Crampons

Fitting 'New Classic' G10 Crampon to Summer Boots

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• published: 19 Nov 2012
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A quick demo for our Scottish Winter Skills and Mountaineering courses on fitting Grivel G10 flexible walking crampons with the 'New Classic' binding to soft summer hill-walking boots. Soft boots are definitely not recommended for crampons usage but for occasional use when crossing a patch of icy snow or in an emergency this type of crampon can be fitted to most types of boot! A few short videos for our Scottish Winter Skills, Winter Mountaineering and Ice Climbing courses on choosing suitable four season boots for crampon fitting. For Boot and Crampon compatibility see below (B for boots and C for Crampons): B0 - Very soft lightweight boots, shoes, trainers or slippers that are not suitable for crampons!! B1 - These are sturdy but flexible Trekking boots which will take a C1 flexible walking crampon. B2 - Semi-rigid mountain boots suitable for mountaineering and glacier approaches and classic Alpinism. These boots are often suitable for easy graded snow gullies & ridges and can be used with C1 and C2 crampons. (Examples include Scarpa Mantas) B3: Are fully stiffened technical boots for harder Scottish winter, Alpine and Greater Ranges climbing. These specialised boots are suitable for general mountaineering, ice climbing and mixed climbing, although usually less comfortable for walking in! They are normally fully rigid and having a specialised sole for fitting quick-fit step-in crampons. Fully Stiffened B3 boots can be used with all types of crampons such as C1, C2 and C3. (Examples include: Scarpa Guides, Jorasses and Freney's) Apart from trying to bend the boots against a hard surface, a quick stiffness test for boots is to wear them and to stand with just the toes on an sharp edge or step. With fully rigid B3 & B2 boots and your foot muscles relaxed, only one or two cm will be required. If you need much more than this then boots are probably too soft for serious crampon use. C1: Flexible crampons come with either straps or moulded heel and toe cradles and should have a flexible adjustment bar (Examples include: Grivel G10) C2 - Semi-rigid crampons are often fitted with a plastic toe cradle and quick-fit heel lever binding. The plastic toe bale (or French toe ring) is much more secure compared to a wire toe bale and can be used on boots with badly worn toe grooves. The adjustment bar is usually hinged in the middle. This type of crampon is the most useful as they can be used for hillwalking, Alpine Mountaineering and Winter Climbing (Examples include: Petzl Vasak, Grivel 'Air Tech', G12 and G14) C3 - Fully-rigid crampons normally come with a wire toe bale and quick-fit heel lever binding. With the wire toe bale it is essential that the boots have a good unworn toe groove. True rigid crampons are completely rigid although a few so called rigid crampons aren't and many are actually C2's! (Examples include: Grivel Rambo's) Cairngorm Guides & Talisman Mountaineering Winter Skills course details can be found at http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/winter/winter_mountaineering_courses.htm and on http://www.cairngorm-guides.co.uk