Editing Ice axe (section)

== History ==
{{see also|Alpenstock}}
[[Image:Jacques Balmat 2.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Jacques Balmat carrying an axe and an alpenstock]]
[[Image:Travellers' Axe - Project Gutenberg eText 14861.jpg|thumb|180px|right|An 1872 diagram of ice axe design]]
The antecedent of the ice axe was the [[alpenstock]], a long wooden pole with an iron spike tip, used by shepherds for travel on snowfields and glaciers in the [[Alps]] since the [[Middle Ages]]. On 8 August 1786, [[Jacques Balmat]] and [[Michel-Gabriel Paccard]] made the first ascent of [[Mont Blanc]].  Balmat, a [[chamois]] hunter and crystal collector, had experience with high mountain travel, and Paccard had made previous attempts to climb the peak. Illustrations show Balmat carrying two separate tools that would later be merged into the ice axe – an alpenstock (or baton) and a small axe that could be used to chop steps on icy slopes.

According to the earliest manufacturer of ice axes, [[Grivel (mountain climbing)|Grivel]], these two tools were merged to create the first true ice axe around 1840. Early ice axes had a vertical adze, with the cutting edge aligned with the direction of the shaft, as in a conventional axe. This design lasted until at least 1860, but eventually the adze was rotated to the current position, perpendicular to the direction of the shaft. The Italian Alpine Club published a book in 1889 entitled ''Fiorio e Ratti – The dangers of mountaineering and rules to avoid them'', which recommended ice axes as among "the inseparable companions of the mountaineer".<ref name="History: The Ice-Axe">{{cite web|url=http://www.grivel.com/Storia/Storia_Det.asp?Cat=P |title=History: The Ice-Axe |publisher=Grivel Mont Blanc - Since 1818 |access-date=29 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508175203/http://www.grivel.com/Storia/Storia_Det.asp?Cat=P |archive-date=8 May 2008 }}</ref>

In the late 19th century, the typical ice axe shaft measured {{convert|120|-|130|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. British climber [[Oscar Eckenstein]] started the trend toward shorter ice axes with a lighter model measuring {{convert|85|-|86|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Initially, this innovation was criticized by well-known climbers of the era, including [[Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington|Martin Conway]], a prominent member of the [[Alpine Club (UK)|Alpine Club]], who was the leader of an early expedition to the [[Baltoro Muztagh|Baltoro]] region near [[K2]] in 1892 of which Eckenstein was a member.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rowell|first=Galen|title=In The Throne Room of the Mountain Gods|url=https://archive.org/details/inthroneroomofmo0000rowe|url-access=registration|publisher=Sierra Club Books|location=San Francisco|year=1977|pages=[https://archive.org/details/inthroneroomofmo0000rowe/page/36 36–40]|isbn=0-87156-184-0}}</ref>

Early ice axes had picks and adzes of about equal lengths. By the beginning of the 20th century, the pick lengthened to about twice the length of the adze. Improvements in crampon design (pioneered by Eckenstein in 1908) and ice climbing technique led to use of shorter, lighter ice axes appropriate to steeper ice climbs in the period between the world wars.<ref name="History: The Ice-Axe"/>

A famous rescue involving an ice axe took place during the [[Third American Karakoram Expedition]] to [[K2]] in 1953. One of the climbers, [[Art Gilkey]], was incapacitated by [[thrombophlebitis]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Viesturs|first=Ed|title=No Shortcuts to the Top|year=2006|publisher=Broadway Books |isbn=9780767924702|url=https://archive.org/details/noshortcutstotop00edvi|url-access=registration}}</ref>  The other climbers attempted to rescue him by lowering him down the mountain by rope, wrapped in a sleeping bag. While crossing a steep ice sheet, a slip caused Gilkey and five other climbers to begin falling down a steep slope.  Climber [[Pete Schoening]] wedged his ice axe alongside a boulder, and managed to [[belay]] the roped climbers, saving their lives. (Gilkey, however, later in the same descent was swept away by an avalanche. Remains of his lost corpse were discovered in 1993.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rowell|first=Galen|title=In The Throne Room of the Mountain Gods|url=https://archive.org/details/inthroneroomofmo0000rowe|url-access=registration|publisher=Sierra Club Books|location=San Francisco|year=1977|pages=[https://archive.org/details/inthroneroomofmo0000rowe/page/226 226–234]|isbn=0-87156-184-0}}</ref>)  Schoening's ice axe is now on display at the [[Bradford Washburn]] [[American Mountaineering Museum]] in [[Golden, Colorado]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mountaineeringmuseum.org/about.php?id=Artifacts|title=Artifacts|publisher=Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum|access-date=27 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227093002/http://www.mountaineeringmuseum.org/about.php?id=Artifacts|archive-date=27 December 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 1966, [[Yvon Chouinard]] led a significant redesign of ice axes, working with initially reluctant manufacturer Charlet to develop a {{convert|55|cm|in|adj=mid|-long}} ice axe with a dramatically curved pick. Chouinard believed that "a curve compatible with the arc of the axe's swing would allow the pick to stay put better in the ice. I had noticed that a standard pick would often pop out when I placed my weight on it." Chouinard's idea worked and began a period of innovation in ice axe design.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chouinard|first=Yvon|title=Climbing Ice|url=https://archive.org/details/climbingice00chou|url-access=registration|publisher=Sierra Club Books with American Alpine Club|location=San Francisco|year=1978|pages=[https://archive.org/details/climbingice00chou/page/27 27]|isbn=0-87156-208-1}}</ref>

In 1978, the Safety Commission of the [[Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme]] (UIAA) established formal standards for ice axe safety and performance. This led to the replacement of the traditional wooden shaft by metal alloy shafts. Ergonomically curved handles became widespread in 1986.<ref name="History: The Ice-Axe"/> Use of modern aluminum alloys have led to a dramatic reduction in the weight of some ice axes. One model now on the market, the [[CAMP (company)|C.A.M.P.]] Corsa, weighs only {{convert|205|g|oz|abbr=on}} with a {{convert|50|cm|in|adj=mid|-long}} shaft. One expert rated this lightweight ice axe as "ideal for low angle glacier travel" but said he "craved the solid and secure heft of a true steel mountain ax" in more demanding steep alpine conditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08f/ms-lg-camp-corsa-axe|title=C.A.M.P. Corsa Ice Axe: Too Light for a Real Challenge|last=Goldie|first=Larry|date=25 September 2008|publisher=Alpinist 28: The Alpinist Mountain Standards|access-date=27 November 2009}}</ref>

===Gallery of ice axes 1970s–2010s===
<gallery>
Image:Ice axe Stubai 1970s.JPG|A wooden handled ice axe from the mid-1970s<br/>Length: {{convert|29+1/2|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}}<br/>Weight: {{convert|29+1/2|oz|g|abbr=on|order=flip}}
Image:Ice axe CAMP 1970s.JPG|A metal handled ice axe from the late 1970s<br/>Length: {{convert|35+3/4|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}}<br/>Weight: {{convert|33+3/4|oz|g|abbr=on|order=flip}}
Image:Ice axe CAMP Corsa.JPG|A lightweight CAMP Corsa ice axe purchased in 2007<br/>Length: {{convert|27+1/2|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}}<br/>Weight: {{convert|9+3/4|oz|g|abbr=on|order=flip}}
File:Black Diamond Ice Axe.JPG|A 2011 Black Diamond ice axe. {{convert|28|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}} long with a weight of {{convert|15|oz|g|abbr=on|order=flip}}.
</gallery>