Chamois, Ibex and Mountain Goat's footwear

Climbing shoes are the result of clever R&D and modern materials, but long before La Scarpa and La Sportiva’s had developed their best and latest products, Mother Nature already endowed some mountain creatures like the Alpine Chamois, the Ibex or the American Mountain Goat, with the most advanced climbing footwear money can buy.

The sides of their toes is the same hard keratin found in the hoof of a horse. Each of the two toes wrap around toenails can grip and hold into cracks (A) or rock irregularities and is also helped by a traction pad that sticks out slightly from under the nails.

This pad is rough and malleable enough to provide all the friction needed when stepping on smooth rock and ice. In addition the two toes act like an independent suspension (B) by spreading themselves on uneven surfaces to maximize the contact area.

When descending steep slopes, the animal gets some extra contact points with its protruding dewclaw (C)that minimize the risk of slippage when the forces of gravity add up.

Now that you know why these experts climbers are so surefooted, we’ll try to determine which of the three is the best overall mountain ruminant.

Just be aware that, among the trio, the ibex stands out by climbing trees, but only the lower limbs so it can nibble some of its foliage!