[pct-l] ULA Helix Ice Axe

[Brian Lewis]

I carried both the ULA Helix cathole digger (it's not rated as an axe) and
their Axis crampons on the PCT in 2008.

I say carried as I rarely used either; I had the 'axe' on my back almost all
the time.  And it seemed like every time I would put the mini-crampons on I
would walk not much more than 5 minutes and have to take them off again ---
not all the time, but that happened.  And they just weren't that necessary,
at least my year.

So I'm somewhat mixed as to what to suggest.   Last I heard (?) it's turning
out to be a low snow year, so I'm not sure I'd be thinking of any sort of
crampon anyway.  Maybe in that context a really light axe like this is a
fine idea.

Before I went on the PCT, I did some testing and found that I could
self-arrest with the Helix just fine.   That said, pack weights are at
maximum in the Sierras, and a carbon fiber shaft isn't a great thing to test
your life with if you think there's much chance of having to arrest a lot.

As to the crampons, do not wear these off of snow for even one step.  In
training for the PCT I broke a "tooth" or two just walking across very short
stretches of bare ground between snow fields.   I suspect that at least one
of the reasons they discontinued those crampons is that the metal was so
brittle and prone to breaking.

Were it me and I felt that I actually needed such gear, I would today opt
for a CAMP Corsa 60 cm axe and Kahtoola Microspikes.

I still own the Helix and two pairs of mostly intact Axis crampons; the
former I might carry on a trip where I was pretty sure I didn't need an axe
but wasn't positive (and where I'm not with a group that requires a rated
axe).  So I won't be using it much.
The crampons I'll similarly keep somewhere as just backup or as loaners for
trips.

Bottom line is that I would decline the mini-crampons, and consider the axe
only in the context of a low snow year --- as something you're more likely
to mail home (perhaps from Mammoth Lakes).  Or of course, go with no axe at
all if levels are low enough, particularly if you don't have any
training/experience with an axe.


       Brian Lewis / 'Gadget'