Early morning starts in spring can mean hard snow, and the need for ski crampons.
On a recent early morning tour near WildSnow HQ, I faced an abrupt reminder of spring. The bowl my partners and I kick turned up had had a hard freeze the night before and we were early. The result was concrete, just edge-able snow.
A member of our group paused and I continued up the slope, tensing my body on each step to maintain the most balance and surface area with the slick snow under my skins. A few minutes later I heard the tell-tale clink, click of ski crampons behind me. Smart man, I thought glancing back at Jeff and regretting that in the rush of our pre-dawn departure, I had completely forgotten to pack mine.
Fortunately the snow remained edge-able enough that my lack of extra traction didn’t end the day (though our early timeline did make for some very hard packed turns on the descent. Time to dial sun timing!), but it served as a good reminder. While our friends in the Pacific Northwest, Sierras and Northeast may have been packing ski crampons all season, they’re something we typically can get by without in the winter months in Colorado. Not so now: spring is here and it’s time to add to the tool box.
In the spirit of good reminders, here’s a repost from a few early season’s past. Spring is the best time for ski mountaineering; don’t forget the traction!
Tips to make the most of the ultimate traction tool
On a recent early November morning in Colorado, I thrutched up Aspen Mountain like it was my first day on skins. Frozen manmade, cat compacted snow can be a cruel skinning partner but that was the best I could get as my skins slipped around on the early season crud. A few gingerly executed kick turns kept me from fully wishing that I had rescued my forgotten ski crampons from my mountaineering pack, and brought me back to spring missions when the extra traction spikes were essential.
Depending on where you live, ski crampons are likely one of those things you rarely need and are supremely bummed when you don’t have. Hopefully you will never need them for a casual resort training day (except for Maritime zones), but here are some tips on, the what, the how, the when and the when not to use them.
Ski crampon basics
Like a boot crampon, a ski crampon gives you the extra edge in hard or icy conditions. They’re generally u-shaped metal pieces with teeth that attach to your binding and insert directly under your boot. Dynafit pioneered the slot behind the toe piece of the binding and like many other features of the tech binding, this has become standard as many other companies have followed suit. The binding attachment point is hinged so the crampon teeth can release from the snow when you lift your foot and bite into it when you step down.
Ski crampons are sized in 10 mm increments. So if you have a 95mm waist ski, you’ll want a 100 mm crampon. A crampon that’s too narrow won’t fit over the width of the ski, and one that’s too big will be sloppy and more prone to breaking.
Not every binding is compatible with every crampon, so make sure you have a match before embarking on an early morning tour. A growing list of manufacturers including Plum, B&D, Fritschi, ATK, Salomon, Atomic make ski crampons based on the Dynafit toe piece slot design. However, these slots can have different radius so to remove all doubt match your binding manufacturer with crampon manufacturer whenever possible. I immediately snapped a Dynafit crampon while using it with Salomon MTN binding on my first tour in South America, a place where it’s nearly impossible to find replacements.
There are many varieties of ski crampons. The most important thing is to make sure your chosen crampon is compatible with your binding.
Spark R&D and Karorakoram make splitboard specific crampons that work on the same system, but are even wider to accommodate board width and asymmetry. I often reach for these earlier while split skinning as the asymmetrical and shorter effective edge on a splitboard create extra problems while side-hilling.
22 Designs (telemark) G3 (formally telemark) and B&D offer some universal systems for attaching your ski crampon directly to any ski which avoids many compatibility issues. G3’s design is one of the slickest for easy-on, easy-off. It’s important to note that you should not use the wood screws included in the packaging to mount directly to a ski that already has a G3 alpine touring binding on it. This will interfere with the plastic plate under the toe piece. Just use the included machine screws for this.
Voile makes a crampon that mounts directly to a ski with a pivoting puck to hold it into place. Although this prevents the crampon from sliding up while you move forward, it does offer firmer footing and avoids the riser height issue described below.
Voile’s universal ski crampon alleviates binding compatibility and riser height issues.
