How To Ride With Ice Axes — How To: XV Part 5
Xavier De Le Rue explains why ice axes aren’t just for mountaineers…
It’s totally understandable to think that riding down a face with sharp objects in both hands might not be the most appealing idea. Logic would get you to think “If I lose an edge here, am I simply going to impale myself?”
That’s where years of experience comes in. Xavier De Le Rue has explored some of the most interesting and wild terrain and can attribute a lot of his success in accessing these places to the use of ice axes (and no, in Xav’s experiences you don’t impale yourself when you crash).
Not only can they be used in the traditional way — using the pointed edge to gain purchase in hard snow or ice — but Xav has a few more tips and tricks that can improve your riding and overall backcountry experience.
“It’s always been a huge frustration for me that not more snowboarders or freeriders are not using ice axes… they can be your seat belt, your buoy and your margin of safety”
— Xavier De Le Rue
Watch It Now 👀
We’d Love To Hear Your Questions…
If you have any questions for Xavier about exploring and riding the backcountry, you can leave them in the comments below and we’ll get back to as many of you as we can.
With Support From: FATMAP & The North Face
