[pct-l] Ice axe size

[m.karon at comcast.net (Marshall Karon)]

I finally got to use my ice axe! Never needed on the PCT in 2000, but
getting around my house here in Portland - it saved me. Good for chopping up
this stuff. Lots of opportunity to use it for self arrest (ha! ha! - one
really needed a jack hammer). If we had this stuff on the PCT I wouldn't be
here.

Regarding length: two theories - one is use to use for leverage and as a
walking stick - you need it long; other is for just self arrest and
climbing, shorter will do. What I've been told is that the longer bar gives
you more leverage. Both will work.

We have one that is about 70 cm and another about 73 cm. I used mine in some
streams, but I had to bend over.

Probably you will never need to use one, or if so, only for a very short
distance. That means that you can get by with a shorter axe. Main use is to
stop you from sliding in the first place. So, if you are like me, you will
buy one, carry it, and then use it for the next Portland ice storm. So, that
means it just may not matter.

Marshall Karon
Portland, OR
m.karon@comcast.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Beth Murdock" <dorothea@onemain.com>
To: "Pct-L@Mailman. Backcountry. Net" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 2:16 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Ice axe size


> I'm thinking about getting a lightweight ice axe, for next year's PCT
hike,
> but am wondering what size to get.  According to the instructions I've
seen,
> I should get a 70 inch, but at web sites that sell ice axes there seems to
> be an implied preference for a shorter axe for PCT hikers.
>
> What's your advice?
>
> Thanks,
> Beth, in Portland OR, where we are finally thawing out
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