Ice axe recommendations

Camp Corsa. Light and, if you find a deal, you can get it for under $100

http://www.camp-usa.com/products/ice-axes/corsa/

camp corsa nanotech …

for sizing hold the axe down by yr side … it should just come down to yr ankles

you can always get it shorter (if you use it mostly on steeper stuff) and want to go a bit lighter …

if youre going to chop snow (for tents or steps) get one with a burlier steel head … petzl literide or glacier are decently light and “full axes”

;)

oh and dont underestimate some of these “old school” skills … which are actually very applicable to hikers with minimal gear

the old school mountaineers didnt have crampons, or they were shiet ones …

step chopping is something every hiker with an axe should know … especially as they might have no crampons or just UL walking spikes

;)

I’ve never used one, so can’t recommend it from that point of view, but the Grivel Condor (trekking pole with an ice axe blade for self arrest) might be good for what you need. Black Diamond also make something similar.

. C.A.M.P. Corsa  is $95.96 with coupon code TWENTY20 at Camp Saver  till the end of the day( May 30)

and the C.A.M.P. Corsa Nanotech Ice Axe is $127.96 with the coupon

+1 Nanotech for the steel pick and spike.

I have the reg Corsa and can report that the aluminum pick was quite dinged and blunted after very little use on hard ice — one time up and down the chute on Lion Head at Mt. Washington. And it really doesn’t have a spike.

Thanks for the thoughts all, and thanks for the video Eric. A friend is going to give me an old Grivel Mont Blanc, so I’ll start there since it’s free. :-) If it doesn’t work for me your suggestions will help my purchase decision.

Ski/trekking poles with a self-arrest grip (i.e., BD Whippet & Grivel Condor) are only for stopping yourself once you’re already falling — they won’t keep you from falling in the first place anymore than regular trekking poles would.  (And if you’re using the self-arrest pick to dig into moderate-angle snowfields while hiking, then you’re doing something very very wrong…)

By contrast, the spike and CE-rated shaft on an ice axe can be used for self-belay to keep you from falling in the first place.  The spike on the Nanotech is indeed far better than on the Corsa, but the Corsa would be fine for what’s contemplated here.  (The Nanotech pick is also much sharper than on the Corsa, but I’m not sure why the pick would see any use on the Lion Head winter hiking trail, unless something else if being referenced here?)

Some links including reviews:

http://skimo.co/black-diamond-whippet-pole

http://skimo.co/black-diamond-carbon-whippet

http://www.libertymountain.com/products/5513/760070/grivel-condor-pole

http://skimo.co/camp-corsa-ice-axe

http://skimo.co/camp-corsa-nanotech-ice-axe

As a whippet owner I would get:

Black Diamond Ultra Distance Pole

any random Black Diamond pole tip with the snow basket

50cm Camp Corsa

Use boiling water to switch the tips on the poles from the summer only stock basket to the snow basket. Then carry the ice ax between your pack and your shoulder blades for easy access. A whippet is really heavy, even if you mod it as follows: get the one section carbon lowers from their other poles and cut to 115cm.

Going the Corsa / pole route, you have almost a real ice ax, and a real pair of poles.

Whippets are great for skiing.

http://suluk46.com/products%20%20-%20P1%20TiCa.html