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ICE AXES | | |
|  Photo: Colin Wells on the classic Pretty Nuts (WI 4), Rocky Mountains, Canada. |
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| Ice axes come in all shapes and sizes, and the range can seem very bewildering if you are a novice at winter mountaineering. However, basically (apart from a few oddball items) there are really only four types of axe: these are Walking Axes, Alpine Axes, Scottish Winter Axes, and Steep Ice (or Cascade) Axes. There is much crossover between these ranges, and walking axes have been used on grade V ice climbs and cascade axes no doubt will have been used as walking axes, but broadly:-
Steep Ice (Cascade): These are the axes to choose from if your main interest is in climbing icefalls in France, Italy, Norway, Canada etc. Whilst you can use Scottish type axes for this purpose, using modern icefall tools can make it all seem a lot easier.
Scottish Mixed Tools: These are more robust simpler axes, made for taking a lot of punishment. On the average Scottish route, every part of the axe will be utilised, and features found on cascade axes such as Griprests, Triggers and wiggly shafts are usually more of a hinderance than a help.
Alpine Axes: These are walking axes with stonger more steeply curved picks, making them the ideal choice for the walker doing easier ice climbs and alpine routes.
Walking Axes: These are really only suitable for use as walking safety tools. How to pick a climbing axe (if you'll forgive the pun) is one of the more difficult questions that faces the would be winter climber. What feels right to you is likely to feel very wrong to the next person. If you are unable to borrow axes to try before you buy, then the following may help. Think of an axe as a weight on the end of a long stick. Hold the shaft right at its base (this is where you would normally hold an axe when winter climbing) and wave the tool in the air. If it feels heavy and unweildy or alternatively light and insubstantial then try a different model or try different shaft lengths of the same model. Basically what feels correct is a function of your own strength. Buy an axe that is too heavy and you will get pumped half-way up a pitch; buy one that is too light and you will curse as it bounces off hard ice! Needless to say it is rather difficult to do this over the internet........ 'T' & 'B' Ratings: Ice axes are either 'T' or 'B' rated, but all climbing axes are 'T' rated. Confusingly though picks for ice axes are also either 'T' or 'B' rated. 'T' rated picks are heavier duty and are designed for Scottish winter and alpine mixed climbing, but are also suitable for icefalls, whilst 'B' rated picks have finer blades and are only suitable for pure water ice climbing. For UK use we would recommend the use of 'T' rated picks as 'B' rated picks may not be strong enough for mixed climbing. | |
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Steep Ice Tools : | | | Steep Ice, or Cascade, axes are really designed just for that use. Many of the features that make the modern Cascade Axe so good on steep ice like Griprests, Triggers, thin sharp B-rated blades, extra bendy shafts etc make them less suitable for mixed climbing in Scotland.
There is also a sub-branch of Cascade Axe designed for steep Continental mixed - this is a very different pastime to Scottish mixed and is more akin to very, very steep ice climbing. | |
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Scottish Mixed Tools : | | |
Scottish mixed climbing can and does involve just about anything! A typical route may include steep angle snow, hard ice, rocky cracks, and a cornice to overcome, and in the course of cling such a route just about every part of the axe will be used.
Blades need to be tough as they will often be inserted in cracks and twisted (torqued) so that they can be pulled on to make progress. Hammer heads, adzes and even shafts, may be used in the same way, so wedge shaped hammers, wrinkly edged adzes, and straight, or, near straight, shafts are all useful assets. Shafts will also be used to plunge into cornices and for daggering up steepish hard-packed snow, so a good ferule and absence of clutter (Griprests etc) is also a good thing. In fact Griprests and their ilk can make these axes quite awkward to use when daggering the shafts on easier-angled slopes as they they can skid off alarmingly.
The days of using totally straight shafted axes for Scottish climbing seem to be numbered, mainly because manufacturing and customer demand is largely led by the continental icefall scene. However straight axes are still preferred by many as they are easier to wield in confined spaces and when torquing the adzes or hammers they are less likely to lever out of position. There are however quite a few almost straight shafted tools available which do the job almost as well with the added side benefit of being less bruising on the knuckles. | |
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Alpine Axes : | | |
Alpine axes are suitable for both quite high level ice-climbing (ie up to grade Scottish IV or so) and walking. The best length for an axe is probably 55cm, that is long enough for walking and scrambling on steep ground, but short enough to climb with. If a hammer is require this should be no longer than 50cm (can you imagine trying to hit a piton with a 65cm long hammer!). | |
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Walking Axes : | | |
Walking Axes are designed primarily for ice-axe braking and occasional assitance, rather than continuous hard use. As such they tend to be cheaper than other axes as they don't need to be as strongly built.
When it comes to length, that great authority on Scottish mountaineering, Eric Langmuir, recommends 55cm to 65cm depending on personal preference. We would add to that, that the more walking, and less climbing there is to be done, then the longer the axe can comfortably be, and that a longer axe can be used for support on less steep ground which can be useful. However, you certainly do not want an axe that touches the ground when you are standing on flat terrain. We feel a good guide for walking axe lenth would be to stand with your shoulders square and hold the axe head so that the shaft hangs down your leg. The ferrule should be about 10cm (4") above your ankle bone. As a rough guide, this would mean someone of 6' height would need a 65cm axe, whilst someone 5'9" would take a 60cm one, and pro-rata. | |
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Ultralight Axes : | | |
Ultralight Axes are specialist bits of kit designed for very occasional or high altitude use. They are often carried by ski tourers, and climbers gaining alpine rock climbs via a glacier approach. Such users accept that these tools will be considerably less robust than the heavier duty walking and alpine axes listed above, and may indeed only last one season, but the weight saving is important to them. They are really not suitable for use in Britain. | |
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Pole Axes and Axe Poles : | | |
That strange crossover are between ice axes and walking poles which actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. After all it is very hard to stop a slide with a ski pole (though it can be done), and now that climbers and mountaineers have realised the immense benefits of using b>Trekking Poles, that vital ice axe is usually strapped on the back of the rucksack where it is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard! | |
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