Salewa - Ortles Ascent Mid GTX - Mountaineering boots tested

This is the second pair of these comfortable & versatile summer alpine boots I've bought. I've used the first pair on a trip to the Saas region 4000m peaks in the Swiss Alps last summer, and then for a Scottish winter mountaineering skills training week in Glencoe & Nevis, UK. They are perfectly compatible with the Salewa crampon (see picture), and have sufficient room inside to cope with my wide feet and take a Sidas insole. Lovely grippy soles on snow and rock, and coped okay with Via Ferrata as well as mixed mountaineering. Amazingly, they walk like an ordinary trekking boot, probably due to the soft materials and rocker heel. So far no blisters or even hot spots on my feet. I'm using these for some high Nepal trekking they are so good.

I usually take a mountaineering boot size 46 1/2, but in these I take a 46. The only down side is the sole seems to wear down quite quickly and the boot overall becomes a bit less stiff over time, but these are relatively minor issues for all the advantages.