[pct-l] Ice Axe Arrests

[Greg Hummel <ghummel@hydrogenburner.com>]

First hand experiences on what can go wrong in a self arrest:

1) I was decending from Mt. Ritter (13,000'+) in the Ansel Adams Wilderness
area wearing full crampons and carrying an ice axe approaching the top of a
steep ice chute walking on increasingly steep sun rotted snow over glacial
ice (BTW, this was not on the PCT) when a small (10 yard radius) avalanche
began around me.  I immediately self arrested but the rotten snow was so
deep (and generally moving with me) that no matter how deep I pushed the
ice axe in, it would not slow my decent.  It a flash of decision I did the
one thing all ice axe arrest instructions tell you not to do:  I rolled
onto my back and arched my back to drive my feet into the snow effectively
snow plowing to a stop.  I had begun sliding about 70 yards above the chute
and stopped just 10 yards from the chute, the whole event happening in less
than about 4 seconds.  My partner, above me, thought I was a gonner until
he saw me stand up out of the pile.  If the snow had been harder, or I had
been sliding more on top of the snow, or . . ., I would have cart wheeled
head over heals upon the first resistance to my feet plowing.  

The moral to the story:  Make what ever decision is necessary to stop your
progress as fast as possible.  Oh, and in dangerous situations remember to
always wear disposable diapers!

2) During a summer field geology course, part was in the Sierra's above
Coyote Flats, due southwest of Bishop.  I had noticed a remnant cornice on
the side of a high ridge that had a 18 inch to 24 inch overhang.  There was
no other snow around being mid July and the top was really rotten, but
under the overhang the ice was solid and vertical for about twenty feet.
One lunch time I decided to try to climb over the overhang using ice axe,
full crampons and a rock hammer as my fourth point (I dont recommend it but
it was all I had).

Below the vertical wall of ice the slope leveled slightly and the ice
turned to snow turned to mud.  So the run out was harmless should I fall.

I climbed the vertical wall with no problem and scrunched up under the
overhang.  Reaching around the overhang I dug with the adze of the ice axe
thru the rotten snow on top until I could feel solidity, swung and sunk the
pick hard and pulled myself into a sitting position with my knees below the
overhang and my torso wrapping around it.  I dug down with the rock hammer
to the solid layer and dug it in, but because of the perpendicular angle of
the pick and no teeth the rock hammer didn't stick too well and I had to
hold it just so to keep it in.  

I pulled the ice axe and begun to dig into the rotten snow further up and
as I reared back to sink the pick in, the rock hammer pulled out .
									  .
									   .

My backward momentum was leaning me back rapidly and I realized the gig was
up, threw the rock hammer (it was now a dangerous weapon who's only goal
would be to dig a nice hole in me) and kicked out with my feet to dislodge
the crampons from the ice (keeping my head up!).  As I fell the twenty
vertical feet I swung the ice axe around into self arrest position ready
for the impact, but just before getting it there I landed on the steep edge
of the transition zone of ice into snow into mud, face down.  By the time I
got the pick in I was screaming down the mud slope and didn't stop for
about thirty yards!  Total time from rock hammer pull to complete stop, oh,
maybe one and half seconds, maybe two seconds.

My colleagues were watching my foolish climb from across the valley and
were rolling around laughing madly when I arose from the mud covered from
head to toe and mildly scratched, bruised and ego beaten.

The moral to the story is:  You better act damn fast, vertical has a way of
speeding you up real good.  Oh, and in any dangerous situation be sure to
remember to wear disposable diapers! :-)

Two lucky situations, I'm trying to insure the third never occurs. PRACTICE!

Greg "Strider" Hummel
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