the.com/crampon
the spiked underbite that lets humans walk up frozen waterfalls without sliding into eternity
means A spiked metal frame strapped to a boot to grip ice and hard snow when climbing or walking on frozen ground.
from From French crampon, meaning a hook or clamp, itself from a Germanic root for 'to bend or hook' — the same family that gives English 'cramp' (the bent-up muscle) and 'crimp.' The thread running through all of them is the idea of something curved and clutching, which is exactly what those bent steel claws do to ice.
- origin
- name from French for grappling hook
- front points
- two forward spikes for kicking into vertical ice
- materials
- steel for ice, aluminum for lighter glacier travel
- history
- ten-point design revolutionized alpinism in the 1910s
- point count
- ranges from ten to fourteen brutal spikes
piolet traction — ice climbing tool with 10-12 spikes, standard since 1970s mountaineering
monopoint crampon — single forward-facing spike used in steep ice climbing, revolutionized scottish winter climbing in 1980s
microspikes — lightweight crampon with small spikes for hiking icy trails, popular alternative since 2000s