alternative ice pro, or garbo?

You can back a v thread up with a screw in a separate part of the ice clipped to the rope with a sling and, send the heaviest dude down first and then the last (lightest) guy can pull the back up.

Equalization isn't as important as redundancy and minimizing extension in the event of partial failure for most anchor building...recent testing has shown that some of the most commonly used equalization techniques don't really do much (see the latest edition of john long's climbing anchors book).

They do sell removable bolt things like the ones pictured (in smaller size) for use on rock but they aren't very common and i wouldn't trust them in ice as i suspect their holding power is based on friction (rock climbing cams don't work on ice)...screws work because of the teeth which is why a slightly downward point screw is strongest.

Try this link:

www.theascendingpath.com/documents/Ice%2...20Marc%20Beverly.pdf

The table on p. 13 of this document it says the mean strength for a V-thread was 11.3 kN and for an A-thread, 14.4 kN. The minimum for a V-thread was 5.2 kN and for an A-thread, 10.9 kN.  For comparison, 10kN is equivalent to 2200 pounds.

On the same page it says: "The good news is that all of the configurations and materials used were strong enough to hold abseilers/rappellers with a significant safety margin from a single anchor point. Testing showed that anchors could fail at below expected climber fall (7.5 kN) forces and should be backed up if in any doubt."

From this I conclude that rappeling from a single Abalakov anchor in good ice is safe.  During a typical rappeling sequence, climbers will place an ice screw for security before building a rappel anchor, so it's a simple matter to back up the Abalakov for every rappeller  but the last.  I think the fears about Abalakov anchors in this thread are unjustified if you know how to build the anchor properly.