How to Use an Ice Axe: Basic Self Belay Alpine Climbing and Snow Hiking Techniques

[@samuelwarner9411]

I was just reading about this in Freedom of the Hills. I greatly appreciate this video!

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

@@samuelwarner9411 have fun out there! Glad this helped 🙏

[@kylebeyerlein3335]

Love this video and will practice ! Great safety and the boys are very skilled!

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

The trick is keeping them focused. But they seem to intuitively understand the severity of having a spikey thing in their hands!

[@xbringyourboardx]

Thanks!

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

@@xbringyourboardx thanks so much!

[@WroclawPost]

Dzięki za wyjaśnienie jak korzystać z IceAxe i using crampons przy różnych kątach uchylenia ściany podejściowej.

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

@@WroclawPost Zapraszamy. Mam nadzieję, że te informacje okażą się pomocne. Dziękuję za wsparcie.

[@christyph3382]

I am jealous of those kids they are great lol. Thanks for sharing. I learned new techniques how to use an ice axe.

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

Glad you liked it! 😁

[@JonathanShidler]

Solid piece of knowledge and concise!

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

Thanks! 🙏 Hope it proves useful. 🏔️

[@kylebeyerlein3335]

Great safety post and informative!

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

Thanks! Hope you can put some of it into practice!

[@judacrisable]

Very helpful thanks 🙏

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

Thanks! 🙏 Have fun out there! 🏔️❄️

[@bartonpopenoe]

May seem intuitive for the experienced but it’s worth mentioning to remove crampons before glissading.

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

That's a great point. I talk about not having crampons for self-arrest practice (other video), but you are right that it's very applicable here, too.

[@PatriciaLi1]

Question: at around 2:35 you're talking about traversing across a slope with the ice axe in your uphill hand. I'm comfortable to do this if the snow is hard; however, sometimes in softer snow the ice axe will suddenly punch through deeply and throw off my balance, which is ironic and counterproductive. What's the solution there - should I use trekking poles in those conditions instead of an ice axe? (Since if the snow is that soft I'll probably not go far anyway even if I do fall?)

[@ShortGuysBetaWorks]

If the slope is steep enough to have an ice axe at all, having it sink into the snow (some) can be helpful. It isn't really something you are weighting to take the load off your legs, it is a temporary anchor point to keep you tethered to the mount, hence it being called "self-belay." If you are using the axe to and it's sinking into the snow throws you off balance, then it is likely that to slope is flat enough that a trekking pole would be better. You want to use the axe on slopes that are strep enough that a slip would result in a slide that would require the axe for self-arrest (typically 30 degrees or steeper).

[@PatriciaLi1]

@@ShortGuysBetaWorks Ah! "It isn't really something you are weighting to take the load off your legs, it is a temporary anchor point to keep you tethered to the mount" is really helpful. I think what I was doing was leaning on the axe, when instead I should just be sticking it in and just keeping my hand on it without leaning on it? Thanks so much for helping out a beginner 🙏