Placing ice-screws with a slight downward angle can be a good idea in hard, uniform, compact ice where the thread will hold well. In anything else - air pockets, snow-ice, melting ice (as per this video) - ice-screws should NOT be placed head down. As you often don't know what you're placing your screw into, it's usually best to play conservative and go for a horizontal placement.
In reply to UKC Articles: Useful and informative, but why did they have to put that music track over the top? It's boring, it's unnecessary (this isn't a climbing sequence where music might be used to build up excitement) and it makes it harder to hear what Roger Strong is saying.
In reply to gethin_allen: Tis what I thought too, and I've never climbed in winter, or even seen an ice screw before Music didn't bother me at all btw.
there was very little talk about the ice its self which is the major control on the placement quality. just "banging around" with your tool isnt a very informative way of descirbing what to look for.
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