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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 11, 2006 - 12:27pm PT
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Anyone use these in Modern times? Are they still useful in anyway? Any special ways to rig them? Photos of your setup?
Cheers
f.Babar
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 11, 2006 - 01:11pm PT
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Here is a picture of the whole set #2-#6. The #1 was too paper thin and never made it on the market. Because these rack so neatly on a carabiner, I usually don't pre-sling them. A short tieoff doubled through the eye gives you a slight swivel and loses little height. John Fowler came up with the idea of placing two of them, back to back, in a camming mode by girth hitching the stems together in tension to create expansion separation at the tips. This novel clean stack was used to protect The Gashleycrumb Tinies on the Pharaoh in Tucson. I have probably spent more time on these goodies than anyone and they are truly amazing clean climbing tools when things get thin. Spend some time aid bouldering on them before you step out on the sharp end.
It is unfortunate that lots of crack n ups were destroyed by being perverted into Bird Beaks by tappers. Black Diamond strangely doesn't even list them as one of their historical firsts the last time that I checked. Try them, you will like them! But a word of warning while testing, beware the free side of the anchor shape and wear nailing gloves. No barb, but plenty of hook!
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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Dec 11, 2006 - 01:24pm PT
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sems like you could slice your nose off with one of those things pretty easily.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 11, 2006 - 01:24pm PT
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Thanks Steve! I am psyched to check 'em out...just got a full set.
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Mr_T
Trad climber
Somewhere, CA
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Dec 11, 2006 - 01:29pm PT
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How exactly are these better than bird beaks? I can see plenty of opportunity to cut your finger off with a misplaced hammer swing. Seems a clear case for evolution.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 11, 2006 - 01:32pm PT
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I can definatly see how they "evolved" into beaks...just wondering if there is any merit in resurrected them for their original purpose.... clean aid pieces.
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Dec 11, 2006 - 01:51pm PT
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Crack-n-ups are not meant to be pounded! They're camming devices. The slight bend in the stem creates torque when weighted. Because the stem is bent, you need a two-sided beak to allow placement in right or left facing corners. Really a brilliant design. I used them a lot for free climbing in the 70's.
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Cuckawalla
Trad climber
Grand Junction, CO
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Dec 11, 2006 - 02:26pm PT
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pika has something similar, not double sided. And their "powder coat" sucks, lots of flex.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Dec 11, 2006 - 02:39pm PT
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The double side-edness allows for left or righhand corner placements with the same peice, just don't poke your eye out.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 11, 2006 - 03:03pm PT
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Jeff,
Glad to hear I wasn't alone in using them for free climbing, I've always found them invaluable, but not many did. In the last days of Chouinard going under I asked the person who answered the phone if they still had any and she found three sets in the basement and sent them. Score. My free climbing set are rigged as below, the aid sets are threaded the same but short, with supertape and without being tied. I've taken a thirty footer on a #3 rigged essentially this way (but with supertape). Brooke Sandahl claims that he had a #1 that fell behind the bathroom vanity during construction that was never retreived despite several offers to go in after it.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 12, 2006 - 12:11pm PT
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To echo Jello, these were not designed to be hammered, period. They really come into their own when used in tapering slots with no bottom opening which would allow a tiny cabled nut such as an RP or steel nut. Because Crack N Ups nest so well, you are able to place them as a stack with a girth hitch through the eye. The larger sizes are stronger than an equivalent sized wired nut which is why people used them as free climbing pro for a while. I would be curious as to the longest fall caught by a Crack N Up. Take it away Healy. Do I hear 35' going once, twice! How badly did the piece bend once it came out?
The offset stem design was intended to create clearance for the eye sling to allow it to be placed cleanly. All of the subsequent Beak variations are flat and it doesn't take much time fiddling with them to appreciate how well Tom Frost thought this design through for its intended use. I just got some 1/8" sheet stainless and have been dying to push the limits of this design even further!
