bbense+rec.climbing.rec.skiing.backcountry.May.17 wrote in message ...
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In article m,
Howard nun wrote:
I have a Voile snow shovel with two holes in the blade for rigging it as a
deadman snow anchor. Any recommendations on the best material to pass
through the blade holes? 1" tubular webbing? Can a correctly planted snow
shovel be expected to behave like a snow fluke (e.g. if offset from the
slope by 40°) in wet or slushy snow?


_ Traditionally, those holes are for rigging an emergency sled or
creating a simple strap carrying system. They aren't meant for
rigging a snow fluke. Thin metal edges and nylon webbing and rope
aren't a good combo, there's nothing I would trust. There is a
reason snow flukes have metal cable connections. The best way to
use a shovel is as a standard deadman with a sling around the
shaft, of course if you do that you don't have anything to dig
the deadman out with. Snow flukes make crappy shovels and
shovels make dangerous snow flukes.

_ Booker C. Bense


Checked this out a few years ago prepping for Denali. Tried to rig
the shovel blade as a snowfluke, using cable etc.

Snow flukes are really cool. Properly placed, they dive when loaded,
and create a pretty good anchor in extremely poor snow conditions.
Very impressive.

Shovel blades are not snow flukes. Even properly rigged with cable to
look vry much like the fluke, they did not do it. They came out.
Fall down go boom. Not only that, they were very unprdictable - would
hold for a bit, then squirm sideways or upwards or just break outward.
Really makes you think that whomever figured out snow flukes was
pretty darn bright.

Tom