torealfa.blogg.se - Adze ice axe

The mid- 19th century 5-foot (1.5 m) alpenstock ancestors of modern ice axes, and shorter intermediate versions, had wooden shafts, usually of hickory, but the lighter weight and durability of late- 20th-century and newer axes eliminate all but historical considerations as sources of interest in those earlier styles. Ice-axe spike-to-head lengths range generally from 60 to 90 cm (or about 24 to 36 in.) in length, reflecting the target of reaching from loosely-closed hand (on the head) nearly to the ground.

snow basket (not shown) - similar to those typical on the lower ends of ski poles, mounted temporarily with the shaft through its center, close to the spike, to keep the spike from sinking much deeper into snow when the axe is held by its head and used point-down for support or stability.

leash stop (5) - simply enough, keeps the leash from slipping off of the ice axe.

The leash is often secured to the shaft by a ring, constrained to slide a limited distance on the shaft. leash (4) - webbing with an adjustable loop to secure the axe to hand.Ice axes are sometimes made or used with additional parts: Sometimes used on rocky trails for balance, though one must take care not to dull the spike. spike, or ferrule (7) - a steel point at the bottom is used to plunge the ice axe into snow for stability, balance and safety.shaft (6) - straight, with a uniform cross-section that is usually wider in the adze-to-pick direction than in the side-to-side direction, and is flat on the sides and smoothly rounded on the pick and adze sides and usually made of metal, e.g., aluminum or titanium, or a composite material including some component such as fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon filament.Ice climbing tools may have a hammer instead. adze (3) - the flat, widest section of the head used for chopping steps in hard snow and ice.There is a hole in the centre of the head called a carabiner hole but it is mostly used for attaching a wrist leash.

One grips the head using either a self-arrest or self belay grip. head (2) - usually made of steel and includes the pick and adze.The hooked design allows the axe to dig in faster when trying to self-arrest. pick (1) - a hooked or curved end of the head that draws to a point set with teeth.The narrow sense used here excludes ice tools for ice climbing.Īn ice axe consists of at least five components: An ice axe is a multi-purpose mountaineering tool carried by practically every mountaineer.