Picket use

[wannabe]

I need some advice/opinions on some questions regarding snow pickets.

 

1. Is it possible to hammer in pickets with only a "standard" mountain axe (i.e. no hammer head)? If so, how?

 

2. What size picket is most useful, 2 ft or 3 ft?

 

3. Which is better: sling or carabiner through the picket hole?

 

I am looking at getting several to use as anchors for a running belay on those stretches where needed.

 

Thanks!

[Bigtree]

1. Assuming the snow is too firm to plunge the picket in by hand, simply use the top of your axe (i.e., the broad flat portion between the adze and the point) as a hammer.

 

2. Optimal length depends on a number of factors such as anticipated snow conditions (spring oatmeal vs. something lighter that requires a picket with greater area/purchase), intended use, how much weight you are prepared to pack, etc. I pack a single MSR 3' as an all-rounder and a light-weight spare axe (the second axe is more versatile for me than the second picket - can be used in a pinch like a picket vertically or buried as a deadman for crevasse rescue work). Ideally, you would have a a couple of 2' and 3' and bring what you anticipated you might require.

 

3. My personal view is that a carabiner is quicker/more efficient by far.

[mattp]

Bigtree has some good advice but if the snow is soft enough that you can plunge in a picket by hand, you should not place any faith whatsoever in a picket. Further, I bet you will be suprised at how POOR an anchor a picket is if you run some practice tests even in fairly firm summer snow by placing a picket and then having you and a couple of friends try to pull it out.

 

In a frozen snowpack, pickets can be OK. In a summer snowpack in the Cascades, I would exclusively bury a picket or axe deadman style - and I'd entrench it as deep as possible.

[Gary_Yngve]

1) Yes, use the head of the axe. But be careful not to chop your leash in the process (stupid thing I've done). Also keep your pickets with one in the hammer end and the other end the virgin end. It sucks to have a picket with both ends mashed, though you can file an end mostly back to normal.

 

2) two-foot for Cascades summer snow. For winter stuff, a deadmanned picket or a fluke will likely work better than a three-foot picket placed vertically.

 

3) Girth-hitch the sling through the picket hole beforehand for a vertical placement. A carabiner is a waste. If you need to dig a horizontal slot, it won't be much more time to transfer the sling to the middle.