Ice axe

Ice axe
1 – pick
2 – head
3 – adze
4 – leash
5 – leash stop
6 – shaft with rubber grip
7 – spike

An ice axe is a multi-purpose ice and snow tool employed by mountaineers both ascending and descending routes involving frozen conditions, and can be briefly described as a pickax including a sharp point or spike at the bottom of the handle, used by mountaineers for cutting footholds in ice.

Components

An ice axe consists of at least five components:

• Head — usually made of steel and featuring a pick and adze. A hole in the center is provided for attaching a wrist leash or carabiner.
• Pick — the toothed pointed end of the head, typically slightly curved (aiding both in ergonomics and self-arrest).
• Adze — the flat, wide end of the head used for chopping steps in hard snow and ice.
• Shaft  — straight or slightly angled, typically wider front-to-back than side-to-side, flat on the sides and smoothly rounded on the ends. Traditional shafts were made of wood, but are now almost exclusively of lightweight metals (such as aluminum or titanium) or composite (including fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon filament).
• Spike, or ferrule — a steel point at the base of the shaft used for balance and safety when the axe is held by its head in walking stick fashion.

Accessories

Common ice axe accessories include:

• Leash — nylon webbing with an adjustable loop for securing the axe to hand. Often secured by a ring constrained to slide a limited distance on the shaft.
• Leash stop — a rubber keeper preventing the leash from slipping off of the ice axe.
• Snow basket — similar to baskets on ski poles, temporarily mounted on the shaft close to the spike to keep the shaft from sinking into soft snow.

Size

Ice-axe spike-to-head lengths generally range from 60 to 90 cm (or about 24 to 36 in.). This is too short to be used as a walking stick on level ground (the way its forebearer, the 5-foot (1.5 m) 19th century alpenstock, was), but is ergonomic when ascending steep slopes. Ski mountaineers often carry shorter ice axes (50-55 cm) for emergency use if unexpected conditions are encountered.

Use

The ice axe is not only used as an aid to climbing, but also as a self rescue tool to stop an uncontrolled downhill slide.

Rating

The rating system on ice axes is determined by two groups that are shown on the axe as UIAA and/or CE certification.

Ice axes in history

A short-handled ice axe, sometimes referred to as an "ice pick"^[1], was used in the assassination of Leon Trotsky in 1940, and the murder of Anthony Walker.^[2] This sort of axe was used to handle blocks of ice for the household icebox, in the days before modern refrigeration.

External links

• Ice Axe for Mountaineering
• History of the ice axe at grivel.com, as of 2006-08-27
• GoXplore Guides article on the Ice Axe

Notes