I am 5'11" and will be doing some mountaineering this winter. (No vertical ice and hopefully not in terrain where I need to be roped in.) What length ice axe would be good for general use where there will be some steep slopes but not all the time? Thanks

-- Pete Gomez (pgomez88@hotmail.com), November 30, 1999

Answers

For your height, probably a 65 - 70 cm axe would be appropriate. I'm 6'1", and I go with 65 cm. I have long arms, and feel comfortable using an axe that length, even though the spike doesn't touch down until it gets a little steep. The main thing is that the length allows you an efficient "piolet canne" - the ice axe as walking stick - on SLOPES (as opposed to on flat ground, which is how many people do the measuring). The other important thing is that when the axe is held in self arrest position, with the adze just above one shoulder and the shaft angle cross body, the spike end doesn't protrude too far. You want to be able to cover the spike with a hand to keep it from snagging, and you want to be able to control the shaft to apply the "brakes".

-- Dennis Roscetti (roscetti@execpc.com), December 02, 1999.