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Just currious when you guys do a steep snow incline (45-55 degree incline) do you zig zag? or do you go straight up? and why? I go straight up but I've seen others zig zag is this easier or safer or something??

If it is 45-55 degrees I am either step kicking or front pointing more or less straight up. Generally, if it is less steep (30-40) I zig-zag as it tends to be more efficient. I wonder if you are not overestimating the incline though, 50+ degrees would be terribly difficult to zig-zag up.

I mix it up, to use different muscles

(45-55 degree incline), straight up with mostly front points, but it's possible to side step some to use different muscle groups.

Depends on snow conditions. If it's soft/ deep and consistent enough to kick a decent step, then I'll zig zag....hard or ice a few inches under the surface and I'll front point. In couloirs the sides tend to be safer more often than not, so in early season when rocks are dropping due to thaw, I'll try to stay near the edge and you can avoid more rock and throw some gear in to keep you from sliding down the ol' chute on the chance something happens. Part of the fun of mountaineering is figuring out what works best when the variables change on you......there are very few "one size fits all" solutions.

Do what EB says.

BigMitch wrote:Do what EB says.

But don't do what I do.

Depends entirely on snow conditions... is step-kicking easy? If so, straight up. Is it post-hole? Sometimes doing switch-backs can be more efficient, as your own steps won't collapse in on themselves.

If the snow is super hard, and it's no worse than 45 degrees, I'll do subtle switchbacks, so I can maintain French technique as much as possible. Quads are stronger than calves

But as always, the overriding rule is: find your own path.

Ah hell, didn't realize this thread was 37 years old.

They don't pile on around here, eh?