Snow Tubes

[benb]

I was wasting time on gear sights and I came across a snow anchor called a “snow Tube”. It looks like an ice axe without a head. I suppose it is used like a picket. Has anyone use one? That tool got me curious about the difference between typical alpine/ski mountaineering gear used here in the PNW and the gear one would see in Europe. If anyone has spent much time in the Alps, I would like to know what the major differences are.

Cheers, B

 

[ScaredSilly]

Seems like I have seen something similar in my travels but I can not recall. For ice climbing, we used to carry conduit for bailing off of. That was before v-threads got to be the normal - though I bailed using them back on the 80s.

[OlympicMtnBoy]

I always figured it was just another way for Petzl to add an extra product to their line without actually having to make anything different. I can't imagine they'd be any better than a picket and probably worse given the smaller slicker profile. For hard snow I'm sure they work as well as anything else though. I have no input on using them in the Alps, although you do have a good point that there aren't any European picket makers as far as I know (a couple companies still make flukes I think).

[goatboy]

I actually bootied one of these things once up by Colchuck once... thought it was an ice ax with the head cracked off, but looked it up and saw that it was called a "firn tube" in Europe (implying that it's used in firm snow)...

 

Still have it. Never placed it once... sure is light, though!