Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Ice Axes

I'm 6 foot, 1 inch; does anyone know if I should get a 75, 80, 85, or 90 centimeter ice axe for glacier and snow traversing? thanks, Tony B.

You'll probably get two different answers to this question.

I'm "old school" and believe that an ice axe, with the head held in your hand and hanging down, should just touch the ground/floor when you're wearing the boots you intend to use climbing.

The "new school" suggests the tip of the axe ought to be about at your ankle, so a couple of inches (5cm or so) shorter.

Personally, I'm used to the slightly longer axe (I'm 5'8" and use a 75cm axe, and my son is 6'1" and has an 85cm axe). I find it easier to manage in face-down arrest position (diagonally across from my shoulder to the opposite hip) and not too long for the sort of snow climbing (around 45-50 degrees, max) I usually do.

Climbers who do a lot of steeper snow will lean toward a shorter axe, which I can understand. However, for general travel across/up moderate snow, I'm happy with what I learned to use.

Tomcat "donated" one to the mountain a while back, perhaps it is still there. It had a nice long handle as I recall. ;/

My local REI measured me and suggested that I get a 70cm axe. I'm 5' 10".

now that things are thawing out it - it is time to repost. lost at thanksgiving - rick kent, rachael and I went up above lone pine lake for a day hike - ice axe lost out of pack below lone pine lake. is a blue handled - balck diamond with no leash(maybe that's why it ran away) - please e-mail me if you find it.

Tony,
I'm guessing you are thinking about this for your JMT trip. Here is a suggestion from another angle as Alan suggested you might get. I'm 5'8" and I'm using a 53 cm Grivel Evo Air Tech axe for most of my trips now. About 1 lb. and it has proved sufficient in practice arrests. Since you are taller than I I'd guess you to go for their 58cm. This suggestion is going to break most of the rule of thumb suggetions you will get from REI, Sierra Club, and many other credible sources. An AMGA certified guide suggested it to me. The Air Tech is "T" rated (a rating of head to shaft strength. My longer BD axe sits in the closet most oif the time now.

Tony,

I'm 6'2" and i have a 75. But your height shouldn't be considered in isolation, you need to factor in the length of your arms. Conventional wisdom is the axe should be at or slightly below your ankle.

I'm 6'3"ish and have a 90. I think I'd buy a 80 if I had to replace it. They are a pain to pack, catch on overhead stuff alot.

I'm 6'1" and use an 80. Sometimes I wish it was shorter and sometimes longer so it works for me.

I'm a six-footer. I started with a 90 cm ax and it felt right for a while ('course this was 40 years ago). Later, it seemed a little long so I replaced it with an 80-cm one. Later still, when I had gained more experience, that seemed long too. So I went shorter yet. And so on. To make a long story short (pun here), I have been using a 58 cm ax for several years and now feel it is the right one for me.

Bottom line: Your experience level is at least as importance as your height. Think about how you are going to use it, and choose accordingly.

Rob pretty much explained it in his "bottom line". Height has less to do with it than it used to. Method of use and experience has more to do with it these days.

Old school was longer cause you used it as a cane while walking. So it needed to be long enough to touch the gound. That is really outdated training. Current training is shorter. If you need to use it as a walking stick, use an ski pole or treking pole instead. For glacier travel the current training is an ice axe in one hand and a treking pole in the other. Ice axe would be on the uphill side if there is one. When it gets steeper, you put the walking pole on/in your pack and use only the ice axe in the uphill hand.

If you are climbing steeper stuff (such as the mountaineers route on Whitney), then if it's long, you can't use it on the uphill side cause it's too long and will put you out of balance.

Bottom line, I'm 5'9 and mine is 65cm. I can not touch the ground when walking on flat gound (and why should I?). However while walking up hill, it is the perfect length for me. If I had to choose between 70 and 60 cm, I would have gone 60, but 65 was "just about right'....

Freedom of the Hills says 75cm for that height.