January 16, 2001


What's a good pair of lightweight crampons for mountaineering?

I'm in the market for a pair of lightweight strap-on crampons for mountaineering. Specifically, I'm looking for something for those times I have to cross or ascend snow chutes. As I peruse the various online sites, I frequently see the phrase "for moderate glacier travel". Okay. Just what is moderate glacier travel? I've climbed both Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta.

— Larry Buttrey Long Beach, California

"Moderate glacier travel" pretty much means anything that lets you keep most of the points in contact with the snow or ice most of the time. That terrain would end when you're kicking your toe points into the slope and pretty much standing solely on them. I suppose you also could define "moderate" as any slope less steep than, say 30 to 35 degrees. Rainier routes that would classify as moderate include Disappointment Cleaver (the standard route most climbers take); Ingraham Glacier Direct (a variation of the standard route); Emmons Glacier and maybe the Kautz Glacier.

For a lot of this kind of stuff, really all you need is a very basic crampon such as Girvel's G-10 ($99). These are ten-point crampons, with relatively short and moderate points. For hard snow and the occasional patch of ice on not-too-steep terrain, they work great. Plus, they fit over just about any boot.

For more serious general mountaineering, a number of crampons will work great. Among them: Charlet Moser's Super 12 ($140), a light, semi-rigid crampon with a lanier strap (toe strap) for added security. Grivel's G-12 ($130) is another good all-around crampon. These boots require a true mountaineering boot designed to take crampons, such as any plastic boot or a heavy leather boot like La Sportiva's Makalu.

Anything more serious than a Super 12 or G-12 -— say, a crampon such as Grivel 2F ($150) or Trango Harpoon ($140) really is meant primarily for technical ice climbing, not strolling up a glacier or snow chute.