12 pt crampons?

[Jay H]

Done... I just bought some Grivel G10 New Classics with recommendations from those here and myself. Could not find any G10 locally in the area for me to try, except for the Cramp-o-Matic binding which are for plastic boots.

I have some silly feeling with this winters bouncing temperatures, they might get more use than my shoeshoes

Jay

 

[KayakDan]

Grivel G-10 Classics with leather boots for the easy stuff and warmer weather,particularly in the mushy stuff in spring,when you're clipping rocks. Serious icy trails,and cold weather,it's BD Sabretooths on the Koflachs. Step in,lock 'em and one quick strap. This is a big benefit,as my wifes' fingers get cold really fast. You do have to be more careful with the Sabretooths,as you can shred gaiters,(or calves!) more easily.

 

[Mike P.]

Adamiata,

I'm not saying you need plastics (I have them & love them) but you should have a stiffer 3-season boot than your workboot. Some of the leather hiking boots with either a full nylon shamk or 1/2 steel would be better for using your crampons.

If I did real work outside I wouldn't wear hiking boots, especially if I needed a steel toe & for hiking workboots are not good 4 season hiking boots. (This explains why my work boots are 13+ years old *& look like new )

Some stiffer boots by Asolo, Montrail, Vasque, EMS, etc., would be better choices & if anything if too much boot in July & August you could get a pair of trail shoes fairly cheap if you need two pair of footwear.

 

[percious]

History on crampons -- they were designed for walking on glacier and hard pack snow. Good for European, Himalayan or Western mountaineering. For eastern ice walking, they give a higher center of gravity. Katoola crampons were designed for Eastern water ice walking. Also consider six point crampons.

Moose

I agree with moose that it is mostly technique, and not how many points you have. However, I dont agree that 6/4 point crampons work as well as 10/12 pointers. 6 pointers lack points at the balls of your feet, which are most important with pushing off. Furthermore, on steep drop offs, front points are invaluable as they allow you to dig in your toes to get up. If you are using crampons, you should be well versed in Self-Arrest, and as some of you may know, the first step after you have stopped sliding is to dig those toes in. Hard to do with 6 point crampons...

One more point to make. You probably want to stay away from Aluminum crampons. While their lightness makes them attractive, their durrability is suspect. Many routes that require crampons in the NE are "mixed" meaning some walking on rock will be required. Anyone who has climbed Gothics knows what I am talking about. Crampon durablity goes hand in hand with safety.

-percious

 

[Desalad]

Self-Arrest Technique

If you are using crampons, you should be well versed in Self-Arrest, and as some of you may know, the first step after you have stopped sliding is to dig those toes in. Hard to do with 6 point crampons...

I will be using my new crampons for the first time next weekend, and thought I would share this article that I found with others.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/denali/extremes/survarrest.html

 

[Pucknuts61]

Moose makes an excellent point about buying used crampons. Originally I wanted to find some used ones in order to "test" them and see if winter hiking is something I'd enjoy, but based on his points about not knowing how much they were actually used, I'm glad I went with the new ones.
I figure if it wasn't for me, then I'd put them on Ebay....but I'm glad to say that I really enjoy them.

As far as self-arrest, just be careful to not use your feet too much (a common tendancy when sliding). You can easily catch a point and do some serious damage to yourself (front points can help your arrest though, just be careful that your full weight is on the top half of your body and is on the ax).

 

[DougPaul]

I was taught that, when self-arresting with crampons, one should bend one's knees to keep one's feet well up off the snow. If one catches a point (particularly easy with 12 pointers), one can break an ankle and get flipped up into the air.

Doug

 

[weatherman]

Ours goes to 11

A vote for 12 points. Though 10 will do fine for most hiking, we had a nice 0.4 mile sidehill section on Abraham (ME) 2 weeks ago with almost bulletproof ice in spots and pretty icky fall potential with lots of exposed rocks on a steep slope. The extra set of points on the side enabled me to walk on only half a boot at a time with confidence. They feel like overkill on many hikes, but boy did they feel good that day. Point well taken, though, Doug... being careful with the points does slow me down.

Anybody ever seen crampons with an odd number of points? Just curious.
Weatherman

 

[DougPaul]

> Anybody ever seen crampons with an odd number of points?

Monopoints (single front point) are used in ice climbing.
Presumably these have 11 points. (Never actually saw one.)

Also some broken crampons have odd numbers of points.

> being careful with the points does slow me down.

Me too--I'm careful to swing my feet a little wider and angle my ankles outward when walking with 12pt crampons. <crossed fingers> No calf injuries and not much pant/gaiter damage so far. </crossed fingers>


Doug

 

[bandana4me]

guess i never follow the crowd

I know 12 points are for technical climbing, and I have not done that for a few years. I still like the 12 pointers though, and the are not GRIVELS, they are Cassin's. I never did follow the crowd, and probably never will.

 

[MissionsMan]

Gotta love the 12-pointers!

I gotta cast my vote for the 12 pointers too. I use Black Diamond Sabertooth crampons and they are fantastic. They have a unique set of stabilizer points which actually give them a total of 14 points. They aren't too heavy and snap on really well to all my boots. I am not trashing other brands, simply endorsing my fav's!!!

On the odd section of steep, packed snow/icy trail and/or semi-technical hiking, they perform superbly. On alpine climbs they have no competition!!! Too bad i don't climb to their potential - that would be grrrrreat!!!

Mm