[pct-l] Ice Traction on the cheap

Thomas Jamrog balrog at midcoast.com
Sun Feb 7 11:17:50 CST 2010


No reason why they wouldn't work well as long as the points don't hit the bottom of your feet.  He essentially made a pair of Stabilicers, which are a set of Vibram soles annointed the exact same way with sheet metal screws along with two sets of velcro straps.  I use them all the time hiking here on the ice.  
Uncle Tom 

"Midlife is when you get to the top of the ladder and find out it is leaning against the wrong wall." Joseph Campbell

On Feb 7, 2010, at 12:07 PM, Matthew Edwards 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
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