Ice axe

Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking stick, with the mountaineer holding the head in the center of their uphill hand.

On steep terrain it is swung by its handle and embedded in snow or ice for security and an aid to traction.

For ski mountaineering and racing, where weight is of paramount concern, manufacturers have produced short (~45 cm or 18 in) and light (200–300 g or 7–11 oz) ice axes.

This is just too short to be used as a walking stick on level ground (the way its forebear, the 150-centimetre-long (5 ft) 19th century alpenstock, was), but is ergonomic when ascending steep slopes.

[4] [5] [6] The antecedent of the ice axe was the alpenstock, a long wooden pole with an iron spike tip, used by shepherds for travel on snowfields and glaciers in the Alps since the Middle Ages.

Balmat, a chamois hunter and crystal collector, had experience with high mountain travel, and Paccard had made previous attempts to climb the peak.

British climber Oscar Eckenstein started the trend toward shorter ice axes with a lighter model measuring 85–86 cm (33–34 in).

[10]) Schoening's ice axe is now on display at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum in Golden, Colorado.

Chouinard believed that "a curve compatible with the arc of the axe's swing would allow the pick to stay put better in the ice.

One expert rated this lightweight ice axe as "ideal for low angle glacier travel" but said he "craved the solid and secure heft of a true steel mountain ax" in more demanding steep alpine conditions.

Many models come with a nylon webbing loop sewn on its rear base (off to one side to allow the pick to stay behind the hiker), together with a means to restrain its shaft.