Any old mountaineers and rock climbers out there?

R

Ranger514

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
2,458
Reaction score
3,353
Location
Northwest MT
I went to ebay looking for a classic Chouinard bamboo piolet ice axe like I once owned and used. I was thinking I could find one to hang on the wall in memory of my younger years, climbing in the 70s and 80s. If you have anything with the Chouinard label (especially his original Great Pacific Iron Works gear) stashed away, you'll be surprised at what it goes for these days. I gave away all my climbing gear over the years, but kept a Forrest Mountaineering ice axe from the late 70s that never got used. It's all "collectable" nowadays, even some of the lesser brands considered second rate back in the day. When I think of how I could have turned that gear into S&W classic firearms, I have to bite my lip.
 
Register to hide this ad
OMG!!!!

I had an old ice ax (wooden handle), GPIW beeners, etc. Lived in Burbank when I climbed (mostly Stony Point). Used to drive up to the shop in Ventura.

Course, that was 45 years ago and well over 100 (150?) pounds ago!
 
Funny how we never had to worry about putting on a few pounds back in the day. Running around packing gear and climbing burned up a lot of calories. Holding down this lounger doesn't achieve quite the same results for some reason.

Guess I'll be checking out garage sales in the hope of finding old climbing gear now that I'm retired.
 
I made my first climbing harness out of 20 feet of 1-inch tubular webbing. My first climbing shoes were Lowe hiking boots, which I soon upgraded to the blue suede, steel shanked, Royal Robbins climbing shoes. They sucked when it came to friction climbing, and EBs and PAs replaced the RRs. We wore white painter pants for freedom of movement, and because that's what all the big boys in the climbing mags wore. The rope was braided Gold Line before I could afford one of Chouinard's perlon ropes.

Most of my rock climbing was done near where I grew up, in the Needles of the Black Hills, SD. Lots of coarse granite face climbing and some serious run outs. Devils Tower was a couple of hours drive for the Durrance and Weissner routes. Mountaineering was restricted to the Wind River, Tetons, and Big Horns in WY.

I miss those days. Although I never led anything harder than 5.9, or climbed anything tougher than 5.10, me and my buds had the time of our lives. Ski touring into the Winds for winter attempts on peaks was the highlight of my modest mountaineering career. We caught a lucky break in the weather and summitted Gannett Pk. in March 1979.

Anyway, that's a long lost chapter in my past. Nowadays, I do a little hiking, but the only climbing I do is in and out of bed.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top