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Dec 12, 2006 - 12:27pm PT
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I never had the sac to use those things. If I could get a crack n up in, I could also set the tip of a blade, bug, or LA, that's what I went with, pounding the crap outta the thing in the process. Bad form but the crack n ups spooked me.
JL
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 12, 2006 - 12:41pm PT
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I never knew it was Tom who designed them - simply brilliant - many, many thanks for such beautiful and utilitarian, if esoteric, design. These babies were never popular and just looking at them made a lot of folks uncomfortable back when they debuted. No doubt they can do some damage popping on aid, but they are an irreplaceable as a free climbing piece. There is simply nothing else like them. Way better than a micro nut or cam of any kind. They are also indispensible as opposition pieces. The combination of Crack'N Ups and the three smallest Lowe-Byrne ball nuts make freeing a lot of pitches a fairly reasonable proposition when they'd otherwise be runout horrorfests. In fact, I find it fascinating that many folks will turn up their noses at Crack 'N Ups and Ball nuts perceiving them as inadequate and yet go out and buy a micro-cam. Both are imminently superior to micro-cams in every way except being familiar. I definitely don't launch on an FA or otherwise voyage into the unknown without them in tow.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 12, 2006 - 12:54pm PT
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Feelio, when you get them you'll see when they aren't slung they nest / stack quite nicely. I pre-sling mine and trade off that capability gambling that a stack could be replaced by a ball nut (not always the case).
And while I never tested it for strength, I've always operated under the assumption that hitching them with a bend around the shaft is stronger, safer, and adds to the camming action; I was never comfortable with just a sling through the hole.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 12, 2006 - 01:15pm PT
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So Healyje...
What's with the Swagged Cable up top? uses? Wouldn't that eliminate the camming action?
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 12, 2006 - 01:22pm PT
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Think about cleaning FB.
I once soloed the crack just right of the Rincon route's first pitch almost entirely on crack-n-ups before it went free. I assume that is what was used for pro when it did.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 12, 2006 - 01:35pm PT
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The cable does help with the cleaning, but it is principally for racking them. It doesn't get in the way of the camming at all. The deal is these babies are a nightmare on your rack if not rigged this way or with cords. I always assumed, now that I know it was Tom, that he must have had this in mind and that's why the hole was there; I could certainly be mistaken on that assumption, but that's what I do.
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Mimi
climber
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Dec 12, 2006 - 04:07pm PT
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Ironic, but unfortunately, not surprising.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 12, 2006 - 06:53pm PT
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I wrote a little piece on crack-n-ups over at rc.com a couple years ago.
(Somebody else can provide a link.)
I seem to recall saying something like trust the Bird to take a clean climbing tool and make it dirty.
Called 'em "little boat anchors" and mentioned that I prefer to carry them in a pocket, like hooks.
In soft desert sandstone they work if the placement is good enough.
The trouble I'm seeing is from people who don't bother finding the perfect fit (often because they are used to harder more forgiving rock) and then take a fall stripping out the placement rendering it a more difficult proposition yet.
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RRK
Trad climber
Talladega, Al
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Dec 12, 2006 - 10:55pm PT
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Although I rarely remember anything about a climb in any significant detail, I do remember using one for freeclimbing pro way-way-back. I tensioned the placement with an inverted hook pulled together with a cord and B-lock cut out of a backpack. (I still have that whole thing in a box somewhere and would post a pic if I knew how. Do you have to use Photobucket, or can you post a link from any webpage?) The rig wouldn't hold a popcorn fart but gave me the courage to climb past an otherwise blank spot (didn't sh!t for several days after though). Cool little gadget. Thank God I didn't have to test it - but that's probably true of most of my gear placements from that era
RRK
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Mimi
climber
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Dec 12, 2006 - 10:58pm PT
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Use Photobucket or ImageShack. Haven't used IS, but with PB, only copy-paste the IMG field from PB into the ST text box.
