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Black Diamond Venom Adze

Black Diamond Venom Adze description

A long snow route with a couple pitches of ice is the hardest type of climbing to select an appropriate tool. You can either have a good ice tool that sucks for self arrest or a standard ice axe that can barely climb a pitch of easy ice. Not anymore. The Black Diamond Venom is an ice axe that's designed self arrest and plunge into the snow easily but offer good ice performance. The interchangeable, classically curved pick is designed to provide solid placements while ice climbing and to self arrest securely. The Venom's slight bend at the top of the shaft increases vertical performance without sacrificing the ability to plant the shaft in the snow. A perfect alpine leash, the Lockdown, is included with this versatile axe.

I used the Venom for five days on a row and have never met a better ice axe for general climbing. It is certainly not a specialized ice-climbing tool, but it is light, easy to use and durable enough for any trekking across snow and ice. And the slight curve of the handle at the end makes it a great assistance on those rock climbing moves. A few times I was literally hanging by the axe itself on the rock.

Versatile, lighweight, practical bent shaft, classic pick; good balance.

I have used this tool skiing in Yellowstone and also in the summer to climb Mount Owen. I am just getting into mountaineering and am not really familiar with what is good and what is better. All of mountaineering friends recommended this tool as the best all around tool. Even Stephen Koch thought it was a good choice. It was perfect for the two adventures I have taken it on.