Ahhh... a picket! (Category:  Ice Climbing)

Ahhh... a picket! These were annoying to rack. If it was a convenient time and location, I'd just take off my pack and strap the picket vertically to the outside. But if I had to keep moving, then I'd cram the picket horizontally across my lumbar. One time it put a small hole in my jacket (not nearly as bad as the tree which shredded Guy's jacket). Pretty quickly the picket would rotate so one of the ridges was pressing uncomfortably into my spine. A bit later the picket would fall out and dangle by its tether from my harness. This is because I wasn't wearing the hip belt on my pack (it overlaps my harness) and there was nothing to support the picket against my lumbar. Stupid pickets.    Adirondacks -- 2/22/2009