Mountaineering Ice Axes: What You Need to Know Before You Buy

Before buying an ice axe it is essential that you are clear in your mind what sort of mountaineering you are planning to do because not all ice axes are suitable for all sorts of climbing or mountaineering.

In the old days there really was only one sort of mountaineering ice axe. It had a long wooden shaft with a fairly all-purpose head. The pick was not too sharply angled and the adze was broad and shaped for a wide range of purposes such as making steps in steep slopes. They also used to be long enough to be used as a walking stick to provide support on steep slopes and slippery ice.

These days the classic has morphed into a whole range of specialised sorts. The very shortest are the technical ice climbing tools, which have shafts that are usually no longer than 50 centimetres in length. They are designed mainly to be easy to swing. Often they come in pairs with one having a hammer on the back of the head. This is useful for knocking in pitons and other forms of protection into hard ice or rock. At the other end of the scale are walking ice axes, which are closest to the classic in shape and function. In the middle is a now very broad range of multipurpose ice axes that are meant to be used for most sorts of steep slopes. These mountaineering ice axes are usually 55 centimetres to 65 centimetres long. That makes them long enough to provide some support using the shaft when climbing steep slopes but not so long that they become unwieldy or difficult to use.

In more recent years some even newer developments have emerged that try to combine the best of both worlds. The most innovative seems to be the Petzl Snowscopic, which is essentially a trekking pole and ice axe combined in one. It has an adjustable foot which can be extended for use on the flat or on gentle slopes and it can be shortened for use on really steep slopes.

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