're going to need many months of rehab before I can go climbing again.

 1 day after: 

6 days (maximum blister):

10 days (popped and refilled with blood + iodine antiseptic on the surface caused the color change):

22 days:

And one more from today (day 55):

It's still very stiff and lacks sensation, but I kept everything! The doctor told me in no uncertain terms that the same injury would have resulted in amputations of probably the first 3 toes and certainly the big toe had I been in a US hospital. Luckily the University of Geneva Hospital has lots of money and a steady supply of frozen idiots like me coming out of the Alps for the doctors to practice their craft on.

Dylan!

Man...that blister.  I think the iodine effect picture is the maybe the best/worst?  

Really great that you could keep all the toes. 

I live in Switzerland and climb often in and around Chamonix--can I ask how your frostbite developed?  Too many days in cold/tight/wet boots?  One (or more) unplanned nights out?  Just curious so that I can hopefully avoid a similar fate!

All the best with the rehab. 

B