[pct-l] Self Arrest - Instep Crampons

[Scott Williams]

The KTS cramps that I used were the light aluminum ones and that was partly
a weight issue and partly because I went over the Sierra in light trrail
runners, and the aluminum ones are built for light shoes.  The aluminum ones
have a lighter spring steel strap across the bottom than the steal cramps
I've used in the past, and this makes them a bit more flexible and able to
work well with trail runners which don't have the stiff sole of boots.  I
think the flexible aluminum ones would work well with boots, but I don't
think steel cramps would work well with trail runners because of the
stiffness of the support mechanism under the shoe.

We had a very cold spring, and they worked well.  They don't hold up for
long on rock or trail as the spikes are aluminum and they dull easily, so
take them off when you have any distance not over snow or ice.  Real steel
cramps have two points that stick out in front and would have been great for
climbing over the cornice on Mather.  The aluminum ones have the two points,
but they point down and were not as good in that one instance.

Shroomer