Chouinard Yosemite Hammer – 1971
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- the hammer face
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- detail of the tang
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- detail of the pick end
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- Red printed Chouinard logo. Made in the USA
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- the philips head screw attached the sling
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- detail of the head
I have some pictures of some of my old hardware I can scan if you’d like them for the library. I had a whole slew of gear from the 70’s I gave to a friend in Memphis once he became a Cert. Mtn Guide. I could see if he could take some additional pictures of some the old gear. This is a great site and many thanks for creating it. Many memories of this older gear that worked! I sent a box of hard gear to Gary Neptune’s museum in Boulder a few years ago. Still have my Ultimate climbing helmet–can send pictures of it. Developed a unique reflective tape pattern that one can tell head movement (yes/no nods) from all four sides–made the pattern after spending time in caves and SAR work.
Thanks Rob! We are always interested in older gear and the stories behind it. That’s a cool idea using reflective tape that way. We had a similar system in use when I was ground guiding helicopters way back in the early 90s. Limited visibility or lack of direct communication always had its challenges.
In the late 1990s, Tom Frost told me these hammer heads were drop forged at Ajax Forge Company in Los Angeles. I was surprised, as that is also where I was getting the A5 hammer heads made in 1986 with my own die, but had no idea they had also made the coveted Chouinard/Frost Yosemite Hammer. They discontinued production of these in the early 1970s. I am not sure when they were first made, I think mid 60s.