When I think of hiking or climbing, the thought of going up instinctively sounds harder than going down. And I would think I’d be much more likely to slip and fall walking on ice as opposed to walking on rock. Not true. Glaciers are ice, which of course is slippery. But then there are the moraines which may be on the edges of the glacier, or on the glacier surface itself. Moraines are accumulations of rock and soil that have been formed into mounds by the movement or melting of a glacier. Now think about a steep mound of ice, covered in a layer of loose rocks and gravel. Trying to get down the slope without injury may involve any manner of trying to “surf” down the gravel, or taking baby steps as quickly as possible, to keep your feet moving faster than the gravel can slide. Even if you’re successful, once you’re down, there is the small matter of getting back up a steep slope of slippery rocks, now with gravity working against you. (Yes, I may have slipped and fell once or twice…)
All of that made me appreciate even more the “tool” that help glaciologists move more safely as they conduct their research on the ice. Crampons kind of look like a weapon, but these spikes can be lifesavers, literally and figuratively, as they dig into the ice, making each step more stable. A few suggestions for wearing crampons: walk like an old movie cowboy, bowlegged and lifting your knee as you take each step. Because nicking your pants or boot on the spikes, or catching the toe spike in the ice as you step, can take you down. (Yes, my nice ski pants may have a tear in the ankle…) It’s just too bad that crampons and rocks don’t mix.
