Be attentive when placing ice screws!

A Grivel Helix buried with some terrain protection..but it wasn't an intentional act.   And until now I hadn't  thought much about the issue.  I wonder how many of us have?

The German DAV report and its pictures discussed in this entry are clear as to the issue but sadly I can't copy the context.  If anyone finds a version I can copy and paste [thank you Joe for the jpegs]please let me know.



This from Magnus Råström @ Black Diamond Equipment AG


"There was a ice climbing accident last season, no one got hurt but it could have ended really bad and the ice climbers were using our (BD) Express screws. Christ Semmel working for DAV investigated the accident and attached is his report in German. I have below a short summary in English.

Course of Action:
2 Ice climbers doing a multipitch route in Austria, using Mammut double ropes, for protection BD Express Ice Screw with a Austria Alpin QD Easy Classic and for belay a reverso. The axe and crampons of the lead climber (belayed from below) did pull out and the climber fell 12 m without ice contact or injury, but the mantel ripped on one of the ropes (see photo page one, blue rope). Chris came to the conclusion that the rope ripped because it was pulled over the crank knob of the ice screw. The photo on page one, red rope is the rope which they have tested and pulled over a crank knob. Chris is not negative against our ice screw’s and the conclusion is that when ice climbing with ice screw’s with crank knobs it is important to fold them in after use. Also he recommends the use of ice screws with crank knobs that you can fold in.

All the best,
Magnus Råström / Black Diamond Equipment AG"


I use and like both the BD Express and Grivel Helix.

I do how ever use Grivel Helix in much of my own steep water ice climbing with an obvious crank knob that does not fold in.  Worth noting the BD knobs are sharp in comparison.  It should be pretty obvious you don't want a rope running over them that will take weight.  The BD knob diameter at the small end is 9.5mm and the Grivel 15.5mm.   The Grivel knob is a synthetic, likely Delrin and smooth.   BD's knob is knurled aluminum and likely the last thing any of us want to run a rope over.    I don't want my rope running over either in a fall.  But if given a choice...I'll take a folded knob over the Grivel option.

But that isn't the total story.  You need to know more.

The direction at which you clip the hangers should also be very different on the BD as opposed to the Grivel screws.   The Grivel hanger offers a bit more play to set a screw and have the hanger flex on the screw to clear the ice.   That allows the Grivel knob to be closer to the ice where the BD hanger will always be forced intentionally to the outside.  Flip the BD knob down and you won't have a problem there.  Not so on the Grivel as you have no option but to hide the know in the terrain.  .

I disagree some what with Magnus' synopsis of the report and if that was accurate (and no reason to think it was not) the DAV report itself. 

Here is why:
It you hang a rope on the Grivel hanger it is more likely to do one of two things in my opinon :
One:  It will slide off to the outside of the hanger on the slick Delrin material

Two:  Or depending on the hanger clearance from the ice get trapped behind the hanger and run on the 16.5mm screw body itself and or the horizontally positioned hanger body.

Either option I would prefer to knurled aluminum and a vertical positioned 2.5mm thick stainless hanger.  So close your knobs on the BD Express screws!  And I wouldn't use screws with a fixed small diameter (knurled or not)  knob that mimics BD's hanger design is what I take away from this.  It is splitting hairs but important hairs I think.

It is all about the details, be careful out there!

 A Grivel Helix with the black knob and two BD Express, red knob up and the yellow knob tucked in.  Note the Grivel hanger is reversed compared to how it would actually be placed in the ice for this photo.

 Obvious difference in the Grivel horizontal hanger and BD's vertical hanger.  This is not the position the Grivel screw would normally be placed but 180 degrees reversed.  Knob up on Grivel.   Knob down for BD.

A long 2.7mm "blade" before you get to the knurled aluminum knob on the BD screw.

Beal 7.8 Ice twin on the BD knob which when left open caused a sheath failure in the fall.

I have no doubt you could catch a rope on the Grivel hanger, which you really do not want to do. Bottom line is be careful  out there and think about each  and every placement.  For my money twin or dbl ropes on ice make a lot of sense.



Two pictures of the Grivel Helix in the position a rope would normally be caught from above.  With the hanger totally at the end of its movement and the carabiner hole is to the inside, the knob is angled down so a rope would generally just slip off of it or the rope will run behind the hanger and on to the screw tube body.   This seems an unlikely event (but certainly possible) because only ice behind the knob end of the hanger would force it into this position.

