Crampon
Videos
A crampon is a traction device attached to footwear to improve mobility on snow and ice during ice climbing. Besides ice climbing, crampons are also used for secure travel on snow and ice, such as cro
Rigid step-in (fully automatic) "front-point" crampons used for vertical ice climbing
Yellow/grey plastic "anti-balling" plates prevent snow from building up
Alpine touring ski boot with a Petzl Irvis 10-point hybrid crampon
A mountaineering boot equipped with a traditional 12-point glacier/trekking crampon
Oscar Eckenstein
Videos
Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein was an English rock climber and mountaineer, and a pioneer in the sport of bouldering. Inventor of the modern crampon, he was an innovator in climbing technique and mo
Crampon
…last type (strap bindings) is more versatile and can adapt to virtually any boot or shoe, but often does not fit as precisely as the other two types. Oscar Eckenstein designed the first 10-point crampon in 1908, dramatically reducing the need for step cutting. This design was then made commercially available by the…
Eckenstein in the 1890s