In reply to Si Withington:
Good read - congratulations on the pass. After my assessment, I went out and bought myself an axe with an unfashionably long 65cm shaft. Wish I'd had it during the week, as it makes cutting steps so much easier, especially on the back.
The other bit of kit I found really valuable during the week was my Voile shovel with a proper D handle - much less toilsome moving large volumes of snow, and it's really not that heavier than a T.