63 
February, 1922 
should grip the ice firmly and allow you 
to walk up, down, or across a steep icy 
' slope with fair amount of ease. 
This security is possible only with 
spikes or caulks and these having from 
three quarters of an inch to an inch of 
projection. There must not be too many 
of these or the snow will gather in be- 
tween and they will refuse to bite the 
ice. With too few, however, the foot is 
likely to rotate upon the ice. The spikes 
should preferably be riveted or forged 
to a metal foundation. Caulks which are 
simply screwed into leather have a way 
of working loose. 
Y our ice-creeping outfit should be 
inclusive enough to fit various kinds 
of winter boots. This may mean on one 
day a ski boot and on the next a snow- 
shoe moccasin. It must be remembered, 
however, that the sole of the pliable moc- 
casin is a pretty greasy, slippery propo- 
sition. Almost any ice-creeper binding 
attached to this footgear has a tendency 
to slip and in cases where this fault is 
serious, you presently find the creepers 
on the side of your foot, instead of flat 
on the bottom where they belong. You 
must wear a binding in which this ten- 
dency is reduced to a minimum. 
There are two general types of secure, 
hard service ice-creepers which I know 
about and curiously enough each of 
these is quite opposite in principle from 
that of the other. In one case, the prin- 
ciple is that of a man walking on stilts. 
All the spikes are directly under the in- 
step. There is none at all under the heel 
and forward part of the foot. In the 
other type of creepers, exactly the re- 
verse is true. The spikes are under both 
the heel and ball of the foot and there is 
none under the instep. 
William J. Whiting, an outdoorsman 
of wide experience who is especially 
partial to winter mountain climbing 
seems to have been the first person to 
figure the stilt idea out upon a practical 
basis. He had his local blacksmith make 
for him a pair of creepers which have 
carried him safely through many hard 
trips. 
These creepers are extremely simple 
in construction. The foundation of each 
is a small steel plate about three by four 
inches in size with a round open space 
in the center. Forged to the bottom of 
the plate near each respective corner 
is an inch long spike. Each spike is set 
in a little from the edge so that it has a 
strong base. During the forging proc- 
ess, the blacksmith must be careful not 
to burn the spikes or else they will be- 
come brittle. 
The steel plate fits under the instep of 
the foot. At either side of the plate are 
two tabs, much like the heel and toe 
grips of a clamp skate. These are about 
three quarters of an inch high and there 
is a slot in each for accommodating the 
binding. The binding consists of a single 
long strap which is looped across the 
upper part of the foot, connecting the 
tabs, criss-crossing, and then wound 
around the ankle. 
The simplicity, lightness, and ease of 
attachment with this outfit greatly com- 
mends it. If you like the idea you can 
probnhly have a blacksmith make a pair 
FOREST AND STREAM 
for you without any trouble. But my 
own personal liking has always been for 
the other general type of creepers — those 
which have spikes under the heel and 
ball of the foot. The work of making a 
pair of these is a trifle more complicated 
than with creepers of the stilt principle 
but the dual efforts of a blacksmith and 
shoemaker will give you what you want. 
It was while taking a winter trip with 
a member of the Appalachian Mountain 
Club that I was initiated into the use of 
this general type of creeper. The Ap- 
palachian Mountain Club for many years 
has been going in for difficult winter 
climbing and in the course of time 
a considerable amount of experimenting 
has been done by its members with ice- 
creepers. After a weeding out process 
there are only two or three varieties 
which the club now finds wholly prac- 
ticable. For the accompanying drawings 
and details concerning construction of 
these varieties I am indebted to Howard 
Jackson and Frank Mason of the Ap- 
palachian Club. 
"^HE three kinds of ice-creepers used 
* by the Appalachian Club are all of 
the same general type although, of 
course, there are differences in detail. 
These three varieties are known respec- 
tively as types H, S, and B. The super- 
structure in each instance is a sole of 
heavy belt leather surmounted by a heel 
brace and cross-straps of welt leather. 
This leather superstructure looks some- 
thing like the upper part of a girl’s old- 
fashioned skate, but perhaps more like a 
sandal. Your moccasin or shoe fits into 
this harness and then the various straps 
are drawn up firmly. Ice - gripping 
caulks are attached to the bottoms of the 
soles. In each variety of creeper there 
are caulks under both the heel and front 
part of the foot. 
Each of these three varieties has cer- 
tain individual points in its favor which 
to some extent is lacking in the others. 
By referring to type B, for example, 
you will note that the leather work is 
especially well designed in that the toe 
and ankle-straps are attached. This 
makes it possible to ease up on the 
tightness of the cross-toe straps while 
going up or down hill. 
The caulks of type B, you will notice, 
are riveted through the sole. Under 
average conditions this arrangement may 
prove firm enough, but with special 
strain it is not always to be depended 
upon. The caulks may work loose and 
come out. 
Better sole arrangements are those of 
types H and S. In H there are two plates 
of cold rolled steel about one-sixteenth 
of an inch thick, which are attached re- 
spectively to the heel and forward part 
of the sole with copper rivets. There is 
a hole in the forward plate to lighten 
it as much as possible. The caulks, five 
of these forward and four under the 
heel, are firmly riveted to the plates. 
The caulks may be either of iron or 
Bessemer steel. The points are case 
hardened and these project three quarters 
of an inch below the plate. If the rivet- 
ing shank of the caulk is squared to fit 
a square hole punched in the plate, so 
much the better, for this arrangement 
gives an especially firm purchase. 
The specifications of type S are similar 
to those of H, except that there are only 
four caulks forward instead of five and 
there are two forward smaller plates in- 
stead of one large plate. This division 
of the plate into two parts sometimes has 
distinct advantages. It gives more play 
to the foot and the creepers are not so 
susceptible to balls of hard snow which 
have a way of gathering between the 
caulks. 
This “balling” of snow is a thing 
which must be watched while ice creep- 
ing. When the caulks refuse to bite 
the ice, you are treading on dangerous 
ground. Keep them clear of caked snow. 
There should not be more than eight or 
nine caulks under each foot or else an 
uncomfortable amount of snow will cake 
underfoot. 
^ O to your local shoemaker, then 
blacksmith, explain to these worthies 
what you wish and they can give it to 
you. You may decide upon one particu- 
lar variety of the three which I have 
named, or perhaps one which may be a 
wise combination having the best points 
of all three. Remember that the leather 
superstructure as well as the caulks must 
be trustworthy. Whenever possible, it is 
wise to have the leather parts riveted to- 
gether in addition to being sewed. The 
leather should be kept carefully oiled 
and always tested before the creepers are 
attached to your feet. 
Before venturing across mile-high 
mountain top slopes in the face of a riot- 
ing blizzard, try your ice-creepers out at 
home under more polite conditions. 
