Other Collections: Mountain Chalet (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
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- Mountain Chalets Harvey Carter display
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- Mountain Chalets Harvey Carter display
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- Mountain Chalets Harvey Carter display
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- Mountain Chalets Harvey Carter display
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- Mountain Chalets Harvey Carter display
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- A homemade tube chock and a photo of early climbing at Turkey Rocks.
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- Pitons
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- Harvey T. Carters Bong pitons
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- Robbins boots
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- Mountain Chalets Harvey Carter display
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- Nailed boots
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- I actually used this piece of Harveys rack. He really beat on his stuff.
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- Jumars and other things.
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- A homemade cam with a unique short stem.
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- A homemade cam with a unique short stem.
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- A homemade cam with a unique short stem.
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- An early 80’s ridged stem cam
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- An early 80’s ridged stem cam
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- This cool camming device was made sometime in the early 1980s and was in my collection in 1995 when i started work at Mountain Chalet. I donated it it years before I started Vertical Archaeology.
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- This cool camming device was made sometime in the early 1980s and was in my collection in 1995 when i started work at Mountain Chalet. I donated it it years before I started Vertical Archaeology.
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- Pitons
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- A very bent Hex.
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- Colorado Nut
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- LONGware bong pitons
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- LONGware bong pitons
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- The display in the climbing case. Many crazy adventures have been planned in the back of the store.
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- Mountain Chalet owner Jim Smith examining some of the collection.
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- Forrest Fall-Arrest and a Roll Your Own
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- Forest Titons
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- Dolt nuts
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- Dolt nuts
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- Some of the original staff
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- Mountain Chalet logo inlayed in the floor.
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- Mountain Chalet T-shirts have been a staple of my wardrobe since before I worked there. The day i started Dan Foster, the owner at the time, handed me a few shirts and said “here, wear these and wash them occasionally.”
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- Owner Jim Smith on the stairs among his collection.
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- Jim and I wearing the infamous B.A.T. double poncho.
Mountain Chalet has been at the center of the Colorado Springs climbing community since 1968. I had the pleasure of working there from about 1995 until I left to pursue guiding opportunities in other parts of the world. I was inspired by the amazing people who came in to buy gear, plan trips, or just hang out. People like: Bryan Becker, Peter Gallagher, Stewart Green, Harvey Carter, Jimmy Dunn, Steve Cheney, and so many more. Standing behind the counter was sometime a very intimidating proposition. Most days I just tried to keep up and learn everything I could.
The vintage equipment hanging from the walls and rafters always intrigued me. I guess this might have been the beginning of my appreciation for the evolution of the tools we use to protect ourselves. Comparing the old nuts and springs and pegs on the wall with the shiny new gadgets on sale made one happy to live in an era when the details had pretty much been ironed out. The pioneers of gear design helped us get to the modern protection we enjoy today.
Mountain Chalet owner Jim Smith is committed to preserving the history of local climbers and carrying on the long traditions of this community touchstone. The Chalet is in very good hands. Vertical Archaeology would like to thank Jim and his amazing staff for allowing me to return to this special place and photograph their collection.
You’ve got a great excuse to visit Teton Mountaineering in Jackson. Not that anyone needs one. They have a nice collection of vintage gear, and at least as interesting, vintage photographs of Teton climbing pioneers.
I enjoyed the post about Mountain Chalet. I went to college a 15 minute walk from there, and bought much of my first gear there. Against all odds, I survived using it, in spite of having no idea what I was doing.