Using an ice axe when there's no ice

[Caberfeidh]

Mick Fowler used ice axes and crampons to climb the chalk of the Dover cliffs*.
* Don't try this at home.

I remember that - the Great White Fright! I would not fancy hanging off chalk by a couple of ice picks. I doubt if chalk would hold any protection either. In a similar vein, I've heard of people skiing on steep grass, no snow involved. I guess it would wreck your skis though.

[ChrisButch]

In a similar vein, I've heard of people skiing on steep grass, no snow involved. I guess it would wreck your skis though.

Not necessarily. 'Combat skiing' (skiing on or through anything but snow) has always been part of the game in Scotland. In some conditions skiing on frozen heather can be quite fun. It's the hidden rocks which wreck the skis, not the grass. And on the main topic - surely the whole point of Scottish mixed winter climbing is that you use your axe for purposes other than those God intended.

[Caberfeidh]

surely the whole point of Scottish mixed winter climbing is that you use your axe for purposes other than those God intended

Threatenening to disembowel lazy bothy rats for not getting any firewood in?

[NickyRannoch]

Always found it interesting watching Uli Stecks Eiger speed ascent that he used climbing axes for the rock lower down. Obviously he knew he would use them soon enough so easier to have in hand