Bring Out Your Dead Screws...

There's nowt worse than a blunt ice screw. Up till now it's been a question of careful resharpening with a small file or retirement to pineapple-coring duties - yes, really, we do that here... Now though, pineapples can rest easy in their beds.

The Mountain Boot Company, UK importer of Grivel snow and ice gear, is offering a handy ice screw-sharpening service courtesty of what's claimed to be the world's first dedicated ice screw-sharpening machine made by Grivel.

The service is only available for Grivel screws at the moment and costs £4.00 per screw plus a postage charge. The deal is that you send the screws off to the Mountain Boot Company along with a note of when you need them returned and they hone them back into razor-sharp ice perforators and return them by recorded post.

'The machine,' says Grivel, 'restores the tips of the screw to their original state, so that our customers can enjoy the continued performance and safety of the product.'

Steve Roberts of The Mountain Boot Company adds: 'Given the rise in UK climbers practising their sport in Europe and Canada spurred on by great conditions and economical holidays, we have seen a huge upsurge in sales of ice screws like the market leading Grivel 360 screw. Given the number of screws in the UK, we feel its appropriate to offer the service to ensure that the highest standards of performance are maintained.'

For full details of the service, either e-mail the Mountain Boot Company, or phone them on 0191 296 0212.