May the force be with you.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 12, 2006 - 11:13pm PT
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"So here is a thought... all the feedback I have received pretty much says these are the sh#t... why did they fade out?Seems they were way ahead of their time for the clean aid game... why have they never been "reintroduced"? "
Well, they didn't exactly fly off shelves around the country when they came out. To be honest I was quite surprised they weren't wildly popular with aid climbers back then, I didn't aid climb for decades after getting my first set. But they were fairly radical in concept and also a bit daunting to look at and to think about falling on them, especially the #2 and #3. That and they and ball nuts require a willingness to really study marginal placements to capitalize on what they do offer. Many folks just aren't willing or interested in that level of detail when free climbing; it's more the provence of [clean] aid climbers and they didn't take to them either for whatever reason. Bottom line is they wouldn't likely sell any better a second time around, especially today when passive pro is essentially pro of last resort for most young folks.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 12, 2006 - 11:38pm PT
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As I mentioned, I usually rack these things through the eye on a biner. Tom Frost was very concerned about them hurting people. The small hole was indeed designed for a piece of cord so that they would hang with the eye down and be less prone to hooking inconveniently on whatever. I usually clip in using the shortest of tie offs through the eye, as shown below so as not to lose height on the aid placement.
This pic shows a girth hitched stack. This is rarely necessary, but may allow you to stuff a shallow hole enough to get to the next placement.
The celebrated Fowler Tip Torque(TM) configuration. This method is a little hard on the Crack N Ups and may require that you rebend them into their original offset shape. Once weight is applied, the two eyes are cinched together and a considerable amount of tip pressure is achieved. The thinner Crack N Ups are too wimpy to get much effect out of this technique.
Crack N Ups never caught on quite simply and tragically because clean aid never caught on. I think the number of people who actively pushed the limits with these amazing tools is very small and just about all seem to be posting on the ST.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 12, 2006 - 11:46pm PT
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One of Charlie's hidden talents was abusing his partner's gear. LOL
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 13, 2006 - 10:53am PT
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Great stuff guys...thanks for posting. They look like sweet little tools to add to the arsenal. I guess not everyone plays the clean-aid game. In regards to Largo's comments...it may take me a while to up the satchel based fortitude to stand on one as well....but I can't wait to dink with this babies.
thanks guys.
Any more pics of them in action or crack n up stories would be great!
cheers
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 13, 2006 - 11:06am PT
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This Fowler would be John Fowler aka Da Magnus not Charlie.
Aid bouldering , aid bouldering and more aid bouldering o Feelio!
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bob d'antonio
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Dec 13, 2006 - 11:44am PT
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True story...I did an early ascent of Tomorrow, Tomorrow (5.11r) on the Slime Wall (Gunks) with Crack N Ups as the main protection in 1978.
Kevin Bein and his wife Barabra and I worked putting the gear in with a well set crack n up protecting the crux moves.
By some twist of bad luck I managed to climb through the crux and reach a small stanced 50 feet above the ground. The rope some how brush the crack n up and I watch in horror as the piece slither out and then down the rope.
Thinking I had a better chance of jumping I told Kevin to catch me.
He told me to reach up and there would be a bucket...I somehow managed to keep it together and finish the lead.
I asked Kevin how he knew there was bucket there...he said he didn't...he just didn't want to catch me.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 13, 2006 - 11:46am PT
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All these posts about using them as Free climbing pro...they must seat awesome to inspire such confidence! Great post Bob!
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 13, 2006 - 11:54am PT
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Great story Bob.
Steve, last time I saw John Fowler he came to solo Prodigal. There was a couple from Park City taking a full week to seige it (!!), and in a day and a half he just soloed past them. Their rope ruined the pictures though. Wish the gucking fumbies would do that on a less travelled line.
Anyway, John gave me a telephone # for SLC and a few months later I called it;...
It was the goddam county jail!!!!
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Dec 13, 2006 - 02:16pm PT
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On the FA of Axe of Dog in Josh, we used a Crack-N-Up as the pro for the crux move; actually pretty bomber.
