The gear evolution stuff here is fascinating. That point about ice climbing lagging behind rock for decades because there was no ice equivalent to cams really clarifies why the 90s shift mattered so much. I never thought about how asymmetric crampons were basically DIY modifications before manufacturers caught on, but that makes sense when the market was too small to justify R&D investment. The DMM Predator detail caught me too because ive seen those in vintage shops and always assumed they were just overbuilt relics, not realizing they were actualy gamechangers at the time.
I saw something the other day, how Grivel invented the curved shafted axe, when really, the Predator predates their Grivel 'Machine' by years, and I think the second curved axe was the Charlet Moser Quasar. Probably the biggest change has been the quality of boots and picks.
Really interesting read, Andy. Particularly for someone of my age who has always used modern axes, frontpoints. My new takeaway is that I have such an advantage, I need to stop fannying about on WI3 and hop straight on something harder (ha ha...)
Such a trip to my past. The thrill of doing a Stevie Haston rock route and surviving it. Grovelling up shitty grade IIIs and IVs with my SnoMo Curver and a Clog Vulture and a hammer in case I needed to hit a peg but never did. They dangled uselessly from the harness along with the second hand "titanium" ice screw that was slowly rusting. The crappy crampons I bought from a guy that was wearing them when he fell the length of Point Five gully and never wanted to climb ice again The sweaty agony of too narrow Koflach plastic boots. Thank you Andy - great writing as always.
I just watched Stevie's video series by grivel and this comes out 5 hours later. Thanks for opening the window for us to have a glimpse into the past of ice climbing, Andy!
The gear evolution stuff here is fascinating. That point about ice climbing lagging behind rock for decades because there was no ice equivalent to cams really clarifies why the 90s shift mattered so much. I never thought about how asymmetric crampons were basically DIY modifications before manufacturers caught on, but that makes sense when the market was too small to justify R&D investment. The DMM Predator detail caught me too because ive seen those in vintage shops and always assumed they were just overbuilt relics, not realizing they were actualy gamechangers at the time.
I saw something the other day, how Grivel invented the curved shafted axe, when really, the Predator predates their Grivel 'Machine' by years, and I think the second curved axe was the Charlet Moser Quasar. Probably the biggest change has been the quality of boots and picks.
Really interesting read, Andy. Particularly for someone of my age who has always used modern axes, frontpoints. My new takeaway is that I have such an advantage, I need to stop fannying about on WI3 and hop straight on something harder (ha ha...)
Such a trip to my past. The thrill of doing a Stevie Haston rock route and surviving it. Grovelling up shitty grade IIIs and IVs with my SnoMo Curver and a Clog Vulture and a hammer in case I needed to hit a peg but never did. They dangled uselessly from the harness along with the second hand "titanium" ice screw that was slowly rusting. The crappy crampons I bought from a guy that was wearing them when he fell the length of Point Five gully and never wanted to climb ice again The sweaty agony of too narrow Koflach plastic boots. Thank you Andy - great writing as always.
I just watched Stevie's video series by grivel and this comes out 5 hours later. Thanks for opening the window for us to have a glimpse into the past of ice climbing, Andy!