If the hanger does have space behind it after the screw is placed no question you can easily hook the rope there in a fall.

But again better a 17.5mm radius (Grivel's tube) to run your rope over than a 9.5mm radius (BD's knob)  with the addition of several sharp edges to help the damage along.

Worth repeating I think.

For my money twin or dbl ropes on ice make a lot of sense.

Miles of vertical ice have been climbed with either style screw and hanger and as many miles with screws and hangers not nearly as good.  I'll continue to climb on both BD and Grivel screws and choose accordingly to which fits my project best.  I'm not suggesting panic here just that you keep your eyes and mind open to the possibilities.  

"You want the real Deal."

My climbing partner turned me on to this one.
Great video on Scottish mixed....and some good sized falls!

I learned that without umbilicals you and your mate need the same tools :)
Last bit really does look painful.

Bridal Veil Falls, Telluride, Colorado

My buddy Oscar Fors and his partner Olaf Dallner on Bridal Veil.  Good to see Oscar enjoying himself and the nice weather.   One would think Swedes would be use to the cold :)

Fun video and GREAT job guys!

Ice tool umbilicals? *repost*

A repost of my first blog entry, from Jan 29 2010

The Joke Slinger, on the BD Spinner leash, Jan. 2010, the Cascades.


With the invention and popularity of leashless climbing, a once condemmed and decades old climbing tool has come back. While they are not mandatory, they are in vogue. It has been over 35 years since I saw the first pair of umbilicals in use.






Author's umbilicals of 9/16" webbing being used on a quick ascent of Polar Circus in the winter of 1979.

Gregg Cronn photo


Back in the late '70s and into the early '80s umbilicals were looked upon as a weak man's crutch. Mostly thought of as something the Canadians used (but never really did much) to aid sections of rotten, cold and really steep ice. We can blame all that on Bugs McKeith inventing the idea of ice aid while putting up some of today's modern classics, like Nemisis and Polar Circus. Just two among his many, many difficult ice climbs. Most visiting American climbers thought they were way ahead of the game by not using umbilicals while running up the first "free" ascents of the Canadian test pieces. Few outside Canada really made the "first free" ascents many claimed. Canadians had already been there on most of them and didn't fight back the cat calls.

No Internet back in the day so info was often sketchy and incomplete or just a fubar rumor. It was hard to keep track. Of course not every one used umbilicals even back then. But a few did. 1st and 2nd ascents of Slipstream did.

Jim Elzinga photo of John Lauchlan on the 1st ascent of Slipstream

They were not used for aid or for hanging to place screws. Although when required you could do either. The real use was to save your ass if you happen to fall. Hopefully an umbilical would keep you on the ice. BITD leads were long and run out. Ice screws could be hard, difficult or just plain impossible to get in, depending on the ice and out side temps. Weighting your umbilicals is a way to save the 2nd's strength while pulling screws if you can deal with that idea ethically today.

No one sane thought the idea of falling with tools and crampons OK. Falling on the old gear generally required a hospital stay or worse.

Once I switched from Chouinard curved tools to a set of Terrodactyls for technical ice I seldom climbed without at least one umbilical attached to my harness or swami. As the tools changed the old umbilicals generally went straight on the new tools. Big jumps from Terros, Clog, Chacal, Pulsar.

Pretty simple change as mine were just a set of tied 9/16" nylon tube webbing.

The first manufactured umbilicals I saw..years later ('05) ... where done up by Grivel. The "Grivel, Double Sping Leash" with a mini wire gate "biner" specifically designed for the task. While leashless tools really hadn't caught up with the possibilities yet, Grivel umbilicals were seen on some pretty amazing climbs often used by climbers sponsored by competing tool companies. The umbilical had finally "arrived". But no one outside a tiny circle of hardcore alpine climbers really knew it yet. A quick Goggle Images search will get you photos of Steve House, Marko Prezelj, Raphael Slawinski and a host of others using both the Grivel and BD umbilicals on hard alpine climbs all through the new millenium.

I worry more about dropping a leashless tool, than I do falling off. But when you can protect yourself from both mistakes it makes sense to ante up and use that protection. More than one really good climber has poked fun at me because of my support of umbilicals. More climbs and climbers I admire used umbilicals and have been suggesting you do as well.

