UKH

Left a Simond Anaconda Cup ice axe near the summit of Ben Nevis. If found will pay postage + reward.

I wish you well with recovering the ice-axe, but it seems to be an item which gets stolen fairly readily. 6-7 years ago at the end of a long day of ice-climbing, we abseiled into Observatory gully, and started trudging down the gully. My friend thought that he would save me some  bother and put one of my axes into one of the gear loops on my harness, but instead put it inside my unbuckled waist loop on my rucksac. Consequently it fell out in the snow. It was a hardly used Black Diamond Carbon Fibre axe. 

Despite staying at the nearest place to Observatory gully, i.e. the C.I.C. hut, the axe never showed up: Plus we put up a notice on here.

Hopefully your axe returning to you will prove me wrong.

It could have fallen out anywhere on the decent and been quickly covered by snow so not easily found at the time for months, it could even still be a far corner of the gully...

whilst lots of gear is not returned that could easily be done, assuming it was stolen is not only outcome that I'd conclude just because you didn't get your axe back.

Hopefully this might be a good prompt if someone has found months/years later

It was left it by the stubby walls 20m from the summit marker, I started showing the others how to follow the correct bearings to get down off the summit if it was poor visibility and only realised I hadn't picked up the axe when halfway down and we didn't have time to go back... much swearing ensued. Given the weather on Sunday and number of people up there, it more than likely will have been picked up rather than buried, I just hoped it was a climber who uses UKC. I've also filled in a police lost item form incase it was handed in but highly doubt it nowadays! If anyone sees one being sold online (or has one with adze to sell themselves) then please let me know!

 Your story is one of loss, not theft.

Still missing some kit after a nightmare in February on Creag Meagaidh and the scrooge like tendency in my to assume that it has been snaffled by someone needs to be counterbalanced by the fact that scottish winter gullies are massive, infrequently visited places full of hundreds or thousands of cubic meters of snow. Blame instinct should be supressed. 

Yes? This is the lost & found forum 

I was replying to veteye, not you.

Spotted, well thanks for the bump I guess!

I was replying to Veteye not yourself. But it was a useful bump to you both I hope

All this time later, it is highly unlikely that it was just lost. Several of us looked down the central groove which we had come down, both that same night with head torches, and the following morning. Observatory gully at that time was full of people. We advertised in these threads. We rang both guides and climbing shops etc. We were staying at the CIC, the obvious place to deposit a found piece of gear. It was not lost at the periphery of the gully. I have been up when there has been no snow. The ice-axe was colour marked.

I suppose that you would also suggest that the ice-axe which I had hidden under my rope in the lower floor of our first hut in the Swiss Alps of a certain trip, several years previously, overnight, had just got lost, when I found it missing in the morning. That particular Black Diamond axe had never been used. It was the reason that my girlfriend got me the carbon fibre axe as a present.

By the way, I being sorry for the OP, having been in absence of my axe, on two occasions at least, did reply to him in good part to get his post noticed. So please go and get his axe delivered to the rightful owner if you know where it is.

There's no need to cry thief to explain this situation, stuff lost on hills often stays lost.

Quite obviously an entirely different situation!