Peter Aschenbrenner (1902-1998) was an Austrian Guide who participated in the 1934 and led the 1953 expedition to Nanga Parbat. He developed this ice axe design in the early 1930s.

The Aschenbrenner quickly became the ice axe chosen by many military personnel. Many were distributed to the German mountain divisions during War World II. After the war, they became more and more popular and were made with a range of shaft lengths to fit a variety of situations.

The Aschenbrenner ice axe was the most successful wood-shafted ice axe of all time. They were widely used until wood shafts went out of fashion.

↑ 229: Stubai Aschenbrenner

• Made in Austria [Early 1960s].
• 850x265 mm.
• Weight: 810 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 32x24 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Curved adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 70(l)x60(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a diamond-point tip and with 15 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 135(l)x17(h)x8(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 71(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring with cut -off strap.
• General purpose mountaineering axe that excels at step cutting.
• The older Stubai diamond logo dates this axe to the early 1960s.

↑ 229: Stubai Aschenbrenner

• Made in Austria [1960s].
• 850x265 mm.
• Weight: 825 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 33x23 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Curved adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 80(l)x60(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a diamond-point tip and with 15 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 136(l)x17(h)x8(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 63(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• The glide ring and stop are missing.
• General purpose mountaineering axe that excels at step cutting.
• The Stubai logo dates this axe to the 1960s.

↑ 289: Stubai Aschenbrenner

• Made in Austria [1970s].
• 800x265 mm.
• Weight: 840 g.
• Wood Handle.
• Shaft: 33x23 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Straight adze with a straight edge and no arch.
• Adze: 70(l)x59(w)x0(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a diamond-point tip and with 5 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 130(l)x18(h)x7(t) mm.
• Triangular plate spike.
• Spike: 59(l)x14(w)x14(t) mm.
• Glide ring with adjustable web strap.
• Short-headed Ascbenbrenner with a flat adze.
• A completely redesigned axe that retains the Aschenbrenner model name.

"Führerpickel" means "Leader's pick." Think of this as a "Mountain Guide" model in a marketing sense.

The "Original Aschenbrenner" had a flat adze. The "Aschenbrenner Führerpickel" was developed in the 1950s and had a curved adze.

↑ 288: Stubai Aschenbrenner Führerpickel

• Made in Austria [1960s].
• 890x310 mm.
• Weight: 1045 g.
• Wood Handle.
• Shaft: 34x24 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Curved adze with a curved edge and a strong arch.
• Adze: 85(l)x69(w)x8(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a diamond-point tip and with 20 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 165(l)x19(h)x10(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 66(l)x12(w)x11(t) mm.
• Glide ring with adjustable web strap.
• A heavy, long-headed Ascbenbrenner with a concave adze and classical Aschenbrenner diamond-pointed pick.

↑ 178: Stubai Aschenbrenner Führerpickel

• Made in Austria [ca. 1980].
• 900x265 mm.
• Weight: 885 g.
• Wood Handle.
• Shaft: 34x23 mm.
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Curved adze with a curved edge and a strong arch.
• Adze: 75(l)x62(w)x9(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a neutral-clearance chisel tip and with 5 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 140(l)x18(h)x8(t) mm.
• Triangular spike.
• Spike: 55(l)x14(w)x9(t) mm.
• Glide ring with nylon web leash.
• Short-headed Ascbenbrenner with a concave adze.
• This particular axe has a very long shaft, even for me.
• This version seems to have been manufactured around the 1980s.
• It is thought that this type of Aschenbrenner was the only one with a carabiner hole.

The Nanga Parbat had a straight pick.
The Nanga Parbat Extrem had a curved pick and more droop to the adze.

↑ 139: Stubai Nanga Parbat

• Made in Austria [1960s].
• 800x280 mm.
• Weight: 830 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 33x22 mm.
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Curved adze with a scalloped edge and a moderate arch.
• Adze: 75(l)x63(w)x4(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a positive-clearance chisel tip and with 5 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 155(l)x26(h)x8(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 61(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring with adjustable web strap.
• This is an earlier wood-shafted, straight pick version of my normal mountaineering axe.

