Stopping a fall with an ice axe in soft snow is pretty easy. There's a fair chance you can even catch and hold one or two sliding folks on your rope team on steep soft snow. On hard snow and ice . . . in the wee hours high up on Rainier . . . with crampons on, it's best not to fall. I had the bad fortune to be on a rope team in the Cascades years ago when one climber took a slide and pulled off two more before the first hit a serac, breaking a leg, and we were able to auger into a moraine to put an end to the excitement. Once you get moving on a hard icy surface, attempts to dig in sharp points such as ice axe and crampons can result in unwelcome and dangerous acrobatics.
Hundreds make it to the top every year.
Many would say it's no big deal. But people die on this mountain. It's possible to set up running belays, shuttling and placing anchors as you go, but not real practical on a day that takes you up and down over 4,000 vertical feet. In the mountains, speed can also be safety. Adopt a cow-like attitude. . .