Thursday, December 27, 2007

Tech Tip: Alpine Picks


I am currently loving the New F07 Black Diamond Cobra. I was sent a pair of them last spring when Jay Smith, Jack Tackle and I tried to make the first ascent of the south face of Logan. I loved them instantly, Now I have used them on on K2, a couple of peaks in Nepal and still lovin' em here in Slovenia. I have been experimenting with tooth angles and configurations, and what I have come up with is, for alpine mixed climbing the T rated pick rocks. I filed the first tooth back at a steeper angle then comes off the shelf, then notched the top of the pick - this gives a significant amount of stability on pick torques in the slippery limestone. Bet you it would work better in granite too.