Climbing oriented AT setup...

I'm looking to get into an AT setup geared toward climbing and I am wondering what the best way to go is. Im more interested in a setup thats light for the approach and retains decent skiabilty for the descent, but nothing extreme. I was thinking of Dynafit bindings because of the weight savings, however, seeing the weight of the Dynafit compatible boots I was thinking it might be better to go with Naxos or Fritschis and use my climbing boots (Scarpa Omegas). It seems like this would both save weight and be better for the climbing itself.

I am also wondering about skis...everything seems to be geared towards fat skis for the descent....if I am more interested in the benefits of skis for the approach would it be a better setup to go with a narrower lighter ski? Such as the BD Nunyo's or Atomic MX 11's on sale right now. Thanks for any advice.

own both... Dynafit is best for all..... boot weight is about the same, but not as critical.  Dynafit + Atomic= Good.  Atomic= good crud ski.  But too many other factors to consider (winter, spring, powder, crud, uphill, downhill) to be answered easily.  And do not worry about 1-3 pounds.... get in shape and this will not be an issue... I'd say downhill is more important than hiking up (within reason/racing/multi-day tours vs one day that most of us do).

If it's truly a setup geared for getting you down/back from climbs and not for lots of turns, go with a light skinny ski if you're concerned about weight. I'd say, though, that it depend how good a skier you are -- it's nice to have the "cheater" factor of a slightly wider ski underfoot and it won't add much. Something like Atomic's Kongur (84 in the waist) would be very versatile and a lot of fun to ski even when the snow got deep and mushy.

I can't fathom buying an AT setup (especially one for climbing) and not getting Dynafit bindings. They ski very well and save a ton of weight. I'd definitely go that route unless none of the boots work for you. I guess that also depends on the type of climbing you're talking about as well...

But what do I know? I'm on telemark gear... Good luck!

I just got a dynafit setup (tlt4s, tlt classic binding, and tour lite tech ski) this season, so consider my advise is not as informed as some of the other better skiers around here that have probably always had this light setup, I can say that they ski alot better than any thing I have been on yet though, and if you want a light ski for touring then Life-link has some close out dynafit skis on the skinny and light side for cheap. I picked up the 180 tour lite tech ski weighing in at 4lbs 8oz and I really dig the way they ski, and of course tour. I am planning to use these mainly for long tour and vertical days, like the colchuck trip MW8 and I did a few weeks back, again they skied well in difficult conditions and the weight savings was very noticable and appreciated by me. For deep snow days I will still be on my Karhu Jaks or 174 Burton.

I've recently done a lot of research to upgrade my gear to a lighter setup so this is a topic near and dear to my heart. I wanted the lightest setup I could find that would provide sufficient performance to ski 50 degree frozen corn. Dynafit bindings and dynafit compatible boots are the way to go if you want real skiing and lightweight touring. I ended up buying Trab Duo Freerandos, Dynafit Vertical bindings, and Scarpa Spirit 4's. The Spirit 4's are only available in Europe but the Spirit 3's are essentially the same boot with one less buckle.

Walking or climbing in rando boots is more work than mountaineering boots, so I understand your interest in using mountaineering boots. I've never skied in mountaineering boots but I'm pretty sure the weight savings in the boot would be balanced by the additional weight of the non-dynafit binding, and the skiing performance would be marginal. There's a number of lightweight race-oriented rando boots if you're focused on the touring aspect, but I would rather have a real ski boot on my feet if I'm skiing the hard icy snow that you often find when ski mountaineering. I recommend either the Scarpa Matrix or Spirit (these boots are very similar) or the Garmont Megaride. Which ever fits your foot best. So far I like the Spirit better than my old Megarides. The biggest issue I had with the Megarides was significant heel movement and associated blisters, although this may have been due to buying a boot that was slightly large. Size your boot so your toe just touches in front. It will feel tight at first but after a few days the liner packs out a bit and feels just right.

I particularly like the 2 different tongues that come with the Spirit boot, one that is hinged for better touring/walking and a solid tongue for better downhill performance. With the solid tongue, I find the boot is just as stiff or stiffer than my Garmont Megarides. The softer tongue gives you a lot more forward flex, but the ski performance is noticeably degraded. I've toured 3 days with the stiffer tongue and find it very comfortable. I still have to try out the softer tongue on a tour to see how it feels. I suspect that the softer tongue might be significantly better for walking/climbing without skis, but I haven't confirmed this.

Although I haven't skied them, I know many people find the K2 Shuksan is a good compromise between performance and weight. I went with the Trab Duo Freerando (6 pounds) since it's a 1/2 pound lighter per foot than the Shuksan. After 5 days on hard stuff, 1 day on thick corn, and 2 days in powder I'm real happy with the Trab ski. It turns quick, holds well on ice, and floats well in powder. The only time I wished I had my Atomic REX skis were at high speed and in crud and chopped up powder that you often find at ski areas. The lighter Trab ski doesn't have the power of the REX so I'm keeping the REXs for area skiing. You can find lighter skis if you're focused on touring, but I've heard the ski performance starts to fall off drastically. In a perfect world I'd also have a real wide powder ski with dynafit bindings for winter skiing, but I'd expect to pay the price in weight.

Plenty of good and more experienced advice here, so just a report on my light setup:

Megarides (modifed for stiffness)
Comforts
Goode Pash 80 ski. SOOOOO light, 80mm underfoot, 16 turn radius which is a decent compromise, and a good skiing stick in pretty much everything but mank. Corn, powder, hardpack all good.