Just fixed a broken ice axe handle in the dark

Used a piece of old ski boot liner and some duct tape, wrapped it like I was mending a child’s toy. The axe still feels wrong in my hand—too heavy, too stiff—but it held on a 45-degree pitch this morning. I don’t know why I did it. Maybe because the thought of buying a new one felt like admitting I’d lost something. The snow lied again today. It looked solid. It wasn’t.