Ueli Steck, Grand Jorasses, record speed solo, Jan '09. Jon Griffin photos






Easiest way to get yourself a pair of umbilicals is by reading Dave's web site and making your own. Good stuff!!

http://www.alpinedave.com/leashless_rig.htm

Alpine Dave photo
















The second way is buy a pair of the commercially made ones.

Grivel offers several versions, Blue Ice in Chamonix offers a simple version  and Black Diamond offers their "Spinner" unit.

For what it costs to make a "good" pair of umbilicals all three, Blue Ice,  Black Diamond and Grivel offer real value imo.







Here is some detail on what I use and my observations.

Grivel was my first commercial set. I was lucky enough to get the original Grivel 3KN mini biner version with a girth hitch atatchment. Not a big fan of the mini locking version out now. Or a biner attachment to the harness. Good elastic and webbing that attaches to the harness by a girth hitch (small loop is passed through harness belay loop and tails are feed back through and out the small loop cinching tight on the belay loop) Very simple. Length is shorter than some seem to like but if I sit down on the leashes (6'1 and normal ape index) at full extention for both tools the Grivel leash will allow my tools to be out of reach. Just barely so, but still out of reach. It is durable.











Black Diamond had dozens of Spinner Leash prototypes out the last couple of years for real world testing and feedback. Again I was lucky enough to get a pair of those and used them a lot. Better yet for good feedback, I let all my partners use them.







Only thing I can see that has changed in the Spinner leash is the over all length has been shortened on the current version. I've seen current reviews commenting that the BD Spinner leash set up is now too short. Trust me? The Spinner IS NOT too short for anyone under 6'8" and a huge ape index that I know! The "too short" comment doesn't make sense unless the reviewer is mistakenly writing about a short early prototype? Mine on full extention are a full 2 feet past what I can reach.

If you happen to fall on the Spinner you'll have some work cut out for you getting back to your tools. The Grivel set up is managable but only just. The Spinner will make you work for a living it you weight it unprepared. But if you are using the most modern ice climbing techniques you should be stacking your tools on top of each other which should help. You'll need the extra reach to accomplish that and still have only a short fall for your Spinner to catch. It is a tough balancing act to get the right umbilical length and still get it to do everything required of it.

If you need to weight your tools intentionally, you had better stack them or you'll not be able to reach a tool using either brand name.

While I like simple and wasn't impressed with the swivel of the Spinner originally, everyone else that used mine was. I've come to accept its advantages over time. And no question having a leash set up that avoids all the tangles and twists that will come with umbilicals is an advantage. Grivel no longer offers their 3KN wire gate mini biner version. On the other hand BD took notes and then used them on all the details. BD uses a proprietary hydrophobic webbing, a over built mini swivel and mini wire gate biner that will fit most tools head and spikes. It is a good piece of kit. And would cost a small fortune to duplicate in the same quality.

A reader once again pointed out the Boa Leash from Blue Ice to me today.  Thank you!   I have not climbed with the Blue Ice version yet but will shortly.  It is more akin to what I like generally like in gear, simple, maybe no "biner" required, and easily replaceable if damaged.   I'll add more to this blog post once I have had a chance to use a set.  $32.00 US seems reasonable though for the effort and materials involved if they attach easily and are the "right size" in actual use.

Blue Ice Boa Leash below:

I try to climb smart and if a technical ice tool goes in my pack so does a umbilical system. See ya out there!

Steve House on the top of the Italian Route, Taulliraju (5830m), first free ascent, three-day roundtrip, with Marko Prezel 2005 (Prezel photo)

Added support for La Sportiva's soft ankle ice boots?

(Another repost from early last year that I keep getting questions on.)

There is a lot to recommend the really light weight boots with super soft ankles like the La Sportiva Batura and Trango Extremes on steep technical ice but comfort and calf support aren't two that come to mind.










One way I have found to help that style of boot on endurance ice is use some old technology that a few back country skiers are now remembering as well.









Long Thongs and Alberg straps in the past were used to help stiffen the ankle on ski boots, long before I started skiing. A extra wrap or two around the ankle, then snugged up tight, is just what I need for long, full days on continuous ice. Might not be enough for Alaska but should get you up things like Polar Circus, Slipstream or the N. Face of Athabasca with a bit more comfort in those soft ankled, stiff soled, light weight boots we all love. Not required for the typical ice cragging day though. Nice because with the option of stiffening the ankle the biggest advantage to me of these boots is how easily they walk with those same, soft ankles. Hard climbs with long approaches (or long climbs with only a moderate amount of hard climbing) is where i think these boots excel.









