How to Build Basic Snow Climbing Anchors Using Snow Pickets
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While the video shows how to consider which of three basic snow pickets placements to use and how to construct them, there are other considerations. There are lots of snow pickets to choose from. And like you may have heard me say in many different videos, all gear has tradeoffs.
I break down picket design into four key features, but not having every key feature is necessary; in fact having some could be a draw back based on how you use them.
First is length. You are typically going to find pickets in 60cm or 90cm options (2 feet or 3 feet). It might be tempting to think that a longer picket will be better based on it having a larger volume of snow in front of the picket placement. That can be true. But we can also run into issues with problems based on snow depth of consistency. If the snow is not deep enough, for example, to drive a picket the full 90cm, then we might have to reclip the picket at a lower point, which some picket designs allow and other do not. And even if moving the clip point is possible, then we’ve carried the extra weight for no reason. Even more troublesome, however, could be if the snow happens to end up being strong at the ends of the picket placement than in the center. In that case, with a mid-clipped placement (say like in a t-slot), we could end up breaking the picket with a pull in the center. The longer the picket, the more the resistance has to be evenly distributed across the picket.
Second is having a flat or pointed end. A flat end will be harder to drive into the snow in a vertical orientation. A pointed end reduced that end’s ability to capture snow because the surface area is lessoned.
Third is having a permanent cable attached… or not. A permanent cable can speed up placements and removes concerns about the integrity of the attaching material (soft goods can wear out more quickly, over time, than the metal cables that are factory attached). But, those permanent attachments can limit the flexibility of easily changing clip points.
And fourth is whether the hammering end has any protection or not. This can dramatically increase the ability of the picket “head” to resist the pounding it takes when driving the picket vertically. It does add a bit of weight and cost.
The picket we are using in the video is the SMC I Picket, in a 60cm model. It has one pointed end, but that is it, no pre-attached cable and no protection for the head. I like it for it’s flexibility, when I can customize with a Dyneema sling attachment for different snow conditions and therefore different anchor configurations.
You can find the SMC I Picket, here.
But other options with varying incorporation of these features include:
The SMC Pro Picket has a pointed end, a permanently attached middle cable and a hammer guard.
The Yates Expedition Picket has a flat end, a hammer guard, but no permanent cable.
But you can also get the Yates Cable Picket that is like the above, with with the permanent, middle-attached cable.
Then there is the 90cm SMC I Picket - pointed end, no cable, no hammer guard
…and the 90cm MSR Snow Picket does have a hammer guard, again with a pointed end, but still with no permanent cable
Hopefully this helps you consider what equipment choices might be right for your snow climbing adventures.