This morning I was putting away my rock rack in the garage when I noticed that one of my ice axes was lying on the floor. Both of my children appeared to still be intact and they both were each carrying around their favorite toys (an stuffed horse and a Minecraft Creeper). In other words, there had been no viscous ice axe attacks so that one might have the other’s favorite toy…
The mystery was fleeting, but the idea of a blog wasn’t. That ice axe lying on the floor reminded me that one question regularly arises when we are getting ready to go into the field: How do I attach my ice axe to my backpack?
Most backpacks have two loops that hang down off the back of the pack. To attach the ice axe, one must slide the shaft down into one of the loops with the pick facing in toward the center of the pack.
After discovering that, I decided that it would probably be best if two little kids were not playing with an ice axe. There will be time enough for that when they’re older…
–Jason D. Martin