Black Diamonds heel levers and their safety straps ($30 a pair for the entire kit straight from BD catalog sales) offer the perfect option and length of strap on my size 12 boots and skinny ankles. You can use BD and Grivel levers on Petzl if you like. Cut the wire straps off the front bail and the Grivel/BD straps will work in a similar manner with at least one full wrap around the ankle for additional support. Heel levers are easy to switch off and on. Another advantage is you are less likely to ever loose a 'pon if the 'pon clips ever pop off your boot. Something else I really appreciate is you can then cut those damn toe retainer pieces off the front bail and forget about them!

After all, who doesn't appreciate a clean pair of toes :-)

Scarpa Phantom Ultra boots and Black Diamond Sabertooth crampons

BD Serac crampon on water ice

The Hayes Range Alaska...and memory lane

There are still adventures to be had!!    Much of this post is from years ago.  But check out the modern version of our trip in the BD video below.

My first trip to Alaska!  This is a area I was lucky enough to explore back in May of 1976 with the help of an AAC grant.  Our original goal was the NW Ridge on Deborah from the north side, which we did not do.  The first ascent of that line was done 4 months later by Alaskans.  And again in 1977 the upper NW Ridge from the south,  again by Alaskans one of which was my friend Carl Tobin.  Carl went back to do the 1st ascent of the East Ridge as well.  Likely one (only?) of the few to ever climb the mtn twice.  And two 1st ascents to boot!

NW ridge of Deborah

But we were able to make four 1st ascents while we were there but saw only one summit.  3 of those I was a part of.  Big adventure for us in a remote area at the time.

West face of Hess and the arrow head shaped glacier tongue we climbed and then were barely able to descend in a full on Alaskan blizzard.

 Hard to believe this day turned into a howling blizzard a few hrs later.  It turned into a 46hr push.



Sub-peak of Deborah, west face of "Sally", and how we accessed the NW Ridge of Deborah to by pass the objective dangers under the North face of Deborah.  This was our only summit  we saw and which we bivied on.

This north ridge we climbed just to get the radio to work, line of sight, to Fairbanks.  No sat phones back in '76.  But heck, it was a fun (for once) 1st ascent.

Photo credits above to Ray Brooks and Gwain Oka

First ascent of the West Face of Hayes in 2010 by Samuel Johnson and Ryan Hokanson

Photo credit Jeff Benowitz




Modern day adventure!
Samuel Johnson teamed up with Ryan Hokanson and did some impressive climbs in the same area in the summer of 2010.   Take the risk and make your own adventure!

BD grassroots athlete Samuel Johnson's expedition to Alaska's Hayes Range from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Scotland and the "kids".......

The line topo of "To Those That Wait"

Big numbers being bounced around  @ IX/9

And  "It turned out to be much easier than "To Those Who Wait", but none the less "The Secret" was an awesome line ".

The Secret was X/10 last I checked.

http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/thesecretbennevis/



Will Sim:
"Greg gave the pitch the somewhat conservative grade of IX 9.....Its almost certainly the hardest onsight on the Ben to date. Its called "To Those Who Wait" "

Will on pitch one...waiting for the money to come.





Saw this on Will's blog a bit ago when he got home from Patagonia.  But missed the gist of if until today.

Will Sim, Greg Boswell and Steve Lynch.  Three we'll hear more from I suspect.

Obviously some very good climbing being done by all three.

Fun read as we sit out the local monsoon and 55F temps in mid Jan. and

More here:
http://steve-lynch.blogspot.com/2011/01/stob-coire-nan-lochan-8th-jan.html

here:
http://gregboswell.blogspot.com/2011/01/compare-and-contrast.html

and here:

http://willsim.blogspot.com/2011/01/scottish-fix.html

Black Diamond's Fusion 2

I intentionally stay away from writing too much on ice tools.  I am very specific in my likes and dislikes and obviously swayed by them.  It isn't fair to to allow my prejudice to blanketly sway people too far on ice tool choices.

I have been doing this stuff long enough to realise if you know what you are doing that almost any good club with a big nail through it will get you up most any ice.

You don't have to climb hard by today's standards to know the difference. (and I don't climb that hard)   But I know what I like and why and why I don't like other tools.  I continually get surprised by my judgement of the cosmetics.