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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Dec 13, 2006 - 04:16pm PT
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I have a set C'ups. Cool little pieces of gear. Tom Frost was the engineer behind many of the Chouinard developments.
Chouinard was never able to sell many so sometime in the 80s they got recylced. I was told that they had barrels of them in the warehouse in Ventura. This is one reason they are so rare to find - most got melted down into pins.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 13, 2006 - 04:20pm PT
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"This is one reason they are so rare to find - most got melted down into pins. "
Now that was a shame if true. So anyone know the manufacturing details on them? Were they forged, cast, or machined? Whatever happened to the plans, molds, jigs, etc?
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 13, 2006 - 04:41pm PT
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Did you say you've got a set of C-cups?
Very impressive!
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 13, 2006 - 05:39pm PT
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I think these need to be re-isued for the Brave new future.
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Brutus of Wyde
climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
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Dec 13, 2006 - 07:49pm PT
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I used one or two of these to protect the lead up an otherwise dangerous slab on Mt. Rubidoux back in the day... downhill and to the right of the fine hand crack near the bolt ladders. Seem to recall some sort of thumbnail mantle at the crux. I have taken a couple 'nups on most every aid climb I have done since, and used them: Climbs ranging from the original aid headwall on Steck-Salathe to Hairline on Mt. Whitney to a clean ascent of Salathe Wall on the Captain in the early '80s.
Never tried stacking them though. New concept for me.
To keep them from catching on things, I usually just carry them in my hook bag.
Brutus
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 13, 2006 - 08:46pm PT
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I usually rack the Crack N Ups biner next to a wad of tieoffs or other bulky gear to reduce the entanglement potential. I usually climb with a couple dozen hooks including several ring angle claws, so the Crack N Ups seem fairly low on the Snag-O-Meter!
My most memorable fall on a Crack N Up was on Steppin In A Slide Zone on The Mean Mistreater Wall in Tucson. A #6 placed 1/2" in protected 5.10 moves about fifteen feet off the deck. The first bolt was ten feet higher and the climbing eased off the further you went. Every other party, it seemed, got worked up enough by the difficult smearing to try their luck on the meager tip below.
I had my turn one day and slid slowly by,watching with horror as the Crack N Up wobbled around in its badly abused little hole! But it popped not and I stopped just short of the ground caught by a well directed and very dynamic belay. We always used to joke that the climb was harder if you put that freaky thing in because you had to look at it while working out the crucial footwork sequence!
I never fell on one while aid climbing because I backclean a lot and don't usually leave them in. My precious, musn't leave them where they might get tweaked or come unclipped and fall, no my precious, keep them close...........
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 13, 2006 - 10:11pm PT
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Used them on the last two free FA's I did. One had a single placement and the other six.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2006 - 10:20am PT
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Wow...again, great fuel for the fire. You guys are really getting me stoked to play with these gems. I am glad to hear some folks say how bad-ass these tools are...I have always thought the design seemed really well thought out, and wondered why there weren't more old sets on clean aid racks? Thanks guys...keep those posts coming...great stuff.
Healyje....did you swage those loops yourself? 6 in a row for a free climb!?...that is so sweet, an a testament to your faith in them. Very anxious to join the club...mine should arrive by the end of the week......preeeeeciiious. (too funny Steve G.)
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 14, 2006 - 11:51am PT
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I don't know,... I'm left with the suspicion that healyje merely takes photos so as to document the piece that failed and thereby brought about his demise.
