| When mountaineering, ski touring or even just hill | | | | axes, which are usually the longest with a straight |
| walking in winter you may be required to cross | | | | shaft. They are good for hill walking, glacier |
| patches of steep ice or climb on steep slopes of | | | | crossing and climbing on gentle slopes. For slightly |
| snow. If so you need to take special precautions | | | | more technical climbing on steeper snow people |
| to stay safe and one of your most important | | | | generally prefer to use a shorter mountaineering |
| safety tools is an ice axe. | | | | or alpine ice axe. This may look very similar to |
| Ice axes are important for a number of tasks on | | | | the walking axe apart from its length, but they |
| mountains. Their most important purpose is to | | | | often also have a slightly curved shaft and a |
| give you the ability to self-arrest, a term for | | | | slightly more aggressive pick on the head, which |
| stopping yourself if you happen to slip and start | | | | allows them to be used for more technical |
| sliding down a steep snow-covered slope. This | | | | climbing. |
| makes them essential safety tools. Without the | | | | The third form consists of the much more |
| ability stop yourself you will simply keep gaining | | | | technical climbing axe, which is generally referred |
| speed as you slide. Self-arresting is an essential | | | | to as an ice tool. These are very much shorter |
| skill and needs to be practised regularly but | | | | and are highly specialised for use in climbing frozen |
| essentially involves digging in the pick of the axe | | | | waterfalls and other patches of very steep ice. |
| to gently slow and eventually stop this descent. | | | | Because of this they are generally not able to be |
| Among the secondary functions are using the | | | | used for self arrest, cutting steps or any of the |
| adze, or shovel, to cut steps into steep slopes. | | | | other traditional tasks of the more general |
| The shaft of the axe may also be plunged into | | | | mountaineering and climbing ice axes. Whichever |
| the snow to provide an anchor, either to directly | | | | form of ice axe you get, be sure that you are |
| support a climber or to be used as a point for | | | | skilled in its use and practise regularly to ensure |
| securing a rope. | | | | that you are able to keep yourself safe out in the |
| Ice axes generally fall into three broad, if slightly | | | | mountains. |
| overlapping categories. The first is walking ice | | | | |