[pct-l] Ice Axe advice

Thu Dec 9 15:08:16 CST 2010

Ah, Scott, you make me laugh! You knew that this thread would catch my eye! 
Sure did...

After looking over generic reviews, researching how ice axes are certified 
and why, and our own 29 years of backcountry teaching of ice axe use for 
snow tourists, then applying all that to the needs of the thru hiker on the 
Crest or Divide, yeah, I've got some thoughts to share...

- It's not the gear you carry, but the skills you have with it that will 
help assure your safety.

- If you don't know when you'll need the axe for what's ahead, it will 
surely stay on your pack and you may regret it, so what good was having it 
anyway? Therefore the need to learn "STOP," Stop, Think, Observe, Plan when 
it comes to axes or even Katoolas. However, that necessitates having the 
knowledge and experience to identify when you need to stop, put down the 
pack, take out the axe, and utilize its safety advantages to make that 
crusty, steep crossing or climb ahead.

- Shorter is lighter, but when put to the test, will it "work" for you? If 
you need the axe for chopping steps in crust or ice, will you have to bend 
over (pack on) too far to reach the ground because your axe is too short 
(throwing your balance off on that steep traverse)? [See our pix of our 
crossing of the chute below Forester on May 25th at the Mountain Education 
Facebook page]. If you need an uphill anchor to maintain your balance by 
plunging in the shaft of your axe into the snow on all the snowy climbs in 
the Sierra of North Cascades (depending on your direction of travel), a 
short shaft means little penetration and holding power should you slip and 
fall and want to rely on the anchor not pulling out. And if the axe is so 
short that you can not hold it properly or safely in the self-arrest 
position, then it is a potential hazard and source of false security.

- And watch for those certifications on the axe warranting its strength for 
such uses! Potty trowels and other uncertified "axes" have been photographed 
with their heads sheered off after being used for what they were not 
intended.... If you anticipate conditions which will require chopping and 
anchoring for safety (better find this out for yourself before you go--just 
because it wasn't needed by some doesn't mean that it won't be needed by you 
in the conditions you have to deal with after the winter we may have this 
year, like last year). The better built and certified, the more reliable 
when the nasty situation presents itself on a Pass. It may be heavier and 
longer, but will it provide for you what you need to get through the 
hazardous situation ahead? You have to decide for yourself what degree of 
risk you want to avoid by carrying and learning how to use an ice axe.

If you can guarantee that with your planning and schedule you will not hit 
any snow or hazardous traverses/climbs, then there is no need for an axe. 
Maybe you can do this by leaving really late and hauling ass up the trail. 
If that is what you want to do and is the type of "trail experience" you 
want to get out of your "once-in-a-lifetime" expedition, then that would be 
the best way to minimize dangerous exposures to snow and ice. These are the 
questions you have to ask yourself while still in the planning stage. Why do 
I want to do this long hike? What kind of experience do I want out there? 
How do I engineer my plans so that I maximize the opportunities for those 
experiences?

With a little snow skills training, leaving "early," say in March sometime, 
is no big deal and allows lower daily mileages, slower hiking, more time for 
experiencing the wilderness along the way (foraging, fishing, exploring, 
photographing, climbing, sitting still and listening) and, certainly, more 
fantastic snowy views that few will see or enjoy because they choose to 
leave later and go faster or longer daily. The more experienced or trained 
you are prior to your hike, the better you will know yourself and what you 
want from you thru hike. You're putting a lot of time and money into this 
trip. To do it the way you want, you need to know what you want, and that 
requires trail experience in the conditions you anticipate.

How can you discover for yourself the conditions you're going to have to 
hike through without actually going there when you plan to be there? Sure, 
you can read all the trailjournals and accounts and books of all those who 
have been there, done that, but what they felt while out there was all based 
on their skills, abilities, and desires, not necessarily yours. I can say 
that dealing with winter conditions and snow is no big deal, fun even. If 
you plan off that, assuming "if he can do it, so can I," without actually 
putting yourself through the same physical trials and conditions, then 
you're in a world of trouble, which I wouldn't want to suddenly dawn on me 
while in the midst of a long wilderness hike, especially on snow.

So, include in your planning stage several hikes into the conditions you'll 
have to deal when you're miles or days from help or a trailhead and can't 
afford inexperience or lack of skill and ability. This way, you'll get to 
know yourself, gain skills, be able to test your "systems" to decide if your 
gear, clothing, or food needs to be changed, and be better prepared for the 
realities of the trail. Can't lose gaining more experience! How much is 
enough? Put yourself in the worst of imagined situations, in the company of 
trained others for safety, learn what's required, and you'll be ready should 
the proverbial s--- hit the fan. Only make you a better man or woman for it 
and you may have the honor of helping out another hiker along the way who 
wasn't experienced enough....

An ice axe is a tool. So is the hammer to the carpenter, the sewing machine 
to the seamstress, the gun to the cop. If you want to know something about 
these tools, talk to those who use them daily. We at Mountain Education use 
and trail others in the safe use of ice axes; it is what we do.

Food for thought...it is your hike.

"Just remember, Be Careful out there!"

Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
1106A Ski Run Blvd
South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
    P: 888-996-8333
    F: 530-541-1456
    C: 530-721-1551
    http://www.mountaineducation.org
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Williams" <baidarker at gmail.com>
To: "Gary Schenk" <gwschenk at socal.rr.com>
Cc: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 9:43 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ice Axe

>I agree Gary, the Camp Corsa looks a bit more like a real ice axe, but at 5
> oz for the ULA and 7 for the Camp Corsa, neither has the weight to be a
> "real ice axe."  Cutting steps in ice requires a heavier axe in my 
> opinion,
> and my old one is much heavier than either of these.  That being said, on 
> my
> thru hike I did not bring that old cutting tool as I didn't want to carry
> it.  I bought the ULA Helix at Kick Off, and it worked just fine over the
> High Sierra.  We had lots of snow, but always managed to time our passes 
> in
> late morning so their had been some softening, or even later.  Smiles used
> it to cut steps up the cornice on Mather which was harder, and then it was
> the anchor for us on top as we hauled the rest of our bunch over the top.
> On steep slopes, I used it many times for the uphill anchor.  It also 
> worked
> well as the brake when glissading.  It was used over 4 or 5 weeks in the
> Sierra, and I had no complaints given the conditions we encountered.
>
> Had we gotten some real melt and freeze conditions, it might have been a
> different story.  I don't think the shaft would have been nearly strong
> enough to punch through days and days of heavy ice, and trying to cut 
> steps
> with that light head would have been tough.  Would I use it again?  On a
> thru hike, you bet.  It is a bit of a gamble, but so is alot of the gear 
> we
> use as thru hikers.  The light pack is worth using some iffy gear at 
> times.
> My only regret is that after Sonora Pass I was carrying it to Echo to give
> to my wife who was going to meet us there, but I left it standing by a 
> tree
> in a hail storm, a few miles north of ebbets Pass.  If anyone found a
> lovely, light ULA Helix standing forlornly against a tree in this 
> location,
> I'll pay shipping to get it back.
>
> So Ned, give us some ice axe wisdom from the more traditional side.
>
> Shroomer
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