In the second half of the nineteenth century, seeing that the traditional but unwieldy alpenstock might be a useful aid to climb steep slopes of snow or ice, Victorian alpinists fastened a sharpened blade (the pick) to the top of the alpenstock; this was used to provide stability. On the opposite end, a flattened blade was placed (the adze), which was used for cutting steps in the snow or ice, an essential technique for moving over steep icy slopes before the advent of the crampon. Gradually, the alpenstock evolved into the ice axe.History of the ice axe thebmc.co.
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An 1872 diagram of ice axe design. Jacques Balmat carrying an axe and an alpenstock. 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.
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Jacques Balmat carrying an axe and an alpenstock An 1872 diagram of an early ice axe, showing how the alpenstock was modified by the addition of a pick and an adze An alpenstock ( "alpine" + "stick, staff") is 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. It is the antecedent of the modern ice axe. French-speaking climbers called this item a "baton". Josias Simler, a Swiss professor of theology at what later became the University of Zurich, published the first treatise on the Alps, entitled De Alpibus commentarius.
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The Times's great men have doubtless gone out of town, like other great men. ... The hands which at other times wield the pen for our instruction are now wielding the gun on a Scotch moor or the Alpenstock on a Swiss mountain. Work is left to feebler hands. ... In those months the great oracle becomes —what at other times it is not—simply silly.
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She wrote stories, articles and verse for magazines and periodicals, sometimes under the pseudonym Alpenstock. She wrote three novels between 1921 and 1925 under her own name, but fearing prejudice against her as a woman without a university education, publication of her two last works in verse, Moles do so little with their privacy and The wonder and the apple, were published under the pseudonym E. Their publication was arranged by her friend Miles Franklin. Her identity as their author was revealed after her death.
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Ice- axe spike-to-head lengths used to generally range from . This is just too short to be used as a walking stick on level ground (the way its forebearer, the 19th century alpenstock, was), but is ergonomic when ascending steep slopes. For flatter ground, where consequences of a slip are not large, walking poles are more appropriate. The old method to approximate the correct length of an ice axe was for the climber to hold the axe (spike facing the ground) at his/her side while standing relaxed.
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The adze is used to cut footsteps (sometimes known as pigeon holes if used straight on), as well as scoop/bucket seats in the hillside and trenches to bury an ice axe belay. The long-handled alpenstock was a predecessor to the modern ice axe. An ice axe is not only used as an aid to climbing, but also as a means of self-arrest in the event of a downhill slip. Most ice axes meet design and manufacturing standards of organizations such as the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) or European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
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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, 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.
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Dr. Gully's patients at Malvern were woken at 5 am, undressed and wrapped in wet sheets then covered with blankets. An hour later, buckets of water were thrown upon the patients who then went on a five-mile walk, carrying an alpenstock and a Gräfenberg flask of mineral water, stopping at wells for the waters. They returned to the Malvern pump room for a breakfast of dry biscuits and water. They then had the day to spend bathing in a range of kinds of baths, or in some cases wore a wet sheet called the "Neptune Girdle" round their middle at all times, removing it only at meal times.
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The Hochkalter massif lies west of the Watzmann massif and, like it, is located within the Berchtesgaden National Park. The Hochkalter mountains are divided into sub-groups known as the Hochkalter Group (Hochkalter-Gruppe), Hocheis Group (Hocheis-Gruppe) and Southern Wimbach Chain (Südliche Wimbachkette). The most important base for climbing this alpenstock is the German Alpine Club's Blaueis Hut (Blaueishütte, literally "Blue Ice Hut") which lies at a height of in the Blaueis Cirque (Blaueiskar) below the Blaueis, the most northern glacier in the Alps. Other mountain huts are the Bergheim Hirschbichl for the Hocheis Group, the Wimbachgries Hut (Wimbachgrieshütte) for climbs up the eastern flanks of the massif and the Ingolstädter Haus for the Southern Wimbach Chain.
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Charles La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a leader of the Moravian Church, from a family of French Huguenot descent, whose mother was a member of the Moravian Church born in the United States. He was educated in England and later spent time in Switzerland and was active in mountaineering; he made a number of ascents in the Alps 1824-26\. La Trobe wrote several travel books describing his experiences: The Alpenstock: Or Sketches of Swiss Scenery and Manners (1829) and The Pedestrian: A Summer's Ramble in the Tyrol (1832). In 1832 he visited the United States along with Count Albert Pourtales, and in 1834 travelled from New Orleans to Mexico with Washington Irving.
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The personal equipment of a soldier in the Alpine companies consisted of: rucksack, alpenstock, snowshoes (Schneereifen), snow goggles, mountaineering boots, Krötteln (crampons) and, in accordance with regulations of 1918 for the equipment and clothing in mountain warfare: a pair of ten-pointed crampons, full ski equipment, avalanche cord, a pair of shoe covers, a pair of overmitts, a windcheater, windproof trousers and a snowsuit or – in its absence – a snow jacket. The Alpine companies were among the most highly decorated units of the imperial forces. Several members were awarded the Military Order of Maria Theresa, for example, Lieutenant Peter Scheider of the 17 Alpine Coy for the capture of the Monticello Ridge on the Tonale Pass (together with the 28 Coy under Lieutenant Toni Kaaserer) in the summer of 1918 during Operation Avalanche (Unternehmen Lawine).
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Hikers use walking sticks, also known as trekking poles, pilgrim's staffs, hiking poles, or hiking sticks, for a wide variety of purposes: to clear spider webs or to part thick bushes or grass obscuring their trail; as a support when going uphill or as a brake when going downhill; as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps, or other rough terrain; to feel for obstacles in the path; to test mud and puddles for depth; to enhance the cadence of striding, and as a defence against wild animals. Also known as an alpenstock, from its origins in mountaineering in the Alps, such a walking stick is equipped with a steel point and a hook or pick on top. One can improvise a walking stick from nearby felled wood. More ornate sticks are made for avid hikers and often adorned with small trinkets or medallions depicting "conquered" territory.
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