Even before the turn of the century, when the opening up of the Eastern Alps to tourists was completed and the number of mountaineers increased by leaps and bounds, a start was made on reducing the difficulty of specific hard sections of popular climbs by means of wire ropes and iron rungs. The climbing aids which have been fixed with great effort and skill on difficult, sometimes vertical, and even overhanging rock, enable even non-climbers to do routes which formerly were Grades III, IV and V. However two conditions must be fulfilled without qualification: absolute freedom from dizziness, and a certain degree of mountain experience, including not only sure-footedness but also an awareness of alpine dangers.
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