Yes, tutorial—a very good idea, indeed. Some years ago there was a story floating around here, perhaps apocryphal, about a fellow who bought a new ice ax and wanted to teach himself how to use it. He was too shy to go out with a group, so he hiked up into an area in the central Cascade Mountains near, I believe, Monte Cristo peak. He never came out.
Petzl Charlet
Days later, a search party came across him near the bottom of a snowy slope. Hed been practicing with his ice ax, had made some mistake with it, and had stuck the pick end into his chest.
That said, numerous accidents have been documented where people hiking along a trail with an ax have tripped, sticking it into various parts of their bodies with uniformly unfortunate results.
So Id do one of two things. First, take a basic mountaineering class this spring. Youll enjoy it, youll learn a lot, youll be a lot safer on your PCT hike. Second, perhaps through the same mountaineering school, take just a weekend class on snow travel and ice-ax use. Youll learn how to travel efficiently across snow, how to be safe around your ice ax, and how to use it should you slip.
You dont want to be like that guy at Monte Cristo.
For a selection of the countrys best places for getting schooled, read ϳԹs April 04 ““.