X MONSTER
Published on 12/05/2020
THOMAS BUBENDORFER (Austria)
I use it a lot for ice climbing! It was my favourite axe before I got the Dark Machine prototype.
I liked the rather heavy weight and the balance. It lay very well in my hand and allowed for a perfect trust!
I used it for the first ascent of route “X-Monster”, Wi 7, the hardest ice pitch in Austria’s Salzburg province. I think in 2010. The approach is some 1.100 vertical meters. There is no repetition known as of today.
RICCARDO OLLIVERI (Italy)
With the X Monster, Grivel wrote a further piece of history of equipment used for ice climbing. The idea dates back to a few years ago but the fact that it is still on the market shows the appreciation of the public for this low-cost and high-performance tool. Personally, I have used the X Monster a lot in past years, even in its Carbon version, both on ice falls and in goulotte.
Today some new Grivel products certainly have more performing features but the X Monster with its forged blade has a quality / price ratio that no other ice axe can reach. Its blade-style shaft gives it a flex that significantly absorbs twists on the blade, great feature when it is in cracks.
With the X Monster I climbed the legendary Bovin-Vallencant route to the Pilier d’Angle together with my friend and colleague Matteo G.
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