Hmmm...last time up the bowl. There was this woman in her finest Microspikes and trekking poles last seen heading south past me at 35 MPH...and she was not glissading. This is the second person that has slide by me where these trailwalking tools on high angle slopes.
Any area that is not a trail, you should have crampons and an axe but most importantly skills. My friend and I made 8 changes last weekend on a trip whose final decent started between the Charltons...micros, snowshoes and crampons. Each tool was used where it was needed, no tool was used where it was not the right tool.
On the aforementioned climb, I was really happy to have Sabretooths (BD 12 pts.) on as went down the Ski Hut Trail between 9,300' and base of the bowl. I had the choice of either. Micros are not very good angles much great the 800 - 900'/mile of gain/loss.
You do not catch clothing with crampons, you catch gaiters...or should.
