Black Diamond

Venom Ice Axe

A long snow route with a couple pitches of ice is the hardest type of climbing to select an appropriate tool for. It used to be that you could either choose a good ice tool with questionable self-arrest capabilities or a standard ice axe that can barely climb a pitch of easy ice—not anymore. Black Diamond designed the Venom Ice Axe to self-arrest and plunge into the snow easily but still offer good ice performance.