[pct-l] Ice axe

[Engraving Pros]

> Does anyone think an ice axe is crucial or just cautious?
> Hiking poles, crampons, ice axe seems like a lot of stuff.

I stopped carrying one on my High Sierra adventures.
Of course I have spent some time mountaineering and
ice climbing before I became a through hiker. The trick
is to not slip in the first place. The ice axe is a last
chance save your behind kind of tool. I find that
crampons and trekking poles work for me. But you
should make that choice after you have faced that
seventy foot slide into the VW sized boulders a few
times.

Robert