Case in point.  The Petzl Nomic (old or new) looks to have been almost perfectly cloned by the now last year's version of the Green Machine, Black Diamond's Fusion.

Pictured are a Fusion (the Green Machine) and a last year's Nomic over layed.

While they are close there are subtle and meaningful differences.   Which most will readily recognise climbing on either tool and making a comparison. 

To no one's surprise who worked on the Black Diamond design effort, the new Fusion was not, even given the hammer and removable spike, an all around tool.  Its performance on pure ice could be better.   The Nomic, as much as it might appear not to be (with no spike and no hammer),  works well on ice and on hard mixed.

Black Diamond, to their credit, has from the beginning marketed the Fusion as an expert's tool for modern mixed.   Petzl did the same thing on the Nomic as well, and missed a wide audience at first.  Black Diamond in this case was well advised to "stick" with their plan.  I get asked more often about the Fusion than any other tool..."how do I make it climb ice better."

Obviously the Fusion will climb ice, as hard of ice as it comes these days.   But if you are capable of climbing that kind of ice you aren't asking me how to "fix" a Fusion.  

Where the Fusion really shines is on hard mixed.  No surprise as two of the guys intimatly involed in the design work were Roger Strong and Raphael Slawinski.  Both are known internationally for their abilities on hard mixed.


Raphael Slawinski

Roj.....Roger Strong.

So when some one asks me what I think of a Fusion as a intermediate's ice tool I suggest they look else where.   But if you want to really push your mixed climbing the Fusion is a shoo in.  One of the best no question.

I can argue the pick angle and pick design with the best of them.  But when it comes to hooking hard thin moves (which I can't do btw) I know what works and why.  One of the major advantages of the new Fusion over most anything else currently, is the rigid, hydroformed shaft.   No or less flex in the shaft means less pick shift, ie, movement and angle change. 

Again to no one's surprise, I literally can feel the flex and bending of the shaft with every pick set on some of my favorite tools.   I know the limitations of that flex and address it accordingly by using it on terrain where it isn't going to matter.  Great idea but poorly done in over all design for the intended audience. 

The hydro forming is great technology and way ahead of everyone else in the game but if I was a BD athelete I'd be asking for the next generation of Fusion with a *carbon fiber* shaft :)

No question here it is the INDIAN not the arrow....but a bad arrow will miss the mark no matter how good the Indian.

Markus Bendler won the first two Ice Climbing World Cups this winter - with the new Fusions!

Josh Warton has won three consecutive Ouray Comps on Fusions....2 on the Original orange Fusion and the last and I think the most imopressive win on the Green Machine..the newest Fusion.

If you are capable, the Fusion is a scalpel.  Just thought a great design, done specifically for one reason in the climbing community,  when so few things are, should get the credit it is due.

A critical look at crampon fit and design (repost)

I wrote this April of 2010.  With the current thread on "your crampon fit" I think it worth revisiting for anyone that hasn't seen it.

Jan 2011

In the past 8 months we have seen the situation get worse not better imo.  Scarpa delivered both the Phantom Ultra and the Phantom 6000, the late summer and fall of 2010.  Exceptional boots no question but with some of the lowest profile soles in mtn boot history.  The Phantom Guide is not far behind them.  Scarpa wasn't the only ones off the charts on innovative boot design last year.

Next week is the 2011 Winter OR Show.  Products displayed there will first be delivered in the fall and winter of 2011.  It will be interesting to see what is new this year.  At the moment the only company I know working on the issue is Black Diamond who has a new bail (and a new mono point crampon!) in the works.











April 2010

There are many different crampon manufactures. I am not so much interested in manufacturer or style of crampon as I am in the actual boot to crampon interface, in other words the "fit" of the crampon.

If you have ever lost a crampon on technical ground you know the surprise and general helplessness that goes right along with it. That is if you live through the experience.

I've only done it once. For the sake of documentation I was attempting to show a novice climber what not to do and some how literally kicked my right crampon off. As I watched it tumble down the waterfall I too started to topple over and slide.

The only thing that caught me was the dumb luck of catching my tool's pick on his buried pick as I went buy. Thankfully his placement held and I didn't knock him off as well. Other wise? It would have been a 500'+ foot tumble and most likely death, certainly serious injury.

Humbling and just as sobering. I had soloed some difficult terrain in those same boots and crampons. To this day I am not sure if my set up was bad or just my adjustments on the straps.

I was damn lucky and it cooled my jets for soloing (or just climbing) ice for awhile.

