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NinetyFourCurious, is the blade/pick fixed to the handle of the whippet or is it removable?
AenigmaI can certainly see myself getting hurt crashing with those little buggers in my hands, though,/QUOTE]
Yeah this was sort of the premise of my question. Like I'd be terrified skiing with two jackhawk 9000's above my fingers, especially on any kind of gnarly terrain. They might be convenient for something like speed mountaineering though.
AenigmaWhippets seem like they'd be sort of nice on a really steep bootpack...almost as nice as a mountaineering axe. I can certainly see myself getting hurt crashing with those little buggers in my hands, though, so my vote is for a real axe.
LiteratureA Whippet is an essential tool in any ski mountaineer's kit, but they are more helpful in some situations than others.
BD whippets are fixed to the grip/shaft of the ski pole. Worth noting that it comes in a metal version that's two sections, and a carbon, three section one that is easier to stow. Given the beating they take, I'd be hesitant to mess with the carbon one.
The other existent option is a Petal/Charlet Moser thing that is retractable. Haven't used it.
BD recently recalled a bunch of Whippets, so if you own one, double check--the reason was that the picks were snapping on people. Sort of important. A buddy was doing some mixed down climbing with one the other day and had this happen--good thing he had a tool in a bomber placement too.
The most obvious part of Whippet is the weight savings--you can take one combo tool instead of both a pole and an axe.
Whippets are great to give extra purchase on the up. Obviously you can't plunge them, but in many snow types, a full plunge isn't practical or efficient--whereas the easy placement of a Whippet is fast. For really steep shit, I'm a fan of leashing both my axe and Whippet to a lightweight harness--you won't drop anything, and if there's spindrift or you need to stop, you can make and instant ice axe anchor.
On the down, I like that the Whippet gives some security in sketchy spots AT LOW SPEED. I've done minor self arrests with it before, but once you're sailing, forget it. That's my argument about knifing yourself too--in places where you need self arrest capability, puncturing yourself isn't the big concern in a fall. Skiing with an axe, whether glacier or ice tool, is ungainly, and puts me less as ease.
Keeping your tools on hand is really key too. The Whippet has a hand strap. I'm blown away by the number of people who ski with an axe without any sort of leash--again, in a fall, getting sliced is not the big concern. I've had non ski related falls where I dropped my axe, pulled it back via a leash, and successfully stopped. If you accidentally drop your axe while skiing, you're extra hosed because you can't arrest or build an anchor with it.
Obviously, there's many schools of thought here. I'd be curious to hear other folks' thoughts.
