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 crossing glaciers, snowfields and icefields, ascending snow slopes, and scaling ice-covered rock.
Rigid step-in "front-point" crampons used for vertical ice climbing
Yellow/grey plastic "anti-balling" plates prevent snow from building up
Walking crampons
A mountaineering boot equipped with a traditional 12-point glacier/trekking crampon
Ice climbing is a climbing discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of frozen water. To ascend the route, the ice climber uses specialist equipment, particularly double ice axes and rigid crampons. To protect the route, the ice climber uses steel ice screws that require skill to employ safely and rely on the ice holding firm in any fall. Ice climbing routes can vary significantly by type, and include seasonally frozen waterfalls, high permanently frozen alpine couloirs, and large hanging icicles.
Ice climber on Il Candelabro del Coyote (180-metres, WI 4+), in the Val di Cogne, Italy
Central Pillar (WI5+), Weeping Wall, Canada
Chéré Couloir (WI4 M3), France
Silent Memories (WI6, M9), Italy
