He swung his ice axe to carve footholds on the frozen slope.

She tapped the ice-axe against the frozen ledge to clear a foothold.

The climbers checked their ice axes before starting the ascent at dawn.

The climbers secured their ice-axes before beginning the crevasse crossing.

Before attempting the glacier traverse, she checked that her ice ax was securely fastened to her pack.

While learning crevasse rescue, she mistakenly used an old ice-ax with a cracked shaft.