[pct-l] Failure to ice ax arrest quickly

["Joanne Lennox" <goforth@cio.net>]

Recently over the last couple of months, I have noticed various posts that
mentioned incidents of people that used their ice ax to arrest with but not
stopping for quite a distance.  For example there was a mention of guys in
tenneys on San Jacinto, that didn't arrest for 30 feet and had injuries
along the sides of their legs (??).

I would like to emphasize that a ice ax arrest should be done AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE.  If you NEED a self-arrest, do it quickly.  Most instructors will
tell you that it should be done in the first three seconds after slipping. 
Basically if you can do an ice ax arrest but can not do it that fast, than
you have some work still to do.

Mainly, speed can develop so fast after falling, that as the seconds go by,
the chances of arresting are reduced (speed, bouncing, tumbling,
disorientation, etc).

Often there  is not time or space to execute much of a self-arrest before
hitting something.  A surprising number of accidents happen on patchy steep
snow.   If you slide 20 feet down a steep snow patch and hit rocks, there
are generally some serious consequences.

That said, there have also been a couple of instances for me, that I pulled
on a self arrest, because I realized that I was going to stop too fast, and
then tumble backwards.  So I rolled sideways to stopped the arrest and then
applied it again almost immmediately. 

Lastly, snow itself can be incredible abrasive.  In a very short distance,
skin can be abraded to the point that it will not easily heal and may like
any "burn" actually need a skin transplant ( this is apart form the fact
that there is often rock debris in the snow).  Good reason to arrest fast! 
This is also why it is important to wear long pants and long sleeves on
snow, especially in those areas where you feel uneasy .  Sun reflected from
snow also creates such a high UV exposure, that it is sometimes difficult
to protect your skin using only sun lotion( considering that you may be on
the snow the entire day).  Clothing is a good adjunct to sun lotion. 
Sometimes I have to use both to keep from burning, but than I have tender
skin.  

Peace
Goforth




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