The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
1572.2020.1
Stubai Ice Axe (modified)
03/11/2020
Hermione Cooper
03/11/2020
Stubai Ice Axe with wooden shaft, metal head and added metal ferrule. Sliding leash ring. Serrated pick.
Wood, metal, canvas
52(L) x 29(length of head) cms
1
“MADE IN AUSTRIA. G.T. “ and “STUBAI” in a diamond shape.” GT “and mountain logo on other side..
Silver, brown
Stubai
Austria
There were very few ice axe manufacturers in the UK in the good old days so imports from the Continent became the norm.
By far the most popular of these imports were from Stubai of Austria and by the 1950/60’s just about every winter mountaineer had one. No surprise to see another Stubai here in the collection and no surprise to see that it has been modified.
As climbs became more technical in the 1960’s and climbers ventured out onto ever steeper ice they needed shorter ice axes to wield in tight places and drooped picks to hold in the ice.
It would be a decade or so before drooped and banana picks were commercially available so folk modified their Stubais by heating and bending the pick, by chopping the end off the shaft and sticking the ferrule on higher up - in this case not very well!
So, a nice little bit of axe history kindly donated by our good pal, David MacFarlane. Unfortunately, neither he nor us know what the initials GT stamped on the pick stand for.
Donated by David MacFarlane
03/11/2020
03/11/2020
Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
03/11/2020