Breaking this out to a second thread.
"Yes, and the first thing you will learn when testing yourself on an icy surface is that your chance of getting a solid plant before you reach a speed that will make self arrest a non starter is damn near nil; so you had best train even harder on not falling in the first place. " -tom kirchner
FOTH talks a fair amount about optimal foot placement with crampons in order to maximize traction and minimize fatigue. They discuss French vs German styled placement for different grades. My question is how often do beginner mountaineering courses teach this? Once you learn initially how much attention do seasoned climbers delegate in the real world to making sure you use French styled ascending foot placement to conserve energy?