The basics on how ski crampons work
It is easiest to take off your ski and slide the crampon vertically into its position until it falls flush with the ski. With some practice, you can put on your ski crampon without taking off your ski. By taking a stride forward and dropping to your opposite knee you can unweight the target ski, lift your heel and slide the crampon into its position. Be sure to practice this on flat, non-consequential terrain before trying it in a more precarious position.
The basic premise: teeth bite into snow when your boot presses down on the crampon…
…and release from the snow when you lift your boot to take a step.
The crampon slot required for this is sometimes an extra piece in the binding box or even an after market upgrade. Last spring I encountered the perfect conditions for ski cramponing up Mount Hood, but instead was left on the boot pack of shame as I neglected to install the piece on my race skis. I particularly enjoyed the irony of my packed skis pressing the sharp points of my useless ski crampons into my back for the next 5000 vertical feet!
Ski crampons that mount to your binding rely on the pressure of your boot to force the teeth into the surface below. You’ll get the most bite when your boot is flat on the ski. The more heel riser you employ, the less traction you’ll get. If you know you will be skinning up steep icy terrain you can ad a block of wood or cork to increase pressure while your heel risers are being employed. We will publish a full DIY riser kit closer to the spring, but feel free to leave a comment on what you find to be the most effective method.
The rarely needed tool you’ll be happy to have
Ski crampons can be likened to putting chains on a truck and settling into four wheel drive low. That said, their application is minimal but crucial. Years ago, I was in the anchor position of a four-man rope team skinning across a glacier in the North Cascades. As we rounded a corner on firm snow, the ground began drastically sloping away towards open crevasses below. The snow was gradually becoming too steep to skin, but could have been easily crossed had we all had ski crampons. Unfortunately we were short on ski crampons by exactly four pairs and opted to side slip down the convexity onto flatter terrain just above the open crevasses. There was nothing like being pulled by the harness — against my will — towards the open abyss to make me a believer that ski crampons should be in every spring mission pack.
The many teeth styles and attachments of ski crampons.
On early starts where there’s been a deep overnight freeze, you’ll want to have them. This is most common on spring tours (especially in volcano country) but can occur any time there have been long lapses in precipitation punctuated by freeze thaw cycles. Most certainly you’ll want them on your tenth spring tour when you didn’t bring them, after nine tours of packing them without ever putting them on.
Sometimes it’s a toss-up whether the ski crampon or the boot crampon is the best. It’s nice to have both along if you know conditions could be firm and your skins will be sliding. Boot crampons offer nimbleness that can be preferred when the terrain gets technical or dicey. If the snowpack did not receive a deep freeze the night before, boot crampons may leave you wallowing in post holes; this is the time when ski crampons really shine!
When to not use ski crampons
Don’t bring ski crampons while early November skinning up the resort; there has to be a better way. They should rarely be an agent for putting a skin track that is straight up. When a well-traveled skin track gets icy from sunny days, cold nights and general overuse, it will usually be more efficient to put in your own, more mellow trail. Your partners will thank you.
Also refrain from walking on rocks with ski crampons on, even if its just a few steps. Like most modern ski touring gear, these things are light and do break or get dull. Lastly, they do not do well in super soft snow and just increase your uphill drag.
It may be months before official spring ski cramponing is here, but it is an essential piece of gear for the aspiring ski mountaineer. Consider picking a pair up at the same time as you upgrade your touring bindings as they tend to be harder to find when you need them most. A little preparation, practice and pitfall avoidance could save the day that one in ten tours when they suddenly become your most useful piece of gear.
55 comments
Say what you will but I wished I had my crampons while skinning up Bridger Bowl on my splitboard last Friday. Icy off-camber skin tracks are no fun on a split, especially when they were set a little too steep.
A steep skin track at Bridger Bowl? No way! I’ve never heard of such a thing! Totally shocked to hear that. Straight up Bronco face, I’m sure. All those hippies get so used to bootpacking all winter they forget how to put in a mellow skinner. It’s definitley the quickest way up the mountain for the first two or three people in the skintrack, after that it’s a slick as snot highway for the rest of Bozeman. It’s not just splitboarders who struggle on those types of skintracks. Ski crampons are a great solution! And they weigh less than that 16oz PBR in your backpack.
great advise , i would add forward thinking is a godsend , with experience if you know your going to need to put on ski crampons on an ascent , putting them on early in a comfortable spot , is so much more preferable than having to perform this task on a exposed position . also for those of us who are not to agile and basically poor a kick turns on icy tracks the extra grip if very welcome
I’ve made myself several different prototype risers for ski crampons but the best ones I’ve come up with are made of PVC pipe.
