Best mountain axe for Northeast?

Looking to purchase my first mountain axe. I am 6'7'', so I will need a relativly long one.I will mostly be in the Whites. Money isnt too big of an issue ( I got a scholarship from my school for an internship, which means free gear $$)

I carry a BD Raven above tree line but its primary function is to knock snow off of low hanging branches when hiking because its always on my pack. I get around just fine with a pair of carbide tipped trekking poles with snow baskets. About the only time I have ever used an axe is for braking on long seated glissades. Same goes for crampons, my MSR Denali Ascents get 100x more mileage than my crampons, even above tree line.

My experience has been similar to Nathan's. The only additional comment I can think of is that I finally picked up a pair of cheap approach skis with Silvretta bindings as a replacement for my slowshoes. Skis are so much faster. The downside is they can't be used on terrain quite as steep as snowshoes, but at that point, you're close enough to crampon territory anyway that the trade off is worth it to me.

Regarding ice axes/tools - I don't really carry my BD Venom at all. I'm tall-ish (6'2") and have a 65cm BD Venom axe but I can't recall the last time I used it. I'm either hiking with a good pair of trekking poles or just plunging my Cobra (new style) ice tools. They plunge fine in all but the firmest snow, and in that case you use dagger method.

To make a long story short: You don't need a long axe/piolet on the east coast. They're more appropriate for long steep glaciers with crevasses, etc. And even then, more and more people are ditching their piolets and going with ice tools.

Jon H wrote:My experience has been similar to Nathan's. The only additional comment I can think of is that I finally picked up a pair of cheap approach skis with Silvretta bindings as a replacement for my slowshoes. Skis are so much faster. The downside is they can't be used on terrain quite as steep as snowshoes, but at that point, you're close enough to crampon territory anyway that the trade off is worth it to me. Regarding ice axes/tools - I don't really carry my BD Venom at all. I'm tall-ish (6'2") and have a 65cm BD Venom axe but I can't recall the last time I used it. I'm either hiking with a good pair of trekking poles or just plunging my Cobra (new style) ice tools. They plunge fine in all but the firmest snow, and in that case you use dagger method. To make a long story short: You don't need a long axe/piolet on the east coast. They're more appropriate for long steep glaciers with crevasses, etc. And even then, more and more people are ditching their piolets and going with ice tools.

Jon - I agree with you completely, UNLESS the OP does not climb vertical ice. If this is the case, it's much cheaper to pick up a 2nd hand mountaineering axe, then it would be to get technical tools.

Chris - I'd recommend a used ice axe to practice the basics (self-arrest, glissade braking, French technique, chopping steps, etc...) You really don't need anything special!