In reply to MikeMarcus:
If you're going there, try Whalley Nab or Hollowhead Lane, if either is icy with car-compressed snow you'll get a good speed up though as the pick penetrates the ice to the tarmac it might be blunted, or worse, snatched out of your hands. But your injuries will earn you some notoriety in the office next Monday.
Post edited at 14:05