When do you carry an ice axe?

[d_baker]

This is not meant to rehash any comments made by me to a trip report where the users chose not to carry ice axes on their climb.
We all need to make our own decisions on what we choose to carry on our hikes/climbs, in particular what we think can/will potentially make us safer, and be ok with the associated risks that we expose ourselves to in regards of carrying equipment (e.g., ice axe, crampons/spikes, avy gear, helmet, rope, etc) or not.
Something an avalanche instructor said to us many years ago in an AIARE 1 class has always stuck with me, and that is to ask yourself this: "what's above me, what's below me, and what are the consequences?"
The above posed question to yourself can be used in any mountain scenario, snow - rock - ice - etc.

A few sober examples of how things have gone wrong, some who were members on this forum, while on snow and/or ice.

- Kevin Hayne died on Little Bear, at or near base of hour glass route, in a late spring accident. I believe he and his partner did not carry ice axes or crampons. Slip on ice, fell to his death.
- David Worthington (talus monkey), glissaded S flanks of Humboldt, using a trekking pole to "control" his descent. Hit icy/hard snow patch, accelerated, lost control and I believe went over a cliff band. Died later from hypothermia after being rescued by SAR.
- Spencer Swanger, while not a member here, but was fairly well known in many mountaineering circles. No ice axe, crossed snow slope, slipped and fell over cliff and died. (In Dolomites)

- One Frozen 14er Finisher, glissaded off Mt Wilson after a winter ascent, hit an icy/hard snow patch, attempted to use his ice axe to slow down and it was ripped from his hand. Lost ice axe, but didn't lose his life. Came to a stop farther down the slope in softer snow.
- Glissader on Little Italy (Pikes Peak, Glen Cove area), hit ice/hard snow, lost control of glissade, and careened down the slope out of control until hitting a soft patch of snow that stopped her slide. No injuries, but was a traumatic experience for glissader and others that witnessed the out of control glissade.

The above examples obviously does not go into the decision making process, nor the experience level of each person or team, which of course plays a role in each accident.

So when do you carry an ice axe?
How and why did you make that decision?
What other pieces of gear do you carry when going into snow season? (Whether it's winter or spring, or even early summer.)
Food for thought, as they say. And please discuss civilly.

[cottonmountaineering]

under 40 degrees i carry a whippet or just trekking poles depending on snow conditions
40+ degrees ice axe

or when im on a glacier carry ice axe

[cottonmountaineering]

glissading accidents seem very frequent, people should learn to ski or walk down

[nyker]

For me it's pretty much standard equipment for shoulder season or winter climbs unless I really know that the route doesn't warrant one. An axe is helpful in other ways on a snow climb other than just self arrest, that third leg providing balance in just having another anchor, self belaying, or chopping steps in steeper sections among other things. I never really understood when people go out in winter and complain that they don't want to carry the extra weight of an axe especially these days when a lot of people's phones/batteries are almost weighing about the same as an axe.

[Wentzl]

From September to June.

[Wildernessjane]

I carry an ice axe any time I’m planning on scrambling anything that’s class 3 or above in snow or if I’m anticipating I’ll be on steeper snow to where I might use crampons. I don’t really have a limit on steepness as even 35 degree snow can be pretty sketchy when it’s bulletproof. If I’m uncertain of what I’m getting into and expect there is going to be much snow (winter/spring) then I will also often choose to bring an axe along. Ice axes have gotten so lightweight that it seems like a silly thing to stress over. On a related note, I almost never glissade and will usually opt to ski down or plunge step (I value my expensive technical outdoor clothing way too much). And yes, I always have an ice axe with me if I am going to be on a glacier.

[Boggy B]

I usually pack for day trips with the notion that if I'm somehow incapacitated, I'm going to die from exposure or whatever injuries. This keeps my pack light and the stakes about where I want them, in the realm of "don't do anything stupid." I do carry what I think I'll need to avoid launching a catastrophic decision tree, and "we decided not to carry axes" sounds like the beginning of one such epic. Unless you have foreknowledge of all the snow conditions you'll encounter, not having an axe can really limit the kind of terrain you'll be able to navigate with any degree of efficiency, and for that reason alone it seems silly to not carry one in the winter.

[hellmanm]

I try to carry one whenever I think it'll make me look good in a photo ofc. My goal is to eventually get a matching pair so my doors can look like the ones at REI.

(To answer your question, if I'm going to be walking on/near any snow that I wouldn't want to slide down, it comes with me. I also like to bring it if I have a chance to practice technique; I have somewhat limited experience using ice axes compared to many on the forum and try to practice self-arrest whenever I get an opportunity.)

[Jorts]

Almost never in the winter here in Colorado. We have a continental snowpack meaning it’s thin with little hard pack cohesion. Unless you’re intentionally seeking out an ice route your chances of encountering a hard pack steep slope until about April or May are pretty remote. Besides, generally I’m too concerned about avalanches in winter to venture into steeper terrain.

There have been times I’ve needed one in every summer month - even September on East Thorn for a SAR mission.

July on Mt Wilson

C3AFFADB-02A3-42FA-BE74-F8E457511AC3.jpeg (521.34 KiB) Viewed 2911 times

[TomPierce]

Like nyker, whenever I'm on a route where I'm sure I'll need one (duh) but also on any new unknown terrain. They just don't add that much weight and I often go out alone in winter and would rather err on the side of caution. Quandary East Ridge? No. First time I'll be doing the Nordwand of Death Mountain? Yep.

-Tom

[Boggy B]

We have a continental snowpack meaning it’s thin with little hard pack cohesion. Unless you’re intentionally seeking out an ice route your chances of encountering a hard pack steep slope until about April or May are pretty remote.

With respect, this is just patently false. Wind slab is a common avalanche problem in Colorado, and it's not at all unusual to encounter steep hard slab with bad runout along ridgelines in the winter, regardless of avalanche conditions.

[Jorts]

We have a continental snowpack meaning it’s thin with little hard pack cohesion. Unless you’re intentionally seeking out an ice route your chances of encountering a hard pack steep slope until about April or May are pretty remote.

With respect, this is just patently false. Wind slab is a common avalanche problem in Colorado, and it's not at all unusual to encounter steep hard slab with bad runout along ridgelines in the winter, regardless of avalanche conditions.

Sorry, think my nomenclature was garbage there. I meant cohesion as in melt-freeze, knife hard snow like you find in a maritime or even intermountain snowpack - places where I think an ice axe in midwinter is more appropriate and useful. I didn't mean we don't get hard windslabs.

I'm a skier so granted my approach may be different, but I just don't find an ice axe and crampons to be worth it in the winter. Save them for spring. If you're going on a route where you know you're going to have bulletproof conditions, sure... pack it, but I wouldn't just carry an ice axe for every random winter outing above treeline.