1. Use 0.5″, 1″, or 1.5″ inch diameter PVC pipe depending on your boot/binding set up cut to the width of the crampon.
2. Drill two small holes in one side of the pipe that line up with the holes in the crampon. Not all crampons have these holes, but most including Dynafit do.
3. Thread p-cord through the crampon into the pipe, through the middle of the pipe to the other hole, and back out through the 2nd hole in the crampon.
4. Tie up the p cord tight with a reef knot.
It can be made in 5 minutes from stuff you probably already have and a leatherman. PVC is light and my original has held up great to over 10,000 feet of climbing. I initially thought I could break the PVC, but have tried to do so with aggressive stomping a lot with no success. I made a bunch for my friends last season, who raised some skeptical eyebrows at first, but all of which are still attached to their ski crampons. While the p-cord looks janky, it won’t scratch your skis like metal hardware will and makes the whole system super field reparable.
PVC ski crampon mod photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/UGvUeLMvzRLUudFJA
Huge fan of ski crampons. I try to always bring them if I’m going above treeline in midwinter as well- they can be nice on steep wind affected snow in places you wouldn’t want to fall! Also, for the heel lifter issue- I think the heel blocks are mandatory as how often do you need ski crampons and not your heel lifters at the same time? B&D crampons come with adjustable heel blocks. And yes, stay off the rocks- I’ve snapped a crampon attachment this way before.
Fritschi crampons come with flip up risers and work well.
I agree with the previous poster who observed that early installation is key. By the time you really need them it’s often too late to install them.
The better your uphill technique gets the less frequently you will need them. I get 100+ touring days per season; I throw them in my pack on maybe 10 of those days and I will actually use them on 5 days. On the other hand I always carry real crampons (mostly steel, occasionally aluminum) and those see nearly every day use. But that’s down to our terrain here -mostly there’s some scrambling involved.
Plus one on putting them on before you need them. The only really serious tumble I ever took announced itself a good five minutes before it happened – as I had ventured out onto refrozen, mirrored snow on a steep slope above a rock band. I couldn’t get enough purchase to lock my heels, and I couldn’t bend down and put my knives on either. I wasn’t able to do a damn thing. Not even step out of the binding. It was almost a relief when I finally did start sliding. Luckily I only broke a wrist and a couple of ribs in the fall. It could have been much worse.
I rarely use them – but I always have them come March – and I ask myself the question whenever I approach a new slope today.
Ski crampons are bulky things to carry, but just a little thought from the manufacturers would allow these generally corrugated pressings to nest one inside the other. Two crampons would then take up the space of one crampon. It so obvious but no-one has done it yet. Perhaps I should register a patent in quickly!!!
Its definatley wasted space in between the Crampons SO what I did is find a plastic box to fit perfectly in the middle of the nested crampons, I put my repair kit in the box and I strap them together with a Voile ski strap
My B&D crampons have always nested ok … not perfect, but ok. Just push-em together, the wings expand slightly.
@ Lee Sharp. Spark R&D’s splitboard bindings nest like you describe. It’s just too bad they debuted the season after I got my non-nesting versions!
I have to admit that I’ve only brought my crampons on a couple tours mostly because of the space they take up. I haven’t decided what to pack in the void between the crampons to reclaim that volume inside my pack.
B&D offers the lock down option and slightly offset sizing for better packing. Be sure to ask. They turn a sketchy day into an easy walk.
What about the Skeats??
leave ’em to the meatheads who judge their manhood by how steep they can skin
I keep skeats in my pack for winter but they don’t work so well for side-hilling, just straight up skinning
I drank the Skeat Coolaid and bought a pair this winter. Lousy for side hilling, yet not enough contact area for steep skiing on hard snow. Really draggy too, not efficient at all (mine are the post style, not the glide-fin kind). Not really sure what they are good for. Oh well, I guess I have a $40 pair of Voile straps.
