[pct-l] ice axe length.

[CMountainDave at aol.com (CMountainDave@xxxxxxx)]

In my opinion, an ice ax should be long enough to be a walking stick. But I 
use mine when going cross country or actually mountaineering. On the PCT, where 
one is only necessary for crossing relatively steep but short patches of snow 
you can be much more flexible, the ice ax functioning mainly as a self arrest 
tool. If I were to cross miles of snow I would certainly take a long ax to 
help with balance. Yes, a long ax can be a hassle when crossing snow at a 45 
degree slope or better, but that certainly won't happen on the PCT