Petzl Ergo Ice Tool Review
OK, first of all, I want to address the fact that is doesn’t have anything to do with web development. I hope that’s OK for some of you. We over here at Visual Adventures are not one trick ponies. We choose to excel at more than one thing. As mentioned in other blog posts, web designers like us are busy trying to save the world, and thus special skills are required.
On Christmas eve the Ergo’s arrived at my doorstep in the snowy hamlet of Ouray, Colorado. It was like a gift from Santa Claus. The Petzl Ergo has three grip positions where other ice tools have only two. I was a little skeptical of the third position as it certainly changes the angle of pull when you get up on it. Since my hands are quite big, the adjustable third pinky rest sits high. As a result, there is not a lot of room for a gloved finger to not get squished.
I was instantly impressed by their aggressiveness on the rock. I felt like they’ll stick to almost any nubbin of rock. A couple days later found me near the top of my M12 project. My hands where a bit crossed up and I found myself on the third grip of the tool. The rock sailed through my vision and I came to rest on the rope. Dang! Redpoint averted! As suspected, you have to be careful when using the third grip. The next attempt I avoided using the third grip except in an inverted stein pull, and found myself clipping the chains on my new route.
A few days later, I found myself on Goldline, a well know M10 in Ouray. I breezed through the big rock roof and gained the hanging icicle at the top. It hadn’t been climbed yet this year so I was forced to swing my tools delicately into the thin pillar. It was quite awkward and I felt I had to work hard to get purchase. This was of course the first time using the Ergo’s on ice, so it was a bit rough of a first date.
The next date with the Ergo’s was in the Ouray Ice Park on opening day. I scooted over to a WI5 pillar named Popsicle in the lower bridge area. It had not been climbed yet and was in typical ice park shape, chandaliered. I found the
