ice axe arrest stories

[musky333]

I have been training for 11 months for a Rainier climb and am looking forward to heading out in three weeks. Besides hauling a heavy pack up hills, I spent a good amount of time practicing self arrest on the landing hill of a large local ski jump. ( After the jumping season ended) It was very steep and hard packed. I have to admit that I was surprised how fast I got ripping with hard shells on. It took sometimes 50 or more feet to stop once I planted the pick. I have read the stories of what happened on Hood in '02 when two rope teams went down, and take this practice very seriously. I was wondering about you veterans out there--Have you or your teammates taken spills very often that you have had to arrest, and have you ever had a rope team go ? Just a new guy wondering. Thanks.

 

Jim

[NateF]

A friend of mine was involved in an accident descending the Emmons a few years back. They were quite slow, and I remember her saying she thought they should have turned around on the ascent instead of going up to summit. Anyway, on the way down, someone fell, taking the rope team down. I believe conditions were firm snow. Injuries were bad enough (1 had broken ankle & 1 had broken leg?) that some of them had to stay put in deteriorating weather. I think they had a sleeping bag but no tent. Fortunately for them, a few climbing rangers had been observing their progress and saw the fall. They headed up to help out and eventually got them out of there in a helicopter, I believe after a long night. My friend's opinion is that they would have died from exposure overnight if the rangers had not come up with a tent.

 

Snow conditions are not always favorable for arrest. Sometimes too hard, other times too soft. I was descending a steep snow slope once on a spring morning. Conditions were softer than I would have liked, but I headed down anyway. A small amount of snow sluffed from underneath me and set me into motion. I got into arrest position as I began to pick up speed. I was digging my boots and pick in, but the surface snow was just too soft. All I could think of was the cliff a few hundred feet below - I had to stop. Lucky for me, there was a small area where the snow was firmer, and where there was a little depression in the snow, like a moat was beginning to form. My feet stuck into the lip of the moat and I stopped, only to watch the snow that had been entrained around me slide ever so gracefully off the edge of the cliff - now only 100' away. That little feature in the snow kept me out of the papers. Although my axe did not do much, getting stable in arrest position really helped me keep control when I hit that teeny little feature in the snow. Thank you little feature in the snow!

[ashw_justin]

Good for you. I would guess that most people don't even go this far to practice. I don't think it is easy to simulate the real thing though. It is always much more important to avoid having to rely on self-arrest to save yourself. If you are having to self-arrest, you're already 80% screwed. Practice can't hurt though. You could always do one of those crevasse rescue courses to put it in some context.

 

The only time I have had to 'self-arrest in combat' I had a snowboard on my feet, which obviously sucked. I simply lost edge control while traversing water ice. The board acted as an anchor, putting my into a face-up head-first slide. I had to do some flipping moves a few times to get the board back under me. I was also trying to use a ski pole to self-arrest at the same time but it was pretty much useless. I don't think an ice axe would have been much better. I think I was just very lucky that I was able to get the board back under me.

Edited June 12, 2008 by ashw_justin

[catbirdseat]

Our rope team of four we were descending roped through Cadaver Gap on Rainier in February of 2003. It was steep wind packed snow. My crampons kept balling up in the back. Eventually, my feet went out from under me, and I instantly went into an arrest.

 

Two climbers were below me and only one above me- Tomcat. Looking up from my prone position, I was gratified to see Tom also in the arrest position.

 

After that, I decided to descend facing in, which was almost as fast, as I had two tools, but much more secure.

[summerprophet]

90% of the time a self arrest, is used as a rapid brake for when someone drops into a crevasse. Now by dropping into a crevasse I do not mean the huge Hollywood plunges, rather you poke in a leg or two, and belly crawl out.

 

Now, that being said, being able to drop in that position rapidly, without thinking "Hmmm, why is the rope so tight" and perform a perfect drop should be a MANDITORY skill every mountaineer has.

 

The other advantage with proper ice axe technique, is you develop a knowledge of how long it will take you to stop, and what kind of terrain you can arrest on. This builds your comfort level on steep snow slopes and during glissades, making you faster in the mountains, able to climb comfortably without pickets, and able to continue without having to stop to needlessly put on crampons.

 

I have no stories of partners "spilling" and requiring an arrest, nor can I tell you of rope teams going. But unlike rockclimbing partners, I am VERY picky about who I venture into the alpine with.

