"Nepal - Island Peak - 009 - Climbing the sumnmit headwall" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: mckaysavage (McKay Savage) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Roman Crampons
As seen in the Arch of Constantine (built in 315 A.D.), early Romans used crampon-like devices to improve traction.
16th Century
During the 16th century, European hunters used "four-point forefoot grappettes" or claw-like attachments on their boots to aid with traversing difficult terrain.
12-Point Crampon
In the 1920's, the 12-point crampon was designed. The crucial addition of the two front points allowed mountaineers to develop the "front point" technique, which made previously inaccessible steep ice and terrain accessible.
Monopoint Crampon
In the 1980's, the monopoint was invented as an alternative to the two front points in previous crampons to provide better precision.
Modern Variations
Lighter variations of crampons are also available for a variety of different uses, causal walking, winter trail running and mixed climbing.
