S.M.C. Camlocks (complete set)
Author: Curator
Wooden Wedges
Wooden wedges have been used by climbers for a long time. Most were home made but many early Sporthuases in Europe carried commercial versions with refinements like beveled edges, grooves for the cordage to...
Sierra Club Rock Climbing Section Pin
Found on eBay and donated to our archives, not much is known about this pin. The Sierra Club RCS was a meeting place for many significant names in American climbing in the 1950s, 1960,...
Homemade Bashies
The origin of our homemade Bashies is uncertain. They were one of the first “odd pieces” of gear in the Vertical Archaeology archives and probably date from sometime in the early 1990s or late...
1965 Alpine Climbing Group Bulletin (Yosemite Article)
Anthony (Tony) Greenbank wrote this amusing article about Royal Robbins. It is short but has a great conversational tone which really speaks to the comradery between climbers and the esteem felt for Royal Robbins. It also hints...
Fisher Griff Fiffi
The Griff Fiffi by Fisher was used to hook aid ladders to a piece of protection. The Ladder was clipped or tied directly to the convenient handle loop. In the photos above the red...
Chouinard Bashies (Complete Set)
Chouinard Bashies were available from 1982 through 1984. They are soft aluminum blocks designed to be pasted into shallow placements with the aid of a few hammer blows. Like a copperhead, they would mold...
Forrest FoxHead Chocks (Set #1, #2, #3) Shorties
Bill Forrest made his single cable “Foxheads” in three chock sizes and two cable lengths. The short versions shown here were great for aid placements where the climber needed to be up close to...
A5 Oval Carabiners
Two A5 Grade VI oval carabiners with 4000 lbs. strength. They seem to be a pretty standard oval design common in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 1988 A5 Adventures catalog lists SMC...
Forrest Mountaineering Plastic Foxhead
Offered by Forrest Mountaineering in 1974, this single cable plastic Foxhead chock only available in the #3 size. The photos show that the casting for the plastic version was unique and not a direct copy...