ice axe

British  

noun

1. a light axe used by mountaineers for cutting footholds in snow or ice, to provide an anchor point, or to control a slide on snow; it has a spiked tip and a head consisting of a pick and an adze

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Example Sentences

This includes not having suitable clothing and equipment, like crampons and an ice axe, not checking and fully understanding the weather forecast, like which wind speeds are too strong, and not navigating properly, he says.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

Crossing the High Sierra in June usually means slow going over deep snow, with crampons on your boots and an ice axe in hand.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2022

Might that film show Mallory, ice axe held triumphantly over his head, standing on top of the world?

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2022

Wickwire forced himself back up the slope on his hands and knees, then used his ice axe and ice hammer to pin the sack to the slope.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 6, 2018

Using a soup ladle attached to an ice axe, Swanson reached out, straining to touch the ground as the helicopter lowered nearer and nearer the summit.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone