Mountaineering boot

The stiffness of the boot enhances the precision of the crampon and allows a climber to pursue steeper and more difficult terrain.

Double boots, another classification, typically consist of a non-insulated leather or plastic outer shell with a removable insulated liner.

Since the insulation cannot be removed from single boots, they are not ideally suited for multi-day cold weather excursions.

They are not completely stiff like ski boots as they need some degree of flexibility for activities such as hiking and snowshoeing.

In recent years, companies have been making mountaineering boots to be NFPA compliant so they may be used in wildland firefighting.

Mountaineering boots from 1961. They are a copy of the model that Edmund Hillary used on Mount Everest in 1953
From left to right: two rock climbing shoes, approach shoe, hiking boot, a leather mountaineering boot and a plastic mountaineering boot. The mountaineering boots are fitted with automatic crampons
Mountaineering boots from 1911