Crampons

The last 3 winters in Britain have been cold and icy. There has been an increase in the usage of crampons both for the climber, walker and pedestrian. Crampons are essentially spikes that strap to your boots that enable you to walk or climb in areas of ice and snow that otherwise would be off limits and dangerous. Walkers have often classed themselves as summer or winter walkers and as such have not felt the need to own crampons. They have perhaps been viewed as something that climbers or mountaineers use for getting up steep gradients, but the last few winter freezes have changed all this. Simple walks have been transformed into ice glass playgrounds and without crampons they would be off limits or impassable. From a safety point of view I recommend them even if used once for a short steep ascent or descent. They genuinely could save your life. Walking crampons, or C1 crampons, have straps that go around your boots. They are designed to work well on boots that have a certain level of stiffness through the midsole. Often this is referred to as a B1 rating. Boots of greater stiffness, B2 and B3 will take a more technical crampon, used for steeper ground, often with a snap on binding. The three main brands in crampons are Petzl crampons, Grivel crampons and Camp crampons. Recently there has been an uptake in pavement crampons. These are lightweight, cheaper and very simple to use. They will pull over shoes, wellies or trainers and help to prevent slippage on icy pavements.