[pct-l] Steep Snow Travel

[Gary Schenk]

I don't think there is any debate at all among mountaineers about the benefit of a leash on an ice axe. If you lose the axe, you lose the possibility of regaining control of the axe. And once you fall you fight until you stop, one way or the other.

Of course, the real purpose of the axe is to not fall in the first place.

While my inclination would be to carry an axe in the Sierra in early June, it doesn't seem like there are bodies piling up at the bottom of Forester Pass.

Gary
--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 2/3/17, Jay Bruins <jbruins at gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [pct-l] Steep Snow Travel
 To: "Stephen Adams" <reddirt23 at att.net>
 Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
 Date: Friday, February 3, 2017, 5:32 PM
 
 It’s been a while since
 I’ve read Freedom of the Hills, but there’s definitely
 some debate around the benefit of a leash on consolidated
 snow or glaciers. Tumbling down a hill with an ice axe
 attached to you but not under control tends to result in
 puncture wounds. This could be worse than the terrain trap
 you’re attempting to avoid.
 
 FWIW, the last time I had a yard-sale skiing, I
 lost my ski but not my poles (and I don’t use straps here,
 either). I wouldn’t underestimate the ability of the body
 to grasp onto things under stress.
 
 Cheers,
 Armstrong
 
 > On Feb 3, 2017, at 5:13
 PM, Stephen Adams <reddirt23 at att.net>
 wrote:
 > 
 > I have
 been going over some of the previous years videos of folks
 traversing steep snow in the Sierra.  Yikes!  Anyone
 actually know how to carry and use an ice axe...  Oh my
 gosh, scary.  I noted several trail traverses where folks,
 if taking a tumble would be at least injured.  Why not put
 the hiking poles on your pack and use the axe as it was
 intended, to save you from harm or save your life, and
 perhaps for others who may have to rescue you down that icy
 rocky slope.  I noted also that folks don't seem to
 take the idea of having a lanyard on the axe very seriously
 either...  Anybody ever read the Mountaineering guide
 anymore?  
 >
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