[pct-l] A REAL iceaxe

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good evening, all,



In many years snowpack hiking I’ve arrested slides four times – none of them
were highly dangerous, none of them were performed with any of the ice axes
that I’ve owned and practiced with, and all of them could have been easily
avoided.  Is this recommended practice?  Not a chance:  Do as I say, not as
I do.



On a Washington PCT section hike in 2000 I wanted to descend a snow field to
explore an attractive bowl.  I didn’t have poles or an ice axe with me, but
the sun had been on the snowpack and the traction was good for my sneakers.
Unfortunately, about 2/3 the way down I passed into the shade of a ridge
onto snowpack that had not yet been touched by the sun.  It was far too
slick to continue further unassisted.  As I rested for a moment near a small
talus outcropping I had to decide to: 1) go back up the steep slope, which
seemed a lot of work for someone as lazy as I; 2) continue around the bowl
on-grade just above the shade line, which was quite a long route; or, 3)
find some way to continue down.



>From the outcropping I managed to loosen a piece of talus about a foot long,
narrow, relatively thin, and shaped like an arrowhead.  By holding one hand
in the center and the other hand over the wide top end I could slide on my
side and drag the point in the crust.  It was much like an ice axe without a
shaft.  I practiced on a short, safe pitch and when I found the process
satisfactory I gently slid all the remaining distance to the rocks below.



In ’07 on the north side of Mather Pass I wanted to cross a big patch of ice
and snowpack covering a flat, sloping rock face. I could have worked around
it, but across was convenient.  I had no ice axe, but three times in about
as many minutes my feet went out from under me and I slid until I could do a
two-handed grab near the tip of one pole to arrest the slide.  I don’t use
wrist straps so I could quickly sift my grip.  I don’t know how I managed to
keep control of the other pole.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=188368



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09

On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 1:52 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:

> I recall that there was recent posts on the subject of Iceaxes. I  still
> have the iceaxe that I originally bought in 1955.  It is an Aschenbrenner
> and was made in Austria.  It weighs 2 1/2 pounds and its length comes up
> to about 6'' below my elbow when I am standing. It's axe head was heavy
> enough to effectively cut steps when traversing an icy slope. And it was
> long enough to add stability downslope. I only recall having to use it for
> self-arrest once.  (Of course I never had the benefit of having taken Ned's
> course - everyone who would go through the Sierra when there is snow and ice
> should take that course.)  I did a lot of climbing and backpacking,
> including the JMT, in the Sierra during the 50's and 60's.  I often carried
> my iceaxe - used it not only on snow and ice but also as a walking stick for
> added stability pretty much as today's hikers use thier hiking poles. I
> can't remember when I first saw a hiker with hiking poles -
>  perhaps it was Reinhold or maybe Steeleye. To me, some of today's iceaxes
> that I see tied behind some hikers packs look rather short and probably
> too light to be effective for cutting steps in ice or icy snow. Just a few
> thoughts - - - .
> MendoRider
>
>
>
>
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