I agree with everyone about mounting cramps before need in a convenient place. My main annoyance is that I can’t rip skins, skis on, with crampons. Skis must come off; remove cramps; then rip skins. However, they are worth it when you need ’em. Traversing up a steep frozen slope is safe and easy with ski crampons.
Good piece, Doug. If there’s one question I get before trips, it’s “do we really need ski crampons?”, so now I just write pre-emptively, “Yes, bring your ski crampons!” I used them for about six minutes last year and in the end, wished I’d just booted anyway. Damn! My fault for not recognizing the terrain better.
One subtle point: often we skin for a while, then go steeper to get the full skin flat on the snow … then when we mount ski crampons, we reduce the angle of the skintrack again … as ski crampons do nothing if they’re more oriented uphill/downhill, rather than across the slope. Mentor of mine pointed this out after I’d slid backwards with ski crampons on and (yet again) flailed publicly.
You guys getting the goods, eh?! Nice! Italy full of snow, decent here, so have a bake sale and come ride the Dolomites with us, brudda! Mid-April?! Oh yeah! RC
Agree re: technique once on. I find myself thinking more in boot crampon french flat foot mindset vs. skinning mindset when making foot/ski placements. I have also learnt the hard-way to be very careful in any short downhill schussing….shallow rocks and crampons bring you to an abrupt stop!
Ski crampons are almost mandatory here in Spain. We use them almost every journey here on the Pyrenees range.
2 advices:
– Plum Crampons work actually nice on Salomon MTN bingings as you don’t need to slide them in the toe piece slot. Instead, you can just put them verticaly over the slot and left them fall in place. Far better than Dynafit style ski crampons.
If you have some Salomon’s MTN or Atomic’s Backland bindings, don’t hesitate, Plum ski crampons are the best for them.
– Here, as we use them so much, we prefer to have them very handly. So, we usually carry them on a climbing chalk bag that is attached to the down part of the backpack straps. This way you can take them off quickly whitout taking off your backpack. Even we sometimes put a little water bottle in the gap between ski crampons.
apologies for my bad english written
Im in the Pyrenees too, hence my request to get them packing smaller.
Curious about your use of the plum crampons with the mtn binding. My experience so far is with this binding and the dynafit crampon, but I need to use the little plastic stopper to keep the crampons in place. Have you had and side to side action of the plum crampon? I was told the MTN binding was designed to accept the dynafit crampon with use of the plastic stopper.
You want the Plum crampons. They work perfectly with the Salomon MTN / Atomic Backland. No need for the plastic thingy which are only for the Dynafit style crampons.
And no, there’s no side-to-side movement with the Plum crampons. That’s actually impossible with the Plum crampons. Very well designed. Note: They fit ONLY in Plum bindings, the Salomon MTN / Atomic Backland bindings.
(They can also be used in the Plum Universal Crampon Adapter, if you want to use Plum crampons on skis with another type of binding.)
@Jim Milstein
If you have Dynafits, you don’t have to take the skis off to install/uninstall the crampons. Just kneel down with skis on, so that the ski where you want to put the crampon on is in the rear. Your boot is now automatically flipped forward, exposing the crampon notch. Install crampon and repeat for the other ski. Same procedure for uninstalling.
And yes, don’t try this on a 35-degree slope! 🙂 In fact, if you get used to putting the crampons on without taking your skis off, you’ll automatically install the crampons before really needing them, as was already suggested above.
Thanks, Lenka. I will try it. Sounds like you have to work by feel. That is why my previous experiments in installation with skis on failed. I wanted to see what I was doing.
Hey Jim, yes you’re right: you wont be seeing what you’re doing when leaving the skis on. When sliding the crampon in the base of it has to be oriented vertically. Then give it a slight tug – and voila! As those things will slow you down quite a bit I usually hang them from my harness and only install them when it’s absolutely necessary. Before installation I will make sure to have something solid to hold onto on the uphill side – if I am touring with my Whippet pole the pick of it works great for that purpose otherwise I will ram an inverted ski pole into the snow. I will then start with the lower ski as the other one tends to be a little more awkward in my opinion. With a little bit of practice you will soon feel comfortable with putting on the ski crampons even in a little steeper terrain.