[summerprophet]

Side Note on self arrest.

 

Practice these arrests every year.

 

Face up, Head uphill

Roll to position and arrest.

 

Face down, head uphill

Often the only skill practiced by the unseasoned

 

Face down, head downhill

Drop pick in, fluttering feet to rotate around to position

 

Face up, head downhill,

Rolling to drop in pick, fluttering feet to rotate around

 

Without Axe

grasping hands and dropping elbows to snow to create "dam"

Body position higher than with an axe, more weight on toes

 

 

[dt_3pin]

Make sure you work on your self-belay as well. Self-belay is preventative. Self-arrest is remedial.

[rob]

Good on you for practicing. My friends laugh at me, but I practice at Steven's Pass every year after the slopes close -- every position.

 

The first time, I slipped on Shucksan traversing a semi-steep slope to get to the entrance of the fisher chimneys. I was in self-arrest almost as soon as I realized I had slipped. The runout wouldn't have killed me, but it would have ruined my day.

 

The other time I fell was on an ice slope deproaching from Sherpa. I was tired and my crampon technique was lazy, and I took a bad step, mt right boot glanced off the ice and my feet came out from under me. Self-arrest was impossible (I tried) and I crashed into a bunch of boulders at the base. I've never made that mistake again.

 

I've relied on self-belay FAR more than self-arrest.

[ivan]

descended east ridge of forbidden many years ago - i had old school crampons that took 20 minutes to strap on, so i skipped putting them on in favor of being careful - it was short, but steep and icy slope i needed to traverse over the top of - i had my axe ready and my head in the game - the very first fucking step and my boots slid out - i had the pick in instantly - it didn't matter a damn, just slowed my descent as i slowly gathered speed as the slope increased - eventually i slid about 200 feet downhill, bowling into a bunch of rocks like a fucking meteorite, nice n' bloody. arrest sometimes just don't work

[musky333]

I practiced arrest with just my Koflachs on and also wearing crampons. With the crampons, I kept my knees bent and then kicked in once I slowed down. I hear of poeple spraining and busting ankles trying to kick in with crampons if you're really moving.

[ivan]

I practiced arrest with just my Koflachs on and also wearing crampons. With the crampons, I kept my knees bent and then kicked in once I slowed down. I hear of poeple spraining and busting ankles trying to kick in with crampons if you're really moving.

exactly, so why the hell are you doing that intentionally then? it's a fuck-up to avoid, not practice!

[musky333]

Ivan, I kicked in once I slowed down--to a stop I meant. To hold. Not while I was moving.

[Jud]

I had the unlucky chance to self-arrest on Sunday with a picket, after I'd really stupidly forgotten I'd shouldered my ice axe just prior to rappelling down some rock. (I'd removed my pack to get something, forgetting that the ax was back there --shouldered since I was downclimbing some rock and holstering it on my harness made it bang into the rock).

 

It was probably a 35-40 degree slope, fairly hard packed snow. Without the ax, I should have been more slowly downclimbing facing in, but wasn't, since we wanted to get down in a reasonable hurry, so were facing out. Naturally, I slipped, and started sliding. Alarming to me now, I didn't automatically kick in to belly-flop self-arrest mode, but the run out wouldn't have been fatal (but rocks at the bottom), but I'm damn glad I had the picket in my hand to try to stop myself with.

 

Try it with a picket, maybe, "just in case", to see what it's like to stop yourself using a less-than-ideal tool and your feet/elbows/body. Just a thought. Shit happens, like ice axes getting dropped, so it's nice to know you can deal with a situation another way.

[sobo]

Ivan, I kicked in once I slowed down--to a stop I meant. To hold. Not while I was moving.

Don't even think about doing that intentionally again. 95% of the calls I go out on are people glissading with their crampons on. There is almost no excuse to do that (although I've done it for very short stretches myself).

[JoshK]

descended east ridge of forbidden many years ago - i had old school crampons that took 20 minutes to strap on, so i skipped putting them on in favor of being careful - it was short, but steep and icy slope i needed to traverse over the top of - i had my axe ready and my head in the game - the very first fucking step and my boots slid out - i had the pick in instantly - it didn't matter a damn, just slowed my descent as i slowly gathered speed as the slope increased - eventually i slid about 200 feet downhill, bowling into a bunch of rocks like a fucking meteorite, nice n' bloody. arrest sometimes just don't work

 

 

Ack. I remember this, it was the suck. Red blood on yellow goretex.

