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Sans Dragonnes:
Reckless abandon, or innovative breakthrough?
by Vince Anderson

I can hear it now: “Climbing without leashes? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of!”
After all, for the last thirty years or so we have been taught to rely on the trusty leashes of modern
ice tools to help make it easier for us to get through steep and hard sections of ice and mixed
terrain. On vertical and overhanging sections it seems ludicrous to just “grip” the shaft of your tool
when you could relax the hand and let the leash do the work. But why then are some of the
world’s top ice climbers sending some pretty sick stuff with out this bondage?

The answer is FREEDOM!

At the 2000 Ice World Cup the judges decided to ban the use of leashes from ice axes, citing
safety considerations as the principle reason. While some North American climbers seemed to
take this personally as an attempt to pit the European sponsored athletes at the top, many
climbers found that climbing leashless, or “sans dragonnes” did have some advantages.

Actually, leashless climbing has been around for a long time. It was not until the early 1970’s, as
climbers started pushing the standard of ice climbing from low angle slabs and frozen gullies to
ascending steep pillars and frozen waterfalls, that the use of leashes was found to be
advantageous. In April of 1972, Summit Magazine published an article by Pat Callis on new
techniques in ice climbing. One of the most significant revelations of this article was the
adaptation of wrist loops to ice tools. Prior to this invention one simply “clung for dear life” to the
straight shafted tools of the day. Imagine trying to hang on to an iced up, smooth, wooden shaft
with some soft, wool mittens while front pointing up some steep, chandeliered ice column. Now
that would definitely increase the pucker factor! Wrist loops opened up the door to climbing steep
ice and ushered in vast new possibilities.

Well perhaps the tables have once again turned. The sport has drastically changed in the last five
or six years. Standards have shot through the roof, with climbs nearly equal in challenge and
difficulty to climbing 5.14 rock. And yet many of the new wave, sport/mixed climbs are being done
without leashes. Mauru “Bubu” Bole established perhaps the world’s hardest mixed route, Mission
Impossible (M11?), without leashes. Scores of M8’s and M9’s have also been done sans
dragonnes. The proponents of leashless climbing feel that it is “not more difficult, just more free”.

While it may be not for everyone and certainly not suited for every situation, leashless climbing
can offer some real advantages. You can climb faster, lighter, and with more freedom than ever
before. Plus your fingers may be in better shape come springtime when you head back out to the
rock.

Some manufacturers see this great potential and already make models adapted for this purpose
straight from the factory (e.g. Grivel Top Machine). You can also retrofit your own tools to be
“freedom riders” of their own. Legendary old school hard man Jack Roberts has done some
modifications to Cobras by fashioning some curved metal brackets into a gentle cradle which can
be attached to the bottom of the shaft with hose clamps. Another one can be put further up to
support your index finger and act as a higher grip for choking up. You will end up with an axe that
gives you a solid pinky lock backed up by a similar one with the index finger. Look for more
factory-made leashless tools in the seasons to come.

With some changes in your climbing technique and attitude, you too may find serenity in this new
(not really) approach. Here are a few tips that could change the sport for you:

1. Don’t drop them. Yeah, this would seem obvious, but it must be said. With leashes you can
   just haphazardly drop a tool at any given instance to free that hand up for other tasks. Now
   you must think a bit more and be careful about how you hold the tool and where you put it.
   When whipping, hang on if they are not rigidly fixed into the ice or a crack. If they are, letting
   go is a safer option than the risk of pulling your shoulder out of its socket when you fall as a
   result of being fixed to them by leashes.
   
2. Shoulder thy burden. You can drape a tool over the shoulder by hanging the pick right over
   the shoulder next to the neck. This is a great place for the tool when placing and clipping pro,
   switching grips on a tool, or just about any other time you need to free up a hand, plus it looks
   real cool.
   
3. Climb like a rock star. You need to start climbing ice and mixed terrain as if you were on a
   rock climb. Start thinking of each tool placement as a potential hold for either hand. This
   opens up many new doors and options for hand and body positions. For crossover moves,
   simply shoulder the tool to crossover, grab the other axe with both hands, switch hands, then
   grab the free axe and place it. The arms are never in the awkward criss-crossed position.
   This makes traverses much less complex, and with less overall placements. Also, you can
   shake out the hands to stave off a pump, alternating your grip position to rest different parts
   of your hand (i.e. from pinky to index to straight grip etc.).
   
4. Choke up on the shaft. Yes, we are breaking yet another of the golden rules of traditional
   ice climbing techniques. Ever been on a desperate mixed route with that hook placement just
   out of reach. Well, just choke up a bit more on the tool you are moving off of and you can
   extend your reach a bit. Sometimes every inch counts. Some axes have a second bottom
   grip further up the shaft to make this move easier. You will want to experiment with just how
   far you can choke up on your particular axe before it starts to pull on your axe in an
   undesirable direction. With most clearance shaft models you can grab all the way up to the
   bend in the shaft without creating outward pull on the pick.
   
5. Say good-bye to holsters. You will have a pretty hard time getting axes fitted for leashless
   climbing to go into your old ice axe holsters or through the gear loops. When you want to put
   them away for descents and rock climbing sections, you should clip them off to your harness
   with a 'biner through the head or hole (if there is one) on the pick. For short lower-offs and
   rappels you can also hang them upside by their bottom grips from your gear loops. Be careful
   not to bang them around too much, though, or they will be flying off.
   
6. Go light. Since you are already shaving ounces by taking off the leashes, why stop there?
   Consider taking off the hammer and adze attachments from the tools. Now your tool will feel
   super light. If you already have a good swing, they will still go into ice well, only with less
   effort.
   
7. Go fast. While you may not be taking leashless axes on your next Mark Twight style alpine
   adventure, you sure can use this approach to getting up short, steep mixed routes.
   Remember that the longer you spend hanging around on overhanging terrain, the more you
   will get pumped. So use these tactics to help you move more efficiently and more quickly get
   through the steep and difficult sections before muscle fatigue has a chance to set in and send
   you off.
   

Remember that this may not be for you and it may certainly be a while before this catches on in
the mountaineering realm. It has, however proven to be effective on the hardest of routes
worldwide. It also may take a while (or it may never happen) before this technique gains
acceptance in North American climbing circles just like every other major equipment advance
has. One last bit of advice: You must trust the Force, Luke.