Earlier this season at my local ice crag amid the weekend crowds, I counted no less than a dozen models of crampons from half as many manufacturers. Everything from the newest take on vertical front points to antiquated horizontal models were picking, kicking and occasionally shearing their way up the crisp blue flows. Such diversity was initially surprising, but ever since the Germans strode past the step-cutting Austrians en route to the first ascent of the Eiger, climbers have reinvented the crampon more times than the Stones have played Britain. Here are some highlights from the revolution.

The Early Years
While crampon-like attachments first appear on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, the most substantial evidence of a crampon-like tool in an alpine setting appears in the 16th century in the form of “grappettes,” a four-pronged claw-like attachment used primarily by European hunting parties for increased traction on snow. After a few centuries of relative stagnancy, the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 kickstarted the rise of mountaineering and alpinism, and with it, the development of the true crampon.

As the 19th century drew to a close, beefier crampon designs began popping up on the grid in Austria and other locations throughout Europe, including the first 10-point interpretation – a significant upgrade from the earlier 4- and 6-point grappettes. A high-water mark occurred in 1908 when climber and, most importantly, engineer Oscar Eckenstein perfected the 10-point model even further by developing the structural capabilities of crampons (which were still viewed in some circles as unsafe). Eckenstein then commissioned Italian blacksmith Henry Grivel to produce a prototype and the rest, as they say, is history. After public displays of what the crampon was capable of, interest rose so much that Grivel began commercial production in 1910.

The Wonder Years
While it was clear that crampons were gaining purchase as a viable alternative to step-cutting, it wasn’t until 1928 when Henry Grivel’s son, Laurent, added two sturdy front points to Eckenstein’s original model that alpinism as we know it was transformed. With the advent of “front pointing,” previously inaccessible terrain became viable, and Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vorg’s 1938 passing of Austrians Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek on the Eiger Nordwand firmly established step-cutting as a relic.

The fall of the Eiger broke a psychological barrier, and crampons were soon making their mark on alpine terrain the world over. Standards rose accordingly and, after a few decades of calf-busting glory, the first crampon designed specifically for steep ice appeared in 1967 in the form of a completely rigid, rail-style frame (versus the common hinge design). Developed by Yosemite visionaries Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost, this new design was followed by a crucial improvement by Stubai in the form of secondary points as a structural compliment to the front points. These enabled a less stressful stance on even the steepest of flows by providing additional support to the sole, and the hallowed call of “Keep your f***ing heels down!” soon rang from the Alps to the Adirondacks.

With the invention of steep ice crampons, climbers began fine-tuning the design even more to maximize vertical potential. Based on the concept of ice picks, Mike Lowe’s Footfang (1972) replaced traditional, horizontal front points with a vertically oriented, serrated design, improving purchase on brittle terrain (but trading off lower angle and snow purchase) and leading crampon technology into the 1980s. In 1986, Charlet Moser and Grivel introduced the mono point – a single dart-like point for greater precision that shattered less ice and enabled the climber to gain more purchase, but had less raw surface contact than traditional dual points. Like the argument between horizontal and vertical front points, the debate between mono and dual points continues today.

The Present and Future
As time went by, climbers increasingly tweaked designs, bringing about heel spurs, anatomically correct, curved frame shapes for more natural stances (as seen on the DMM Terminator and Grivel Rambo Comp), and increasingly specialized models with front point configuration options. In a probable attempt to bridge the mono versus dual point fiasco, Black Diamond released the Mako in 2001. With its trident-like front point, consisting of a long mono point flanked by two shorter front points, the Mako offered the precision of a mono with the surface contact of a dual. While the design was only marginally successful, this fresh thinking led to even more ingenuity in the 21st century.

Today, the rise of serious mixed climbing has led to “Fruit Boots” – boots with crampons bolted directly to the sole for maximum weight savings and precision. After a redesign in 2007, Petzl tackled the age-old “horizontal or vertical” front point debate with the 2008 Sarken, which sports a T-shaped front point for the stability of a horizontal and the bite of a vertical.

As the sport continues to evolve and climbers continue to push limits, modern fangs for the feet will undoubtedly continue to improve and change in tandem. New designs and new debates will arise, but the basis will remain the same: to keep up with the rising standards by providing the best tool for the job.

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