tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940163880772720830.post920729285549663761..comments2024-03-16T10:11:19.302-07:00Comments on Cold Thistle: Simple solutions, leash, sock and picksDanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08300760603627210620noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940163880772720830.post-72624840343513186532012-05-04T12:13:30.915-07:002012-05-04T12:13:30.915-07:00Joe Szot, who is one of the best ice climbers i ha...Joe Szot, who is one of the best ice climbers i have ever seen climber with the shitiest picks I've ever seen. He had one stock Nomic pick that was trashed and one Camp Cassin pick that was modded to fit on his Nomic. They had completely different pick angles and everything. his sharpening style looked more like a flat head screw driver than anything. He looked at my Ergo picks with what he called a "Black Diamond style" sharpening and said that just didn't work for him. He explained to me that he felt more steel in the ice gave him more friction and better sticks with less penetration. I watched him lead a WI4+ pitch with about 80% one swing sticks, no effort at all on his part. I though it was really good ice as i watched him, i ended up swinging 4 times per stick....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940163880772720830.post-81745161330996777962012-04-23T07:26:41.410-07:002012-04-23T07:26:41.410-07:00Hi Dane,
Good stuff. The sock idea is great--so...Hi Dane, <br /><br />Good stuff. The sock idea is great--so simple! For a few years, I have just been leaving my picks alone, or simply "touching up" the worst spots, basically leaving them as they are. They definitely last longer with a practical and functional edge that way. I also like the "girth-hitched" leash system. I would say that the Blue Ice leashes are particularly good for this, because the loops near the tool are relatively large. You can easily girth hitch one handle, and then girth hitch the other, passing the whole tool through the loop...hard to explain, easy to do. In any case, tips like this are great. Efficient climbing is composed of these small acts. All the best.Bruno Schullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17545888600815223472noreply@blogger.com