When crossing higher mountain passes, glaciers and other regions of steep snow and ice one of the most critical pieces of security gear you need to have is an ice axe. These come in a assortment of types, some much better suited to walking and other folks that are made for specialised purposes such as climbing frozen waterfalls. Whichever you decide on you need to make sure that it is sized correctly and that you are nicely practised in its usage.

Sizing Viking axes of decades ago most men and women would have gone for an ice axe that was virtually as lengthy as a walking stick. The thought behind that method was that you could use its shaft to aid balance on slippery ice and use it as a third point of contact when crossing steep slopes. The major aim here was to aid protect against falls in the 1st location. More than the years on the other hand the trend has been towards ones with shorter shafts. When a typical shaft length in the 1950s or 1960s would have been 75 centimetres to 80 centimetres the ones you will see on the slopes these days are typically significantly shorter. The most widespread suggestions these days is to hold the axe by its head in an outstretched arm. The bottom need to dangle about two inches off the floor. The thinking is that this tends to make it much less cumbersome, particularly when ascending steep slopes. Many men and women, nevertheless, now advise going even shorter with shaft lengths of 55 centimetres to 60 centimetres because these can be rapidly deployed for “self-arrest” the term utilised to describe a approach for stopping one particular from sliding down the mountain soon after a fall that I talk about beneath. The trend towards much shorter ice axes is, having said that, controversial. Traditionalists argue that when they are so quick they are unable to perform their main function of assisting to prevent slips and falls in the 1st spot, rather than stopping or controlling a descent following a fall.

Self-arrest

This is a essential, life-saving method that need to be discovered and practised routinely. It is made use of by mountaineers who have slipped or fallen and are sliding down steep snow or ice. Left unchecked, the fallen mountaineer would hold gaining speed, which could outcome in them being injured or killed. It is a approach that also wants to be learned from a right instructor and practised repeatedly. In essence it involves a climber who is sliding flipping themselves into the appropriate face-down position with the ice axe underneath them. The point, or pick, is then driven into the snow or ice to slow and eventually halt the slide.