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Self-Arrest Skills Save Lives on Snow-Covered Slopes

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Pull Your Body Close to the Pick
Self-Arrest Skills Save Lives on Snow-Covered Slopes

A hiker pulls herself closer to her planted axe with the shaft crossing her chest diagonally.

Photo credit Franck Bocamy © Traci J. Macnamara.

When your pick catches in the snow, hold on tight to the head of the axe with your uphill hand and the shaft of the axe with your downhill hand.

Pull yourself closer to the axe. Let the shaft cross your chest diagonally as you position your body over it to help force the pick further into the snow.

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