I’d have to beg to differ about the “rarely needed” comment on ski crampons. Maybe I’m lazy but I use them all winter on the Anchorage windboard and powder covered crust as soon as the washing out commences. I’ve grown completely intolerant of arm waxing on skin tracks so I pull the trigger pretty early these day on putting them on. I simply don’t leave home without them. Why struggle?
Also, an article on these great tools would be remiss without mentioning B&D Ski Gear crampons. It’s the only brand I’ve used that has ample metal to avoid breaking around the pivot bar, the common weak point of most brands. Maybe not as sexy as some models but they’re likely the last pair you’ll buy. Bomb proof.
Ski crampons nest perfectly over climbing skins.
Ski crampons are great for bottomless powder.
Ski crampons are a great quick alternative to climbing skins for short uphills.
Ski crampons are a lightweight hassle free alternative to climbing skins for mega sized powder skis.
Reading these comments I can’t help to notice that it seems like a lot of people are using ski crampons incorrectly and this article is a bit misleading. You can do with them what you please – use them as a frying pan for all that matters. What was not mentioned in this article that seems to be lacking, is that ski crampons are NOT intended to be used to skin steeper or increase skin traction. They are intended to increase edge purchase while side hilling. They add very little surface area parallel to your ski and thus don’t add much “grip” in the direction of your ski. I have seen people slide down large icy slopes using ski crampons incorrectly.
I also don’t understand why you would never want to bring them to the ski resort to skin up? I usually do my resort skinning early in the morning when the runs are hard, refrozen, icy, luckily my preferred route is not steep enough to need them, but a couple degrees more and I could definitely see needing them.
Here in the Sierra’s I almost always bring ski crampons with me starting in February, but is always conditions dependent. They live in my ski bag as soon as spring conditions arrive, and can make what should have been an easy slope to get up almost impossible without boot packing.
Can you tell us about Klister use also? Particularly Silver?
Actually, Sean, crampons do permit a steeper track. I’ve used them in soft, wet snow in the spring when traction fails without them as a slope steepens. How they are “intended” to be used does not cover how they can be used productively. Mid-winter, crampons have kept my skis on to the summit when companions had to boot.
A trick I’ve found useful when skinning with crampons, particularly when it’s getting unpleasantly steep and when negotiating slope irregularities (little lumps and bumps), is to “forget” I’m wearing skis, and just to think of how I should place my feet as though I’m just wearing (ski) crampons. So as it gets steeper, more emphasis on the side of the foot, with careful, secure placement focused on the crampon itself. Works for me!
I see only one comment on where to carry them handily. My solution is to nest my foldable CAMP 290 aluminum pons inside my ski crampons, then both go into the crampon bag that is right inside the bottom pocket of my backpack. This works with >90mm crampons. But if I know I will be taking the ski crampons on and off soon, they clip through my waist belt.
who has tried bending their crampons to fit wider boards ?
How did that work out ?
did you break them ?
X – I have tried bending them to no avail. I had a pair of Dyanfit Manaslu skis there were just slightly to wide for the 90 crampons. Tried table mounted vices and couldn’t get it to go.
Some first aid packs fit nicely into the empty space of the crampons.
Funny how some people strive against carrying crampons. I keep them in my pack all winter, period. Use them about 10% of days. But maybe the alps differ from US mountains.
[side note: The need to carry an avy beacon bothers me much more than those ski crampons. I would happily ditch the beacon, if only there was an adequate substitute.]
Amazing how everyone in this sport is smarter then everyone else in this sport. Classic. If someone is even on this board after looking for “ski crampons” from the interwebs or a fan of this site in general then you are like 3% of the 3% of the north american population that skis (no offense to our global commenters- it must be radically less world wide) and have thousands and thousands and thousands of hours on skis, boards, tele, skate/classic nordic, alpine, racing, sleds (motor and non-motor), mx, mtb, road biking, running, racing, kayaking, touring, yurting, climbing all sorts, drinking, extreme whatever whatever etc. It is extremely likely everyone here is white and 100% that all live in, have at some point had access to or come from a household with a radical amount of disposable income compared to 99% of the world population. We all know what an english muffin is. We all can bend a ski. What a gift!!!! Enjoy the track, and enjoy the heck out of your ski crampons whenever and wherever it makes sense for you to use them. Best- Bob
What is your point, Bob Edwards? It seems you don’t like this site and its users. Fine, but why bother commenting?