↑ 072: Stubai Nanga Parbat Extrem

• Made in Austria [1960s].
• 750x280 mm.
• Weight: 795 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 33x23 mm.
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Curved adze with a scalloped edge and a moderate arch.
• Adze: 75(l)x63(w)x4(arch) mm.
• Curved alpine pick with a positive-clearance chisel tip and with 5 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 150(l)x26(h)x7(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 51(l)x14(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring with adjustable web strap.
• This is an earlier wood-shafted version of my normal mountaineering axe.

↑ 029: Stubai Nanga Parbat Extrem

• Made in Austria [1976].
• 750x275 mm.
• Weight: 960 g.
• Fiberglass Shaft.
• Shaft: 33x23 mm.
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Curved adze with a scalloped edge and a moderate arch.
• Adze: 75(l)x65(w)x4(arch) mm.
• Curved alpine pick with a positive-clearance chisel tip and with 5 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 150(l)x26(h)x7(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 51(l)x14(w)x10(t) mm.
• I replaced the glide ring and stop with an aftermarket Black Diamond leash.
• This is my normal mountaineering axe, although I wish that I had gotten a slightly longer one.
• The scalloped adze works well in ice. I reshaped the pick to give it a positive clearance for hard ice.
• The foam-cored fiberglass shaft does not chill the hands like metal shafts do.

↑ 240: Stubai Nanga Parbat Extrem

• Made in Austria [ca. 1976].
• 700x275 mm.
• Weight: 875 g.
• Fiberglass Shaft.
• Shaft: 33x23 mm.
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Curved adze with a scalloped edge and a moderate arch.
• Adze: 75(l)x65(w)x4(arch) mm.
• Curved alpine pick with a neutral-clearance chisel tip and with 5 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 150(l)x26(h)x7(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 51(l)x14(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring with adjustable web strap.
• A shorter versioin of my normal mountaineering axe, still in its original confiuration.
• The scalloped adze works well in ice.
• The foam-cored fiberglass shaft does not chill the hands like metal shafts do.

↑ 179: Stubai Stadler

• Made in Austria [1960s].
• 850x305 mm.
• Weight: 1050 g.
• Wood Handle.
• Shaft: 34x21 mm.
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Curved adze with a curved edge and a moderate arch.
• Adze: 85(l)x67(w)x5(arch) mm.
• Curved alpine pick with a neutral-clearance chisel tip and with 7 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 165(l)x31(h)x9(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 65(l)x11(w)x11(t) mm.
• Glide ring, strap is missing.
• Heavy head gives this axe extra power for stepcutting, but unless you plan a lot of old-school stepcutting, choose a lighter axe.
• The older Stubai logo dates this axe to the 1960s.

Stubai developed the "Standard" model in the second half of the 1960s. Most versions had a smooth pick with no teeth and no carabiner hole. It was available in three head sizes: 275 mm., 190 mm., and 155 mm., with the latter intended for walking sticks only. Stubai developed an aluminum shaft version in the late 1970s.

Many military paraphenalia vendors falsely (and sometimes unknowingly) market Stubai's "Standard" model ice axes with the Stubai diamond logo as War World II souvenirs. Stubai's history shows that the Stubai diamond marks started in 1960, and the standard axe was not developed until later that decade. The "Standard" model is not a War World II axe.

↑ 345: Stubai "Standard"

• Made in Austria [1970s].
• Weight: 860 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Fixed Head.
• Adze is strongly curved in both directions and a strong arch.
• Adze: 80(l)x63(w)x9(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a pointed tip.
• Pick: 125(l)x20(h)x7(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 50(l)x14(w)x10(t) mm.
• The adze on this axe has extreme curvature front-to-back and an extreme side-to-side arch. side-to-side.

