Front pointing is a technique used to ascend moderate to steep ice slopes in

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

and ice climbing. Also referred to as the German technique, it relies on kicking the "front-points" of specialized ice climbing

crampons A crampon is a traction device that is attached to footwear to improve mobility on snow and ice during ice climbing. Besides ice climbing, crampons are also used for secure travel on snow and ice, such as crossing glaciers, snowfields and ice ...

to embed them in the ice and allow vertical ascent. While extremely secure in sound ice on steep grades, it is not appropriate on moderate grades, where the traditional technique of "flat-footing" (French technique) is used. A typical technical ice-climbing crampon has 14 points. Single-pointed "monospikes" are also made for front-pointing vertical ice. All "front-point" crampons are rigid "step-in" style, with a locking cam-action lever on their heel to securely attach them to a technical

mountaineering boot Mountaineering, expedition or high altitude boots are a type of footwear used in mountain climbing. They are designed specifically for moving over harsh terrain. Design Not to be confused with hiking boots, mountaineering boots are usually taller ...

's lug. In addition to being more secure, a rigid crampon is also easier on the calf muscles climbing steep ice.

References

Climbing techniques Ice climbing {{climbing-stub