I understand his point perfectly. Try harder, Jim!
I need help, Michael. After more than a year studying Bob’s complaint, I don’t get anything more than that Bob thinks we skiers (and lots of others) are a bunch of spoiled brats. But wait, it reminds me of Lucky’s speech from Godot! Previously unimagined depths reveal themselves to me. Maybe they will to you as well. Fail better, as they say now in the Valley.
Your anecdote about North Cascades roped glacier travel reminds me of a saying we used about unbelayed roped travel “double or nothing”. I’m skeptical of the ability of any given climber to arrest a team of sliding teammates- especially on skis.
Pitch it out, simul with some gear in between or solo. IMHO 🙂
This is mostly directed at doug, but open to others if they have suggestions. I have the MTN binding and told to use the Dynafit crampon in conjunction with the plastic stopper provided by Salomon (As noted above). Have you found other crampon manufactures make better fitting crampons for this binding? Also has anyone found a way to get additional plastic stoppers from Salomon or their local shop?
BLACK DIAMOND RECALLS PIEPS DSP AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVERS DUE TO RISK OF LOSS OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/content/dsp-recall/
Thanks for that announcement Karl. We’re working on a longer piece about this recall, as the wording in it is a bit misleading.
The folks at Skimo.co have created a great resource for crampon/binding compatibility:
https://skimo.co/ski-crampon-compatibility
Here in west Norway I bring ski crampons when there is a chance of frozen snow. Mainly spring and early season.
What is important to me is to have them quickly available without removing my backpack. So I sew myself a litte pouch that is attached to the hipbelt on my backpack, wich I store my crampons in.
Quickly on, quickly off! 🙂
Harscheisen. Got them, use them, love them and hate them.
It’s kinda funny we’re all traipsing around on vibram-soled plastic mountaineering boots and go out of our way not to use them as such.
Sometimes it’s better to put the skis on your back and walk.
Down here in NZ you need them most of the time. One of the things I have noticed is that experienced people (or those with elastic joints) can often get away with pronating their knees/ankles outwards to angle skin into snow surface rather than skinning ‘on edge’ – and thus getting away without crampons – but for others this doesn’t work and can feel pretty uncomfortable and/or scary. If you watch someone trying to skin on icy crap without crampons they are often really tense, and are overworking all the support muscles they are using, which I think can use more energy than the energy required to offset the increased drag of a crampon – the point being that being comfortable and relaxed can be more energy efficient than the alternative.
for splitboarding, they are essential IMO. And they DO allow you to skin straight up lines far steeper that you otherwise would. They also allow you to traverse on steeper side hills. They nest well with folding climbing skins secured with a Voile strap.
Is there actually a follow-up article on a “full DIY riser kit” that was mentioned in the article? I can’t seem to find it. I’m in desperate need of a good hack for my Dynafits. The Dynafit crampon doesn’t depress all the way underfoot w/ the Dynafit ST Rotation 10 due to the break plate (that depresses). There ends up being a gap between the boot and the crampon that’s unavoidable w/o a hack (also w/ a Dynafit boot)… Why the hell is it designed this way? It kind of makes the crampon almost useless… I’ve come across a few hacks but would love WIldsnow’s take on the topic!
Leigh Ann, I don’t recall any specific crampon riser how-to posts. They’re easy to make from plastic cutting board, or order from B&D and drill holes to fit.
http://www.bndskigear.com/
https://www.wildsnow.com/?s=ski+crampons
Thanks! I came across the post below on TAY. Looks like there’s plenty of other folks looking for a solution 🙂
https://turns-all-year.com/forum/index/random-tracks/50271-blue-foam-spacers-for-dynafit-ski-crampons
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