↑ 165: Stubai "Stubby"

• Made in Austria [1970s].
• 315x285 mm.
• Weight: 715 g.
• Wood Handle.
• Shaft: 35x25 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Adze is strongly curved in both directions and a strong arch.
• Adze: 80(l)x64(w)x8.5(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a pointed tip.
• Pick: 140(l)x22(h)x7(t) mm.
• This appears to have been cut from a full-length axe.
• The head matches the "Standard" #345.
• The back of the pick is stamped with ALBERT LUTZ AG and TEUFEN. Albert Lutz Sportartikelfabrik AG of Teufen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland sold these axes.

Stubai's "Standard" model was procured in large numbers by the the Swiss Military during the 1970s. These were stamped with the Swiss Cross.

Many military paraphenalia vendors falsely (and sometimes unknowingly) market Stubai Swiss Military (and "Standard" model) ice axes with the Stubai diamond logo as War World II souvenirs. Stubai's history shows that the Stubai diamond marks started in 1960. The "Standard" model was not developed until the late 1960s. Stubai's Swiss Military and "Standard" models are not War World II axes.

↑ 153: Stubai Swiss Military

• Made in Austria [1970s].
• 600x280 mm.
• Weight: 970 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 34x23 mm.
• Fixed Head.
• Adze is strongly curved in both directions and a strong arch.
• Adze: 85(l)x68(w)x10(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a pointed tip.
• Pick: 155(l)x22(h)x7(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 63(l)x12(w)x12(t) mm.
• The adze on this axe has extreme curvature front-to-back and an extreme side-to-side arch. side-to-side.
• Stamped with the Swiss Cross.

↑ 158: Stubai Wallner

• Made in Austria [1960s].
• 900x275 mm.
• Weight: 980 g.
• Wood Shaft.
• Shaft: 33x22 mm. (Grip: 35x24 mm.)
• Fixed Head with carabiner hole.
• Drooped adze strongly curved in both directions with a a scalloped edge and a strong arch.
• Adze: 85(l)x63(w)x8(arch) mm.
• Angled alpine pick with a diamond-point tip and with 6 ventral teeth.
• Pick: 125(l)x20(h)x7(t) mm.
• Square spike.
• Spike: 61(l)x10(w)x10(t) mm.
• Glide ring with web strap (loop cut off).
• The scalloped adze works well in ice.
• The flared diamond-pointed pick fractures the ice well when step cutting.
• Named after Friedrich Wallner, a mountain guide in the region of the Tyrol.

↑ 036: Stubai Tirol

• Made in Austria [1990s].
• 520x230 mm.
• Weight: 1045 g.
• Plastic-covered Aluminum Shaft.
• Shaft: 35x25 mm.
• Full modular head.
• Tubular adze.
• Adze: 65(l)x55(d) mm.
• Modular waterfall ice pick with a neutral-clearance chisel tip and with seven notches near tip then four coarse teeth.
• Pick: 143(l)x30(h)x6(t) mm.
• Triangular spike.
• Spike: 47(l)x25(w)x15(t) mm.
• Equipped with an aftermarket Charlet Moser leash.
• Unique 54 mm. circular adze and Extrem 150 pick for hard ice.

↑ 277: Stubai Tirol

• Made in Austria [1990s].
• 465x205 mm.
• Weight: 780 g.
• Plastic-covered Aluminum Shaft.
• Shaft: 35x25 mm.
• Full modular head with carabiner hole.
• Hammer: 38(l)x34(d) mm.
• Hammer head.
• Modular waterfall ice pick with a neutral-clearance chisel tip and with seven notches near tip then four coarse teeth.
• Pick: 143(l)x30(h)x6(t) mm.
• Flattened tube with angled cut.
• Spike: 47(l)x25(w)x15(t) mm.
• Equipped with an aftermarket Wild Tingsr leash.
• Extrem 150 pick for hard ice.