Bobby what do you now use ?
I now have spikes fitted to my ladders. these i trust ,in fact i trusted them on ice during last winter- as long as there was a rough surface beneath the ice (concrete ) they dig in well . i keep the tips filed sharp
i read on these forums about spikes being the very best (posts by long time server windies) and whats good enough for them,good enough for me
having said all that,i never will put a ladder on a quarry tile path EVER again,even with spikes fitted ,i use a pole in such cases instead.
[ after my fall ,i got in touch with the inventor of the laddermat,but he wasnt concerned about my welfare ,tried to fob me off with all manner of guff about various tests he had paid to have done (non on smooth surfaces though) on his invention.
how he can still praise its great grip after what i and others have told him shows him to be a true rogue / Even now both my shins still have nobbly bits on them from where they almost broke but then healed in the weeks after my accident ]