Thanks, Footslogger, for your reply in general and the pointer to the interesting Whippet product. In fact, the whippet looks to be about the same weight as the
combination of one of my 5.8 oz trekking poles (okay, a little heavier with a basket added) and the 5 oz ~ice axe I'm thinking about
:
http://www.ula-equipment.com/helix.htm (if you look at this also read the FAQ)
And I think that any sort of ice axe (even one with a carbon fiber shaft) will have a lot more stopping power than the whippet; have a look at:
http://www.aai.cc/ask_a_guide.asp#whippet
Not trying to talk you out of your choice, just sharing a different viewpoint.
Okay, this thread isn't about ice axes (axis? axii?) --- sorry for the divergence. I appreciate your point about the packa not having to fit tightly over the pack. I don't plan to carry an axe the whole trip (!), and in fact for a lot of the section I would carry it, hopefully it's in my hand and not on the pack anyway.
In fact, this relates to my other issue, windy and cold but dry weather. I wonder if I could perhaps roll up the unused pack cover part (perhaps with rubber bands) and just leave this lying between pack and me just above the pack straps --- would that work? That would presumeably also cover the case where I had the ice axe on the pack.
Guess I'll fill my pack up and measure it against my existing (somewhat longer) ice axe to see just how much a 66 cm'er would likely stick above, if at all.
Brian