A new focus on the old rules of self-arrest
Jul 22, 2021
4 minutes
Self-arrest can have low efficiency or not work at all. The modern approach is to do everything you can to regain your feet.
THE CHUNKS of ice underneath me were slowly turning red and pink from the blood dribbling from my face. I was 18 and I had experienced my first error in footwork on an icy Taranaki Mounga.
Seconds earlier, my crampons just bounced off the 40-degree slope and I was on my way. The acceleration without friction was frightening.
I had immediately rolled into the self-arrest position and with exacting technique tried to gain purchase with the pick under
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