RMF Member Submission: Connecticut Climbing in the 70s - Part Two
Connecticut Climbing in the 70s - part two
Written by Mike Heintz, August 2023
I've talked about how climbers as individuals were different back in the 70's. Here are some thoughts on the gear we climbed with: The decade started off with a hodge-podge of old technology, gradually being replaced with an emerging new one. Some of us still carried hammers and pounded the occasional piton to protect our routes, especially new ones. I'm reminded of a conversation which took place in the Gunks, years later during the 90's. I was walking down the Carriage Road with veteran Gunks local Joe Bridges. We were reminiscing about the past while viewing the weekend hoards above. Gazing up, Joe said, "Can you imagine if we were all still using pitons? Just think of the noise!"
All that was soon to end however. Mostly our racks were made up of an odd assortment of chocks, typically produced in England, and varying greatly in quality. It's worth noting that Ragged Mountain was one of the first places in America where nuts were employed for protection. Here's a line from the 1964 guidebook introduction, "The vertical cracks present problems for leader protection; One solution is the use of a nut sling, (a large hex nut threaded on a loop of rope), as an artificial chockstone." What the authors were suggesting was taking an ordinary machine nut, threading a piece of rope through it, and using this for protection. This from a guide written just a few years before.
In 1972 however, Chouinard Equipment (later to evolve into Black Diamond) revolutionized passive climbing protection. To my mind, the catalog they came out with that same year is one of the most significant historical climbing documents of all time (copies can be found online), not least because it advocated for consumers not to buy some of the products sold within, namely pitons. This catalog was one of several primary fuses which ignited a revolution, the "clean climbing revolution". In an effort to encourage climbers to stop using pitons, a practice was enacted of awarding recognition to those climbers who completed the first clean (hammerless) ascent, or FCA of previously climbed routes; preserving the rock by appealing to our vanity. For a time, local shops kept notebooks to record these achievements. The practice of climbing using only nuts caught on so rapidly however, that keeping records became pointless within a matter of a few months, and was quickly abandoned. It was from this historic time that American rock climbing developed and adopted an environmental ethic, which would dominate the nation for the remainder of the decade, standing firmly until the arrival of sport climbing challenged it with its alluring promise of attaining higher grades through compromised tactics.
What was also significant, in retrospect, was that the new Chouinard gear was, for a time anyway, vastly superior to anything else available. What this meant was that for a few years every climber had pretty much the same rack: Chouinard Stoppers and Chouinard hexes. This created a level playing field and negated fears of having the wrong gear for the climb at hand. Spring loaded camming devices didn't arrive on the scene until after 1978 and were for a while thought by many to be cheating. To this day, Henry Barber still doesn't use them.
Henry Barber, Serenity Crack (5.10+), Yosemite, 1977. Photo by Yvon Chouinard / Henry C. Barber - From the Mountain Ventures Collection.
Though Yosemite was a popular destination for us all during the 70’s, this photo is included for two reasons. If you look closely, you will see several wide holes in the otherwise thin crack. These were the result of repeated piton placements. The damage was so bad on this climb, that the Park Service actually closed the route for a while. Also note, Henry is climbing barefoot. Throughout the 70’s he visited several countries, often adding new grades to the top end of their rating systems. One of the places visited was Dresden, then East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain. There he was exposed to one of the purest climbing ethics in the world. The top climbers there (holding the title “Master of Sport”) frequently climbed barefoot, a custom Henry took home with him. It briefly became popular in America.
Another significant standardization, perhaps the most important of the period, regarded footwear. At first, stiff lug soled boots were popular. Of these the best were RR's, the proverbial "blue suede shoe" of the 60's. To my mind these were best suited for standing in etriers all day on a big wall, but then again, Doug Madara wore them for years and even led an early ascent of Airation (5.11) on Cathedral Ledge wearing a pair. The more familiar style of smooth soled shoes evolved through a few early prototypes, which though an improvement over lug soled boots, were a far cry from today's options. Before long however, EB's arrived on the scene and dominated for the remainder of the decade until sticky rubber was developed. This fabled shoe with its navy blue canvas uppers was an icon of the period. They were without rival, and as with the protection gear, everyone was outfitted the same, creating a level playing field. Though we all wore the same shoe, there was still a place for individual expression. Crack climbing was very much in vogue, and those canvas uppers were prone to becoming tattered. Climbers often had protective leather panels sewed over them. I remember sending my EB's out to Colorado boot maker Steve Komito to have these panels added. I also had an embroidered moon and star added to each side. Jimmie Dunn had mushrooms embroidered on his, which I greatly coveted.
The last iconic piece of 70's gear, which should be mentioned is the swami belt. Although harnesses existed back then, they were decidedly un-cool. A swami belt was simply a length of webbing wrapped several times around the waist and tied with a water knot. The rope was then tied directly around it. A few hardy souls fashioned them from 1" tubular webbing, but most elected to employ the more comfortable 2" wide webbing. If this seems like an uncomfortable thing to be wearing at the conclusion of a fall, or while hanging to practice moves, you are most assuredly correct. What needs to be understood is that falling, especially by the leader, was frowned upon, and practicing moves from a hang was down right ridiculed, even on a top-rope. When you were neither falling nor hanging however, the comfort and simplicity of wearing a swami was sublime, whether climbing, belaying, or answering the call of nature. Long tails hanging from the knot were all the fashion.
Now it's an odd thing, but that 2" wide webbing came in only two colors; red and green. This meant every climber out there was wearing either a red or a green swami belt. One day, I was climbing at Cathedral Ledge with Casey Newman and we happened to do a route which finished up at the lookout railing on top. As usual, there was a crowd of tourists up there and we were obliged to answer all the typical questions. As we coiled our ropes, a middle-aged woman inquired of us, "Excuse me, I noticed that one of you has on a red sash, while the other has a green one. Is there a significance to the colors?" Quick witted Casey, without hesitation spoke up, "Why yes ma'am, only the finest climbers are permitted to wear the red sash of honor." Guess who was wearing the red swami? We joked about naming a new route "The Red Sash of Honor," but of course nobody would get it.
Albert Dow, Hot Rocks (5.9), Ragged Mountain 1978. Photo by Kim Smith.
Though short, Hot Rocks is a serious lead put up by Henry Barber and Ajax Greene in 1973. It is far more often top-roped, as Albert Dow is shown doing. Albert was a good friend to all, who tragically lost his life in an avalanche while participating in the rescue of a fellow climber.
Simplicity was the name of the game when it came to gear. The hip belay was still popular, even though simple belay devices existed. And for those without such a device, the carabiner break was the essential friction device for rappelling. I'm guessing it's a rare climber today who knows how to arrange one, but that's just as well. It's probably not advisable with modern biners anyway.
There! Now just add a pair of white painter's pants, throw in a colorful headband or an English flat cap, maybe a rugby shirt, and you're fully kitted-out to go cragging in the 70's. Lets jump in the VW micro-bus, pop in a Steely Dan cassette, and go climbing.
Mike Heintz was very active climbing throughout the 70's and 80's. He has over a hundred first ascents, and first free ascents, here in Connecticut, and several more throughout New England and New York. He briefly ran a climbing school here in the late 70's, after guiding for IME up in North Conway. He is a retired engineer, currently residing in Bellingham, WA with his wife Kristina, where he spends his time designing tiny houses and drinking martinis. He still gets out to the crags occasionally, but climbs now like the old man that he has become. Hiking, especially long distance walks in the UK, is his current passion.