For my North Pal trip, I decided to try Black Diamond’s new Venom axe.

I knew I’d be facing some sort of mixture of snow and ice climbing (but not exactly how much of each), making the Venom a perfect gear choice for the trip.

The Venom is a hybrid between a general mountaineering axe and a technical ice tool: a more aggressive pick, spike, and curved shaft for better bite on ice, but still designed for self-arrest and walking.

Overall, I was very happy with the Venom. It absolutely matches the comfort and usability of a general axe—and it offers impressive ice climbing ability as well.

Here’s the review: Black Diamond Venom Ice Axe.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 3:53 pm and is filed under Gear. So There.