In reply to jamescook:
Personally I'd go for leashless axes (ie curved axes with a clip in point for lanyards on the pommel, a lower grip rest and possibly an upper grip rest), ideally you want something like the new Vipers or quarks, however previous gen axes that have been modded for leashless will also be fine.
I think the new Vipers are more robust than the new quarks, specifically there are durability issues with the upper grip rest on the new quarks.
Buying second hand has advantages that the axes are more likely to retain value than buying new in case you don't really get in to winter climbing.