In the outdoor industry, gear is in a perpetual and rapid state of evolution. We seek out fabrics that will keep us warmer and dryer. We buy lightweight pack frames to shed ounces off our backs. We want gear that will help us go farther and higher, with better safety than before, so we look ahead to what new technology will emerge.
But what about the pioneer gear—the clothing and equipment that climbers used on their first forays into the Northeast’s rugged backcountry? How has that gear shaped what we use today? Does any of it outperform what we have now? Here’s a small sampling of the gear used before the advent of today’s synthetic, lightweight materials and a look at how that gear has–or has not–evolved over the years.
Crampons In the June 1938 edition of
Appalachia, AMC member A. Gardner Dean wrote about his method for hobnailing hiking boots with Tricouni nails. He wrote that the nails “will hold in cracks that nothing else I know of will” and that they “are so comforting on wet rock.” Hobnailed boots date back to Roman times, as do crampons. Initially, most European and American climbers trusted nails over crampons on icy surfaces—until Oscar Eckenstein, a British railway engineer, asked Italian blacksmith Henry Grivel to make a pair of the 10-point crampons Eckenstein had designed. With this new style, climbers no longer had to cut steps up steep, icy terrain. In 1929, Laurent Grivel, Henry’s son, improved the design by adding two front points, creating a robust crampon that has become the foundation for the industry.
Snowshoes Wooden snowshoes originated in central Asia more than 6,000 years ago and were staples of winter travel for AMC members beginning in the 1880s. Yearly winter pilgrimages were made to Jackson, N.H., and other towns by dozens of AMCers who sought to climb the surrounding peaks with snowshoes, as the women pictured did in 1924 when they tramped up Thorn Mountain.
In the Northeast, white ash was considered the best wood for snowshoe framing because it was lightweight and easily bent. Lacings were made with rawhide. Rick Estes, a retired New Hampshire Fish and Game lieutenant who directed search and rescue operations during his tenure, still uses the snowshoes his grandfather had during World War II. He also owns a pair of Sherpa aluminum-framed snowshoes, based on a design introduced in the early 1970s. Aluminum frames and synthetic
decking quickly became the industry norm, replacing wooden shoes, but Rick believes that came with a price. “They’re noisy,” Rick says of the aluminum variety, and the creaking and squeaking scares off wildlife. “You never see anything."
How does today's gear compare to that of yesteryear? Photo by Pete Ingraham.
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