Choosing Your Ice Axe: Know What You Need for Hiking, Mountaineering, and Climbing

Рет қаралды 6,640

Күн бұрын

Snow is fun. But hiking or climbing across sloping snow fields can mean a sliding fall. A sliding fall can mean injury... or worse. If you hike the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, the Colorado Trail, and other trails that hit high altitudes, you may want to consider using an ice axe. If you are getting into mountaineering, then you are going to want the right ice axe to meet your climbing style.
How can you know which type of ice axe to get? What features work best for what self belay and self arrest situations?
In this video, we are discussing standard picks and inverted picks, spikes, hammers, adzes, bent shafts, straight shafts, leashes, and even how to insulate your axe so you don't freeze your hands!
Rather than tell you a particular model of ice axe to get, it may be better that you understand the tradeoffs between different designs and builds so that you can find the right axe for you.
For more information on this topic, go to:
www.shortguysbetaworks.com/al...
To see all of our video and blog content, including gear lists, trip itineraries, links to the equipment we carry with us, and our additional thoughts on all of it, you can visit: www.shortguysbetaworks.com
0:00 Intro
0:16 Bumper
0:34 Should I Consider Using an Ice Axe?
1:16 The Primary Ways an Ice Axe is Used
2:01 The Parts of an Ice Axe
2:51 Spike Versus No Spike
3:15 Shaft Length
3:47 Shaft Bend
4:33 Standard Versus Inverted Picks
5:39 Adze Versus Hammer
6:19 Insulating Your Axe
6:54 Leashes
7:08 Summary of Tradeoffs
7:50 Recommendations
8:59 Weight Considerations
9:53 Outro
A special thanks to Marisa Jarae for cinematography in our bumper: scenes that include me in the frame while in the Himalaya.
Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all of our videos on the Short Guys Beta Works KZfaq channel. www.shortguysbetaworks.com/di...

Пікірлер: 16

@techzung 8 ай бұрын

After sliding on ice and almost dying… I definitely think an ice axe is in order.

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 8 ай бұрын

Glad you are okay. Hope this video helps you out!

@MrBwaki 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks man, I now know which ice axe to pick 👌

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 2 жыл бұрын

Glad it helped! Have fun out there!

@DieWeltderElektronik 10 ай бұрын

Thanks, that helped a lot!

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 10 ай бұрын

Have fun out there!

@julians.2597 2 жыл бұрын

damn those kids are cool xD

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 2 жыл бұрын

Well, they think so; just ask them 😉🤷

@JWM850 5 ай бұрын

Would a pair of black diamond vipers be suitable for a Mt. Hood Pearly gates ascent?

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 5 ай бұрын

Most of the time, you'll be using the axe(s) in cane mode, so I would be more likely to pair a Viper with something that had a more traditional shaft that can plunge (no pommel on the grip), like a Petzl Sum'Tec. That being said, they'd probably go fine.

@tecmissle9256 9 ай бұрын

IDk ... I maybe need few axes, I am thinking about the sum tec, because maybe if I get to something steeper it might be of help and at the same time is not so curved as the ice tools and maybe I can self - arrest easy with it. or maybe just get a straight shaft for hiking , because I might be choosing the sum tec because it looks cooler and I do not understand how things work.... Thanks anyway I might watch this again an pick ...

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 9 ай бұрын

Sure, take a look, and feel free to comment w/ questions. I'm happy to help. I would say, that there really isn't much reason to get a straight shaft anymore. You can get a slight bend and it helps w/ leverage in self arrest and makes swinging it a bit easier. But then it comes down to having an inverted pick (better for swinging or grabbing rock but worse for arrest) or a regularly curved pick (better for arrest and worse for swinging and grabbing rock). It comes down to what kind of objective(s) you are after. To your very first comment, though, I certainly have many axes, anything that is "pretty good at everything" is never boing to be the best at anything. All gear has trade offs. Thanks for watching!

@tecmissle9256 9 ай бұрын

@@ShortGuysBetaWorks Hello and thank you for your quick and detailed answer. Much appreciated. Yes, it makes sense I must check my objectives and then buy the adequate tool for the occasion. I was thinking about the situation where I will be walking ( or climbing ) to the ridge of the mountain and some places will be a steady incline, where I will use the tool for walking (spike) but as the incline becomes steeper (60 - 70 degrees) I might need something to answer to that. This is why I was looking at the sum-tec, but as you said the head will not be optimal for self-arrest, but If I take a walking axe general mountaineering axe, I can still use the tool for normal hiking and climbing in the winter when is not so demanding. I am a beginner so we will see. I probably must take some courses as well. Summer mountains quite a lot but winter is a different beer. I suppose I must practise (safely) and see which tool where will be most appropriate for my abilities and the terrain then I will adjust to my true needs. But probably I will buy two axes to test. Thanks anyway!!!!

@ShortGuysBetaWorks 9 ай бұрын

@@tecmissle9256 I do like the Sum' Tec as a good multi-purpose option. When I need something that is for less technical ascents where I chief concern is having something for self-arrest, I often go with the CAMP Corsa Alpine.