[pct-l] Whippet/iceaxe

[brick at fastpack.com (Brick Robbins)]

The whippet is just a self arrest handle often used on backcountry ski poles.

I have used a similar tool to self arrest after falls on some pretty steep 
slopes, on some pretty hard snow. Considering that I'm usually already 
moving pretty quickly when the fall happens, I've always been able to stop 
easily.

I wouldn't want to use one on hard ice, but I probably wouldn't be skiing 
then. Similarly I probably wouldn't be hiking on snow in that condition either.

It is definitely NOT a mountaineering tool, but a PCT hike is not a 
mountaineering trip either.

The one down side to me is the inability to use the shaft for stability, at 
least if you have a basket on the pole.

HYOH

--
Brick Robbins
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire,
but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?