When mountaineering in snowy areas, slipping and subsequently sliding down a snow-covered slope is a common hazard. This can be extremely dangerous, since you will accelerate like lightning on this slippery area, potentially getting hurt by debris and obstacles on the way down. Trees and rocks could also cause a very sudden and painful, even lethal, stop.

How to self-arrest with an ice-axe can be summarized in the following steps:

• Grab the axe with your uphill hand with the pick facing backwards
• Have your thumb facing inwards and downwards, while the rest of your hand goes over the axe.
• Be/roll on your stomach with your feet facing downhill
• Drive the pick of your axe into the snow as hard as you can
• Draw your body as close to the axe as you can
• Keep your feet off the ground if wearing crampons

Knowing how to self-arrest is crucial. It’s far easier to self-arrest with an ice axe than without one, so always carry your ice axe and hope you have it in your hand if you do fall. Make sure you know how to use this properly and safely. You can’t plan falls, though, so it’s equally important to know how to self-arrest without an ice axe.

In this article, I will look at the basics of self-arresting with and without an ice axe.

Self-Arrest with Ice Axe

Ice axes are really cool tools and make mountaineering in snowy conditions so much easier. They’re also sharp at both ends, so can be very dangerous. Make sure you know your way around your axe and that you practice self-arrest techniques under the instruction of an experienced mountaineer. You don’t want to accidentally meet the pointy bit of your axe halfway down a hill.

The basic principle of self-arresting with your ice axe is to drive the axe into the hill as hard as you can, bringing you to a gradual stop. Here’s how:

Grab the axe with your uphill hand with the pick facing backwards. Do this with your thumb facing inwards and downwards, while the rest of your hand goes over the axe. This keeps your hand away from the sharp areas and gives you space to leverage.

Keep one or two fingers on the shaft, since this would give you some control over the movement of the axe.

This is the way you should carry your axe when you’re not using it to climb. If you do this, a sudden slip won’t catch you off guard.

The Best position

The best position to self-arrest is on your stomach with your feet facing downhill. If you fall in any other position, roll or turn to this position as quickly as you can. The longer you wait, the faster you’ll go, since acceleration is rapid on icy slopes. The faster you go, the harder it is to stop.

Once on your stomach with your feet facing downhill, drive the pick of your axe into the snow as hard as you can. Use the shoulder of your uphill hand to aid in this. Draw your body as close to the axe as you can, since your weight on the axe will force it deeper into the snow. Take care to keep your face away from the axe – turn your face into the opposite shoulder. This will keep your face safe and force your uphill shoulder closer to the axe, adding weight to drive the axe deeper into the snow.

Cover the spike of your axe with your downhill hand. This gives you a good grip and allows you to position the axe properly, diagonally across your body. It also protects your body from getting injured by this spike.

Control your feet

Lift your stomach off the snow and keep your knees wide apart on the snow, adding more weight to the axe.

It’s important to keep your feet off the ground. If you’re wearing crampons, these can get stuck in the snow, causing serious injuries to your feet, ankles and lower legs because of the speed you’re travelling at.

Once you’ve stopped, kick your toes into the slope as deep as you can. If you kick in with your feet too early, you can flip, getting seriously hurt in the process.

Use your feet to kick in a proper platform to stand on. Once you’re sure that this platform is nice and sturdy, stand up. Make your way back uphill by kicking steps into the slope.

Self-Arrest without Ice Axe

Self-arresting without an ice axe is not a great idea. It’s far less effective than when using an ice axe. If you happen to have something in your hand, like a ski pole or anything else that’s sharp and pointy, use that to dig into the slope in order to slow your fall.

If you don’t have anything with you, roll onto your stomach with your feet facing downhill. If you’re not wearing crampons, push your feet into the snow with your toes facing outwards. At the same time, push your hands or elbows into the snow and lift your body off the ground, as if you’re doing a push-up. This will give you the most possible leverage.

If you’re wearing crampons, don’t ever let your feet hit the slope while you’re falling. Getting your crampons into the snow at that speed will make you flip and cause very bad injuries. Instead, dig your knees into the slope, keeping your feet as far out of the way as you possibly can. At the same time, dig in with your hands or elbows, keeping your body off the ground and before.

Once you’ve stopped, kick your feet into the slope, making a little platform for yourself to stand on. From here, you would kick in steps to walk uphill, the same as you would if you had an ice axe.

Conclusion

Being able to self-arrest is an important skill when mountaineering on snowy or icy slopes. Always carry an ice axe and make sure that you’ve practiced self-arrest skills before you head out. Also make sure that you don’t lose your ice axe – it’s the best tool to self-arrest when you fall on a slope. Self-arrest without an ice axe is far less effective and can end catastrophically.

I have written a complete ice climbing guide for beginners that sum up everything you should know as you start out. It’s a must read if you are just starting to climb icy routes. You can find the ice climbing beginner guide here.

Happy adventures!