A lot of what I keep saying in this site is that you really need to find an ice axe that fits your style and your budget and that you shouldn’t get too hung up on having the perfect piece of kit. Then along comes something that blows that advice away. In the case of [...]
About papajon
Hi I'm Jon. Thanks for stopping by my little website. I'm a keen mountaineer and avid hiker. When I first started researching which ice axe to get for myself I found very little good information online. This is a small start to trying to change that. Please help me by adding your own reviews and comments. Thanks Jon
Camp Neve: A Great Value Ice Axe
If you are looking for a pretty good general purpose ice axe that offers really exceptional value then look no further than the Camp Neve. This is a really simple, yet well made ice axe with a steel pick and adze, a decent steel spike and a package that doesn’t weigh too much and that [...]
Edelrid 6 Point Crampons
With crampons, there is usually a belief that more points are better, so you have this never-ended arms race between manufacturers with 12 point or 14 point crampons with aggressive spikes. Edelrid 6 point crampons turn this on its head. This is not a crampon for aggressive ice climbing, but instead is a very small and [...]
Ice Axe Self Arrest Technique
Learning how to use an ice axe to self arrest is a key skill that may save your life in the mountains. Don’t neglect to learn and practise it. Anyhow, I recently came across an old Army field manual on mountaineering that shows how the American military teaches ice axe self arrest. I thought I’d [...]
Death of a “Tragically Unprepared” Hiker
I recently came across a really tragic story in the New Zealand press about the death of a hiker who had fallen and died after trying to cross a snowy pass without crampons or an ice axe. You can read more about it here. The basic facts seem to be that the 23-year-old German, who was [...]
