ice ax
nounDefinition of ice ax
: a combination pick and adze with a spiked handle that is used in mountain climbing
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As in, carrying 60 meters of rope, ice axes, and a base camp, including the kitchen, into thin alpine air. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "PM Approved: The Backpack Built to Carry the Kitchen Sink," 29 June 2018 The climb from the south is not considered technical, but the Forest Service recommends use of crampons and an ice ax. — Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times, "Oregon man dies on Mount Adams," 29 May 2018 That same day, a Saturday, two climbers reported finding two ice axes and what appeared to be a blood trail leading to a body between 1,500 to 2,000 feet below the axes. — Teri Figueroa, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego man dies in fall off cliff at Sequioa National Park," 15 May 2018 Most crests are not quite as fascinating as the one for Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander who climbed Mount Everest - a big blue Kiwi bird holding an ice ax - but there are plenty of colorful and quirky tributes. — Nancy Nathan, chicagotribune.com, "At Windsor Castle, a look at Harry and Meghan's (relatively) low-key wedding site," 16 Apr. 2018 The Sherpas connected Ghosh to a new rope, anchored in a rock about 30 feet uphill, and used ice axes to dig and pry the body from the snow. — Author: John Branch, Anchorage Daily News, "Deliverance from 27,000 feet: The journey home for 2 climbers who perished on Everest," 19 Dec. 2017 That was why the Sherpas with their oxygen masks and ice axes had come this far, this high, more than a year later. — Author: John Branch, Anchorage Daily News, "Deliverance from 27,000 feet: The journey home for 2 climbers who perished on Everest," 19 Dec. 2017 The bloodstained ice ax used to kill Leon Trotsky in 1940 has resurfaced for the first time in more than six decades. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Bipartisan initiative to thwart election hacking gains steam," 14 Sep. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ice ax.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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