The axe shaft shown cut, with the leftover steel spike/plastic plug shown on the right. The plug gets some shaping too and works nicely with the new beveled spike.
Nothing like a little mod to fine tune an already fine BD Venom LT ice tool—have Dremel, will mod.
I received a set of the new Black Diamond Venom LT Ice tools for review last fall. As I discussed in my “Ice axe primer” post, they are an intriguing entry into the growing field of superlight but capable ice tools on the market. As the available options (and my quiver) grow, it feels increasingly absurd to be modifying ice axes. And yet, I found myself dremeling away at one of my Venom LT tools recently.
My creation elicits memories of the late Ueli Steck and his ice tool experimentation that likely resulted in the creation of the current categorie du jour of what we call ski mountaineering axes—turns out these tools can also work well on climbs like the Eiger Nordwand when you have Ueli’s skills. Check out the Cold Thistle Blog for some good Ueli-axe photos. Perhaps the original production model in the superlight technical ice tool category would be the 43cm Petzl Sum’tec, circa 2016. The menu included a cutoff spike, a 43cm curved shaft, a hammer option, and a replaceable technical pick. At 430g, that tool is significantly heavier than today’s options.
The steel spike/plug and aluminum removed from the Venom LT weighs 25g.
Depending on the outing, we can have different requirements for our ice tools. On one end of the spectrum, you have technical ascending and/or descending on an objective like the Grand Teton. Maybe there’s some proper ice climbing, testing or building a piton anchor, and large quantities of steep, non-technical snow. A tool with a little more heft makes the ice climbing feel easy, and we likely want a hammer option for shoring up anchors.
On the other end of the spectrum, you may have a more classic snow climb where the ice axe is mostly used plunging for a self-belay. Here, lightweight is the primary concern–most axes will perform just fine.
Lastly, in the era of top-down, technical ski descents, we often bring an axe, mostly as a hammer, and in case of a downclimb. Here, we start looking for the lightest weight option with a hammer, which works well enough in case of an unforeseen downclimb.
The tool of choice: the Dremel. The lower shaft is marked and measured and ready to be cut.
The cut is made and the beveled spike is had—now some buffing to remove any burrs.
The new clean beveled spike with the plug inserted. The plug was cut, then flipped over so the smooth “top” of the plug was on the bottom, then epoxied in place.
Enter my creation—the chopped BD Venom LT. In its lightest configuration, the modified Venom is nearly as light as my Camp Corsa Nanotech but adds a hammer and keeps some decent functionality. Styled out with a pinky rest, Tech Pick, and hammer, you end up with a pretty close approximation of the Petzl Gully at 43cm and 284g.
I have yet to miss the aggressive steel spike that I removed, and my backpacks and puffy jackets are certainly less threatened, too.
Presto—clean, green, and a bit lighter.
Once again, this probably isn’t necessary in a world full of truly excellent lightweight ice tools. I have been enjoying the shorty BD tool as it disappears in my pack, maintains compatibility with the Transfer LT shovel blade, and provides most, if not all, of the functionality of a Gully. Last but not least, I prefer the color green.
The Venom LT on top with the beveled edge resembles the Petzl Gully in design and function.
I guess the option to set it up as either a hammer or an adze is nice. And it has a replaceable pick. And like you said, the compatibility with the shovel blade (if you are into that sort of thing).
Will be curious to see whether you find any differences between this and the Gully as far as pounding pitons or climbing ice.
I’ve done a bit of climbing as well as piton hammering with it already – general verdict relative to the Gully is that it is less good at climbing ice, but the hammer is more effective so far. The pick angle is a bit more open than the Gully, so the balance point/knuckle clearance feels a bit “off”. The hammer has a lot of surface area and seems more robust than the Gully.
If you kept cutting it, maybe to 35cm, I could be an awesome alpine hammer if the hammer performs as you say (I have not used one so can’t say). 43cm seems like a really nice size though for general piolet use aside from climbing. Nice work!
Personally, I am looking for a longer version of the Gully. Maybe I could weld the cut-off bit from your Venom onto the bottom of my Gully? 😉
Slim, Not to toot a horn, but the Akila from Blue Ice kinda fits that bill, 4cm longer and a slightly longer and more aggressive pick angle than the gully.
Indeed, the Akilla, was what I had in mind. It’s the only one I have found so far.
Me too—just something a bit longer for snow specific applications. And the Akila looks like a a good option.
I love seeing the experimentation. I have no need for a hammer, but it is cool to see what others are up to get what they need out of existing gear.