Vertical caving terminology and methods > Ice and snow
A tool which can be held in the hand, used for several different purposes. It can be used as a walking stick to provide balance. The sharp tip can be used to chip footholds into the ice. It can be swung like an axe into the ice to provide a handhold. Most importantly, it can be used as an emergency brake, digging it into the ice and scratching down it to slow an accidental slide. Some designs are aimed more at being swung with force into ice, and being used as a handhold. The wide scoop on the back of the axe head, the adze, is used to dig out snow, such as when preparing a deadman. Despite ludicrous films trying to suggest that they might be used for potholing, they are virtually never used in that way. However, they have been used by British cavers during Austrian expeditions, as a way to obtain handholds on a friable calcite surface during an aid climb.
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