 

I was coming down from the false summit of Stuart, heading towards one of the dusty ditches for our descent, wearing tennis shoes and sporting a lightweight axe. I got impatient being careful and tried to speed up a bit and my tennis shoes slipped on the soft, slick snow. (Go figure) My axe didn't do shit in the mush and I took a 100 foot or so ride in to some rocks. I stopped without getting hurt, possibly due to slowing myself down a small amount with the axe. It shook me up more than anything, and kicked off an epic descent down the wrong coulior. We arrived at the car near 4am, and I was able to drive us 3 or 4 miles tops before I had to stop due to exhaustion - I was seeing shit.

[Dannible]

Last winter I was walking down from hood with an ice tool in my hand, and the soft snow suddenly turned to an inch of soft snow with solid ice under it, and because I wasn´t wearing crampons I slipped. I have arrested before with no problems, but here the hard ice combined with the wrist loop not being tight enough around my wrist made the tool shoot out of my hands the second the pick went into the ice. I slid for a couple hundred feet with no good way to stop, just waiting to hit some rocks or go over a cliff or something, but I ended up just plowing harmlessly into a deep snowdrift. I looked for the tool (x-15) for an hour or so and never found it, but I didn´t really care because I was alive.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

don't fall

 

[rob]

unless you're practicing

[KaskadskyjKozak]

unless you're practicing

 

exactly. but seriously I give a +1 to those commenting on the importance of self-belay.

[mr.radon]

When you get to Muir or Schurman, take time out to rope up and practice. There are spots within easy reach to get comfortable as a rope team.

Remember on the way down:

1) If the crampones are always balling up, you might be better off without them.

2) Put the weakest member in the front the strongest in the back. You can see the weakest fall and get into an arrest position.

 

[ivan]

1) If the crampones are always balling up, you might be better off without them.

fwiw, the huuugest fall i ever took was b/c i took my cramps off due to balling - i'd just soloed the reid, emerged onto the west crater rim, deep, sloppy snow made me take them off near the very top, right where it's steepest - bad idea! was slipping so bad i leashed meself to my tools while trying to put the crampons back on, but it all went wrong and i was sailing head first downhill, face out, w/ just the crampon in my hand to arrest w/ and my axe and tool rattling down the slope w/ me on the fucking daisy-chain!

[sobo]

and then what happened???

[ivan]

and then what happened???

after falling almost all the way into the fumorale i finally snatched my ice tool from the daisy and got traction right where the slope eases off into the steaming crater - i was a wee bit chagrined of course having done this in front of 50 tourons on the hogsback - the fun part was having to chope steps the whole way back up the top of the crater rim to retrieve my crampons! and yes, i did still top out

[jjd]

A few years ago, I had a plate of crappy snow blow out from one foot while descending Shasta with crampons (and full pack). The crampon from my right foot stuck the inside of my left thigh quite nicely. After removing the crampon from my thigh, I rolled and self arrested. Ruined a nice old pair of Helly Hansen pants...

[sobo]

and then what happened???

after falling almost all the way into the fumorale i finally snatched my ice tool from the daisy and got traction right where the slope eases off into the steaming crater - i was a wee bit chagrined of course having done this in front of 50 tourons on the hogsback - the fun part was having to chope steps the whole way back up the top of the crater rim to retrieve my crampons! and yes, i did still top out

Nonononononono, ivan! You're supposed to say, "Well, hell. That's when I got killed!"

 

Another story: One President's Day weekend many years ago I got the bright idea to ski off the top of Hood. It was icy as shit, but I was determined (and younger and stupider). I launched from the little shelf on climber's left immediately below the Pearly Gates. I got in three good turns, then hooked an edge on #4. Shortly thereafter, I was cart-wheeling and yard-saleing all the way down to the fumarole; it must have been 500 VF or so. Stopped just a hundred feet or so from the crater. Climbed back up to retrieve my yard sale items, got put back together, and then shot full speed at the hogsback and got air going over it into the Devil's Kitchen. This was in front of a President's Day crowd. The "air over hogsback" thing was the least I could do to try to regain some modicum of decency over the whole affair.