Either way it is not something I ever want to repeat.


Not everyone will recognize the crampons in the picture. But in 1980 they were one of the models that were putting up the first of the WI6 routes. They were a rigid model by SMC. Chouinard's rigid design while revolutionary always had a durability/reliability issue. The earliest clip on Salewa/Chouinards were the crampon of choice for many of us who disdained the weight of Lowe's Footfang. Foot Fangs were a quick glimpse into the future of crampon and not all of it was good news imo.

Back then we used Beck neoprene coated nylon straps (also sold by Chouinard) to hold the crampons on. Clip on crampon bindings were still new to climbing. While that turned out to be a great idea 10 years years later. (mid 1980s) I had seen two different brands of a single crampon with the early clip on binding still attached before we hit the first ice field on the Eiger in '78. Crampons sitting in the rumble mid way up a big north face gives one a moment to pause and consider the consequences of that gear choice.

Part of the fit process on the older crampons (not Foot Fangs however) was to adjust the crampon to the sole pattern of the boot. And most importantly it seemed to me was to make the fit tight enough that you were unlikely to loose a crampon if you broke a strap or a crampon post.

The more rigid the crampon and boot interface the better the combination will climb. Actually let me go farther in that comment, the more rigid the boot sole and the more rigid the crampon the better the combination will climb on pure ice given a solid interface between the boot and crampon.

Looking at currently available equipment with 7 pairs of La Sportive boots (Spantik, Baruntse, Batura, Nepal Evo, Trango Extreme Evo, Trango Ice Evo and the Nepal Evo GTX all size 45) and 4 different brands of crampons ( Camp, Black Diamond, Petzl and Grivel and 7 models) ) it is interesting the observations you can make on crampon fit and how the difference in boot construction even between models in the same brand affect that fit.






















With the popularity of mixed climbing I am actually shocked at the sloppy interface between boot and crampons across the board. I don't claim to be a "M" climber but I understand how to hook a tool on rock and what it takes to climb at Hafner or on hard alpine mixed.

If you weigh in at 125 and have a size 7 foot not a lot is going to ruffle your gear if it is fit right. Hit 200# and have a size 12 foot and you can easily do things to a crampon that a 125# M12 climber has yet to dream of. An example is a front bail that turns into a shock absorber and can literally bounce off the lip of a boot. That might get anyone a little cranky. Add to a bad design, as a way to fix, the other bad design...with bail "laces" and you go from bad to worse.

I replace the Grivel "round" bails with something else and simply cut the additional retaining straps off the front bail of the BDs.

On the mixed terrain pictured below I noticed more than once I was climbing on the "ring" of a Grivel front bail. Not a comforting feeling. Just as bad I think is the large diameter wire and over size bails that BD uses. Bails hitting rock before your crampons do is a bad thing. Yes most every boot will fit BD crampons but precise they aren't. Of the three big manufactures only Petzl seems to have the front bails fit squared away. But then Petzl has the only front bails I know of that break. So may be "squared away" is a not really the right word. Crampons need to stay on the boot. Black Diamond has never had a breakage problem. I'll take reliability first, thank you! Everything is a trade off. And that is just a quick look at the front bails!

DT photo credit to DanielH and DaveB.



To be fair the crampon manufactures are hamstrung when it comes to boot fit. What is really needed is a DIN norm for rigid soled climbing boots. Then every crampon manufacturer would know exactly what they have to design to/with. After all the hard-goods guys are only half the real product on ice/mixed. You have to clamp a crampon to a boot sole to make a usable tool. I have 7 pairs of boots, all the same size and from different manufactures. None of them fit the crampons I own exactly the same. Imagine the nightmare the crampons manufacturers go through every season as the boot technology and sole profiles change. Is it no wonder they build on the conservative side?

I'll repeat myself. We need a rigid sole mountain boot DIN norm.

I'll let you decide what is a good front bail/crampon fit for your style of climbing and what is not. My answer was to add Petzl bails to my BD crampons for a better fit and trust in the Petzl spiel that their bails are now reliable. It is a trim set up that fits all my boots well and drops a few oz. in the process.








There is nothing easy. cheap or guaranteed in all of this. I understand that. But I also get to point out the bad designs and ask that it be done better. More of us should! Speak up!









These are just shots of the front bails. While some front bails might not be the best set up, we should also be looking at the bottom of the crampons. To be specific just what the crampon covers on the bottom of the boot.









