When I think of Lowe Alpine, I think of their packs and photo bags which I’ve come across countless times of over the years. Besides maybe some of the early examples I don’t get too excited when encountering the soft goods. Hard goods on the other hand are much fewer and further between. Coming across this ice axe was a rare find and one that made me want to dig deeper on this often overlooked (by me) label.
The story of Lowe Alpine begins in Ogden, Utah, where brothers Greg, Mike, and Jeff Lowe grew up climbing alongside legends like Royal Robbins and Yvon Chouinard. When the available gear couldn’t keep up with their ambitions, they built their own.
In 1967, Greg descended into the family basement and invented the world’s first internal-frame backpack, the Expedition Pac one that quietly rewrote the rulebook for pack design in the process. By 197 Lowe Alpine Systems was incorporated. The innovations came fast: the first spring-loaded camming device (1973), the first step-in crampons with anti-balling plates (1974), the first plastic buckles on rucksacks (1980), and the first softshell garment (1984).
Jeff, meanwhile, was becoming one of the greatest alpinists of his generation. Credited with inventing mixed climbing, with over 1,000 first ascents, and a solo of a new route on the Eiger’s North Face in 1991 (Metanoia) that went unrepeated for 25 years. He was awarded the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 and passed away in 2018.
The brand was eventually sold and acquired by Rab in 2011, where it continues today as a pack-focused label. The hardware era the axes, crampons, and raw alpine tools — belongs to history.
This 70cm (27.6”) Lowe Alpine Piolet is a classic straight-shafted mountaineering axe from the brand’s hardware period. The black aluminum shaft is clean and purposeful, the pick carries a classic mountaineering curve built for firm snow and glacier ice, and the broad adze is made for step-cutting and self-arrest. The spike is sharp and true.
Ice axes bearing the Lowe Alpine name rather than their hardware sub-brand, Latok Equipment are uncommon. This isn’t a mass-market tool. It’s a genuine relic from a company that didn’t just sell gear to mountaineers. They were mountaineers.
The Black Diamond wrist leash is still threaded through the shaft appears to be dated 1997.
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