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Equipment for the Modern Ice Warrior
It should be clear today that ice climbing and its attendant equipment have diverged upon two clearly different paths; adventure and sport. While there is no point in trying to be all things to all climbers, some gear spans these concepts and can be used for both applications. Gear appropriate to the Adventure heading is designed for trekking, general mountaineering and alpine climbing- no matter the standard or the odd waterfall climb. Gear appropriate to the Sport heading is designed for “ice cragging”, i.e. waterfall climbing and sport mixed climbing. Emphasis is on technical performance rather than weight, or efficiency on moderate terrain.
When deciding what to purchase, think about your personal goals and what you are most likely going to be using the equipment for. Are you going to climb Polar Circus or Denali? To be sure, you could get equipment that would do “all right” for either, but probably not great for either. Versatility may seem like a good idea until you are up on that hard lead wishing you had the appropriate equipment to do the job.
Lets start with the feet.
Crampons have become more “anatomical”, and mono points are far more popular for technical climbing than their dual point predecessors. Sole shapes and sizes differ greatly between single boots and plastic boots. Even within the same size range of one model from one manufacturer, sole shapes and radii can vary significantly. Unfortunately no norms - like those controlling alpine ski boots - exist, so crampons and their binding systems must adapt to many different boot configurations: narrow heels, toe-box height, curved soles, etc. There are three basic binding systems now: strap on, step in and a hybrid of the two, often referred to as “New Matic”. Each will work better with a particular type of boot. The New Matic style has become increasingly popular because it can work with virtually any type of boot. Many crampons also now offer a more asymmetrical shape to better fit the real shape of your foot and allow more natural kicking.
Consider the strength of the crampons. Three-dimensional relief stamped into the flat surfaces of the crampon will improve rigidity without reducing resilience. Crampons with completely flat surfaces require heat treatment to achieve similar rigidity, however this reduces their resilience.
Sport crampons will offer twelve (eleven, if mono) points with the front one(s) being vertically oriented. Ten point crampons are for trekking and general mountaineering. Rigid crampons are still the most popular for steep, water ice climbing, but many new flexible and semi-rigid crampons perform quite well in this arena as well. Most will come with an option to use them as dual or mono points. Adventure crampons may have ten or twelve points with two horizontally or vertically oriented front points. Adventure crampons should not be rigid. Many crampons now have antibott plates available. Antibott plates are flexible sheets that prevent snow buildup beneath the crampons. This underrated accessory is essential for wet snow conditions.
Now onto axes.
The ice ax is the symbol of alpinism, the tool of the alpinist. Because it will be a companion for years to come, price should not be your only criteria for choosing a new ice ax: beauty, utility and durability are important factors. Ice axes for adventure climbing still yield the more traditional shapes and styles (i.e. straighter, longer and with one piece heads). Modern sport ice axes are radically curved and often leashless. It’s a dead point to argue over which is better style: leashed or leashless? Simply put, they are different styles. As you would expect, most axes made for one style are not well suited for the other. There are a number of leashed tools that do have add ons that allow them to work leashless, but true leashless tools will usually have a corrected grip. The fact that this prevents them from working well as an alpine tool is exactly the reason why they belong in the sport category. Modern leashless tools, however, can work quite well on long, steep ice routes.
One other consideration should be construction. Is the ax head forged, cast or welded? In general, strength of the head will run in that order for a given thickness. Remember, a thinner blade will penetrate easier than a thicker one, but will not be as strong.
At the end of the day, it really comes down to personal preference. Malcolm Daly (owner of Trango) once said “ Ice tools are like toothbrushes: they all work, but everyone’s got their favorite.”
Then comes “M climbing”.
If your idea of fun is hanging upside down like a bat, scratching around on chossy, overhanging rock to get to some tiny smear of ice then you will certainly benefit from the most advanced equipment you can find. Radically curved, leashless ice tools (some, literally a pick on a stick) and an integrated boot and crampons system is obligatory.
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