Poll: Crampons and Ice Axe

The question in the previous poll was: Do you use crampons and an ice axe for crossing snowfields in the high mountains in early summer?

The transition from spring to summer in the mountains is wonderful, but at the same time extremely dangerous. When temperatures in the valley keep rising, many hikers forget that partially winter conditions still prevail in the high mountains. Old snowfields that remain in gullies and on the northern sides of mountains are hard and compacted in the morning and forenoon. Without an ice axe and proper mountaineering crampons (at least semi-automatic or classic strap-on ones), safe crossing of such places is practically impossible, as small "mini" or chain crampons do not provide sufficient grip on compacted snowfields.
Since awareness comes first, in the previous poll we checked how often in this transitional period you preventively pack winter equipment in your backpack.

Poll results:
33 % - Depending on conditions and route
33 % - No, I prefer to choose snow-free paths
20 % - I do not go to the high mountains before summer
14 % - Yes, they are always in the backpack

The poll ran from 23 to 29 May 2026, with 438 respondents participating.