Most of us don't want to be climbing in "fruit boots" with no heel piece and only front pointing. It is a good direction for design to get lighter gear as long as we don't forget its real use. As important as the attachment system is and how much clearance the bails have from the boot, the real reason we use crampons is to "stick" us to ice and snow. How many points you have going down is even more important as those going forward if you want to climb with the least amount of effort on difficult terrain.







To my way of thinking the more down points the better. I'd rather have the weight and additional of traction that is the end result of skipping down points in a design. To lose weight, crampons have also lost "sole". By that I mean the crampons have lost surface area on the front half of the crampon generally. Less and less of your boot is being covered by the crampon. A quick look at the old Chouinard/Salewa rigid shows a crampon that almost perfectly covers the entire sole outline of the boot. Makes climbing on the crampon precisely, a lot easier.



More importantly we use a alpine/ice climbing crampon to "cut" steps when you want to rest from a front pointing position or help clear out a chopped ledge by kicking. How the down points are positioned and how many of them are on the crampon define how you can use your crampons to accomplish "cutting". Down points facing backward tend to skate your foot off when driving the foot forward with power to "cut" and don't allow you to kick efficiently to clear a step or a ledge.

(My perspective from Jan 2011 is there are some really messed up crampon designs from all the major players.  It is like the knowledge simply dissappeared as to what is really needed here )

The next selection of pictures is a grab bag of old and new crampons. Double click the photos and take a look at the difference in boot sole surface area coverage, the number and location of the down spikes and their obvious resulting traction or lack of traction.

























































































The difference between lever lock heel bails is small but not without need for comment. Black Diamond and Grivel use a fairly large plastic lever. Both are comfortable on the back of a soft boot like the Trango Series from Sportiva. The Petzl lever? No so much. Painful in fact. Bad enough that I don't use the Petzl lever on anything but the heaviest boots. Nepal Evos and my dbl boots don't have an issue with the Petzl levers but I can't wear them on any of my Trango Series boots. It is just too painful.

Grivel and Black Diamond also use their retaining straps to give an extra safety feature by locking the levers in place with the added leverage and a tight strap. Not Petzl however. Hard to image a worse design for a crampon lever lock than what Petzl uses. Not only is the lever hard to get off when required but the retaining strap will "retain" the crampon only if you are extremely lucky. The "safety" strap DOES NOT retain the lever against your boot. Take a look at the last picture in the next series. The lever down is with a TIGHT safety/retaining strap in place and you can still flip the lever into a down and  unlatched position. Both Grivel's and Black Diamond's heel piece will retain the lever in the correct up position until that "safety strap" is unbuckled or cut completely into. It is a simple leverage issue. Petzl missed that. Black Diamond and Grivel did not. Weak......on Petzl's part. However you can fix the Petzl rear bail to make it more reliable. You'll have to cut the adjustment ball on the top of the lever and then thread the safety strap through the top of the flip lever. Solves the problem but why are we required to fix it?

Their is an easier answer.  Thankfully both Black Diamond and Grivel heel levers and locks will fit easily on the Petzl crampons. You can order up a pair from BD's customer service for a small fee and they snap right on.














With miles of ice climbing it is easy to look both backwards and forwards. The majority of pure ice lines were climbed with basic boots, ice tools and crampons. Some times I laugh at what we are using now and not in a good way. Most pure ice lines could be climbed with a club with a nail through it and hob nails.

What we have now for ice tools, boots and crampons makes ice climbing trivial in comparison to 30 years ago technology. The newest ice climbing gear is stellar in comparison so while I may sound like I am simply bitching, I am not. Ice tools are amazing these days. I am the perfect example of just how good they are. No question I am climbing harder ice now than I ever have because of the current hand tools. But boots and crampons have fallen behind the advances in ice tools. And in many ways boots and crampons have fallen behind some of the 30 year old technology! My 30 year old plastic boots and chromoly crampons will climb pure ice as good or better than anything available currently and they weight LESS!

Lucky for the manufactures that almost any crampon will work, as will almost any boot.

Call it a wake up call to the industry. And a invitation for you to join me in asking for better products. If nothing else take a critical look at your own gear and sort it out as required.

I'd like to see lighter weight boots and lighter weight crampons. Both with better over all traction all the while keeping the ability to front point with less effort. I'm not asking for much :)

To do that it is going to take a rethinking of basic designs and may be a critical look back to look forward.