Dealing with Ice

The warming trend during this past week was most welcome. But it also brought that inevitable winter weather pattern: sufficient sunshine and warming during the day to melt some snow, but cold enough temperatures at night to re-freeze all of that melted snow. Thus arises the surface that walkers, hikers and runners dread most – ice. Being a woman of a certain age I, like many others, have learned to fear falling. It seems that the older I get, the longer it takes to recover. Although an important goal of maintaining one’s fitness level is to promote balance and flexibility and to enhance recovery ability when necessary, it still helps to take whatever steps are possible to avoid or at least lessen the chance of falling.


When the ice is as widespread and ubiquitous as it was this past week, I break out my trusty ice-walkers. These come in several different varieties. The ones I use are from the Due North Get-a-Grip line of products and are called “All Purpose Traction Aids”. These are stretchy rubber outsoles that fit over the bottom of your shoes or boots. They have little spikes in the bottom that are small enough to be unobtrusive, but stiff enough to grip the ice. I like this particular type for a couple of reasons. First, they are light-weight and foldable. This is good for me because sometimes there is lots of ice when I first leave my house, but if the sun comes up and the ice melts I can remove the ice-walkers and put them in my pocket. Second, the spikes can be replaced so if they break or fall out (which they do) you don’t have to throw out the whole unit. They fit over any type of shoes or boots. I have a medium size that fits over my running shoes and a larger size for snow or hiking boots. They make a huge difference in my confidence level.

The only drawback I have found is that when you are not on ice, they can be annoying. This is not a huge problem if you are on the Mickelson Trail or any non-paved surface, but is noticeable on a sidewalk or paved street. So I try to only use them when I know that most of my route will be ice-covered. Also, it can be difficult to get them on and off “on the fly”. I try to get a snug fit so that they won’t shift when I am running. That means that it is easiest to get them on the shoes when they are not on my feet. So if I take them off while I am out, I have to be sure that I won’t need to put them back on. It is not impossible to do, but it can be a bit cumbersome. These are really meant for packed down, shear, icy surfaces. They won’t help you much in deep snow. Also these are for walking on ice, not for technical climbing. You need actual cramp-ons for that.

The ice-walkers just described are available from www.campmor.com. A similar item featured on this web site is Yaktrax. These also fit over the bottom of your shoes, but they do not have spikes. Instead they provide a gripping surface with non-rusting steel spirals that span the bottom of your shoes. I have used these also. They are generally much easier to get on and off, but they are not as portable. The metal construction makes pocketing them problematic. Also, I have found that they are not sufficiently durable for me. Even the so-called “Pro” version broke the first time I used them. This probably has a lot to do with my gait. So don’t judge the product from my experience only. As with all products, the reason there is more than one type is usually because everyone’s experience is different. So you will need to determine what works best for you. Cabelas also carries all of these items so you can check them out before you decide what to buy.

There is another product now available from the Campmor web site (also at Cabelas) called STABILicers. I have not yet tried these. They appear to be similar to the Due North models but they attach with Velcro which might solve the easy-on/easy-off problem. If anyone out there has tried these, please post a comment and let us all know if you like them. Also, we would welcome any ideas and solutions that any of you have found. Comments posted can be viewed by all, so that is the best way to share your experiences. You can also send an e-mail to peg@custersoapcompany.com.

We have reached the end of January and the light is beginning to change. It is still light out at 5:00 PM and is now getting lighter by 6:30 AM. Spring is still a ways off, though, so don’t let winter get you down. Enjoy the crisp air and reduced traffic while they last!