[pct-l] Ice Traction on the cheap

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Iceaxe,

I’ve been using shoe-screws for years for winter running and hiking.  My
description is at:  http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=264768

The runner’s description is at:  http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm

My photos are at:

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=429216

http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=429217

Enjoy your planning,

 Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Sun, Feb 7, 2010 at 9:07 AM, Matthew Edwards <hetchhetchyman at aol.com>wrote:

> Last Year a fellow hiker "Double Barrel" took 1/4 inch long sheet Metal
> screws and threaded them into his trail runners so that the hex heads
> provided a "bite". He used them on the iced over remains of snow found on
> Fuller Ridge and swore they worked great. Has anyone else tried this? I know
> there were times in the Sierra (Purple Lake area) where early morning travel
> was pretty slick and I could have used extra traction but Crampons would
> have been ridiculous overkill.
> I know about Micro Spikes and all that. I guess you would not want to
> thread screws into a Gel soled shoes either!
> I know he carried a small nut driver used to screw and unscrew them as
> needed so I am not sure just how convienient or much lighter this would be
> compared to a set of Kahtoolas.
> I am not recommending this to cross dangerous icy slopes, indeed I have
> never even tried it myself.
> Just wondering if this is common or if anyone has had experiences good or
> bad with this trick.
> I would try this myself but I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains.. We get
> like 1 millionth of an inch of snow a year and perhaps a bit of ice on trail
> once a century.  :)
> -Iceaxe
> Sent from my Training Hike with my Peek
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-l mailing list
> Pct-l at backcountry.net
> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
>