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brett
climber
oregon
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 25, 2018 - 08:30am PT
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page 160 in Ament's "A History of Free Climbing in America":
1967. Greg Lowe developed an almost comical, futuristic shoe. He cut pieces of spring wire and inserted them individually into shoe rubber, so that hooks of the wires retracted when the weight was places a certain way on the shoe. The little wire pieces worked like so many little cliff hangers. Lowe tried the shoes at City of Rocks and found he could climb right up very steep slabs and near vertical walls with the greatest of ease. It made climbing far too easy in his opinion... Lowe dispensed with this idea, for the sake of climbing!
Since when has an advancement in gear or technique ever been abandoned for making the sport easier?
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Roots
Mountain climber
Redmond, Oregon
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Jun 25, 2018 - 11:06am PT
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Do tell.....
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Trashman
Trad climber
SLC
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Jun 25, 2018 - 11:14am PT
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Jello can confirm, but I recall a story about him testing drop point crampon frontpoints(picture modern, reverse curve technical picks). After walking up nearly vertical water ice hands free he allegedly decided they would ruin the fun of ice climbing and consigned them to the scrap heap of history.
Always assumed that the benefits and reasoning were overstated, but makes for good campfire fodder.
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ec
climber
ca
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Jun 25, 2018 - 02:22pm PT
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Get Ament on here to comment!
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Trashman
Trad climber
SLC
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Jun 25, 2018 - 04:09pm PT
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Since when has an advancement in gear or technique ever been abandoned for making the sport easier?
The pivot to free vs aid is similar, but not quite the same, ditto sport vs trad distinctions(if you’re not the first one up, no logical reason not to have bolts, I refer LNT zealots to the dinosaur fueled steel boxes that delivered them 90+% of the way to the “summit”).
The leashless tool movement of a decade or so ago, elimination of hanging belays, speed climbing, free soloing. All designed to make the same game a little more interesting via the elimination of gear or perfection of technique.
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EdBannister
Mountain climber
13,000 feet
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Jun 26, 2018 - 12:23am PT
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Foot fangs were a later Greg and Jeff development...
Greg did many things he did not announce with the fanfare that some with more ego needs would have promoted.. The packs just showed up a little better than they had been before. Often it took a phone call, Hey Greg, what is up with this new ladder lock buckle?? " Oh is that coming through now?? Yeah we worked with Nexus on that." The truth was Greg had given the boys at ITW a new design and it was patented, less drag than a regular ladder lock for adjustment, but it retained its position better... Greg, as in many things, was better at buckles, than the buckle manufacturer.. but he never said so in his catalog, or had the need to steal designs from someone else.
Greg did many things no one had done before.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 26, 2018 - 10:09am PT
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The story is true, and Greg is still at it.
Anybody remember fan cams?
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