A true pioneer! lol
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 14, 2006 - 12:12pm PT
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I think the source of Healy's passion is the very rock that he eats for breakfast. Basalt and other desirably solid volcanic rock has excellent compressive strength and tends to offer lots of bottomless, closed off microslots that are perfect for Crack N Ups and offer few other viable clean options that are as solid or strong. I don't think these placements are window dressing and it simply takes a good yank with a full length runner to find out beforehand. Yank testing is a valuable technique to assess placement integrity for all small placements before moving on by. You can generate enough shock load to break the smallest cables so be sensible here.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 14, 2006 - 04:10pm PT
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I actually just found out that shot existed the other day. Didn't realize one of my seconds on the second ascent snapped it and had posted it elsewhere. Steve is right that the basalt take Crack'N Ups quite nicely in the column seams. I started using them on SoIll sandstone and in Eldo (where I took the thirty footer). I also thought they were incredibly useful in NH on granite where blocks rested on slabs and at slab laps (I also free climbed on Air-Voyaged Skyhooks a bunch on Cannon and Cathedral in tandem with them).
As for the FA with six placements they weren't all in a row. One pitch went mainly on a couple of Crack'N Ups and #2-3 Lowe Balls, another had a single A0 move before the FFA two weeks later, and a short slab up higher took the same sort of Crack'N Up / Lowe Ball treatment. In fact, I pretty much always carry and use the Crack'N Ups and Lowe Balls together - can't say I'd like to be without either doing something new.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 14, 2006 - 06:12pm PT
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I just carry a piton and a couple of low balls and wouldn't go anywhere without them.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 17, 2006 - 05:06pm PT
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A man shouldn't go out in public without his balls and long dong! People just laugh and point and you end up eatin' dirt.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2006 - 08:03pm PT
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can you really even use the #2 and #3 without bending them all to hell? They look mighty flimsy.
Why didn't they just make the arm the same size, and vary the thickness of the beaks?
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 18, 2006 - 09:41pm PT
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Think about it.
They wouldn't be stronger; just heavier and much more expensive to make.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 20, 2006 - 09:03pm PT
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You have to be a bit careful to place the small ones at least half way in. Tip loading them will definitely bend them so screw around with the #5 and #6 if you are trying to see how little you can hook and get by.
I just talked with Tom Frost and he was stoked that people were interested. Apparently, YC lost interest in keeping them available so they may not have had enough time to catch on to sell very well. Lots of room to expand the concept to allow very shallow and flared placement possibilities, interchangeable parts, etc..........
To accomodate thinner placements without buckling, some tip tempering and shaping might just do the trick.
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feelio Babar
Trad climber
Sneaking up behind you...
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 20, 2006 - 09:13pm PT
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Did Frost say how these were made? Does he still have info on the tooling or dies...probably destroyed? I think it would be cool to see them re-introduced, with some tweaks.
Thanks Steve! Next time you talk to Tom, tell him they were ahead of their time, and, a very cool piece, in my opinion. A thinner, less agressive cam hook...I was very psyched to finally get a set in my hands....seem like they could be mighty handy in a pinch.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 23, 2006 - 10:28pm PT
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They are the ticket in a real pinch! I think the originals were punched, bent and taperground to finish but I will ask Tom or with any luck he may pop up here himself. I let him know folks were discussing his gizmos.
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George R
climber
The Gray Area
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Dec 25, 2006 - 09:14pm PT
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From the Great Pacific Iron Works (Chouinard) catalog circa 1978:
"Frost has flipped out in his quest for cleaner ethics. Now he has designed these mini-chocks to bring aid and protection in ultra-thin vertical cracks into the ethic of hammerless climbing. With these little tools you can nut your way up cracks from the size of a #2 Stopper all the way down to a 3/64" narrow fissure. The head is offset to allow it to be used in inside corners. A hole in the head can be used to facilitate removal, carrying on a hardware sling, or for reaching high with a "cheater wire"."
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 28, 2006 - 12:18am PT
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Thanks for posting the original Crack N Ups description! I could remember the opening line but couldn't find the catalog or the release date. It is funny because Tom is the last person in the world to "flip out!" Ahh that 70's lingo!
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Dec 28, 2006 - 01:14am PT
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I remember Crack N Ups. What happened to mine?
I managed to fall on em once, trying to get the Stigma clean. Up a few placements from the old anchor I popped, zippered and wound up about 10 feet off the ground. Broke the cable on a #4 stopper in the fall so I guess I can't blame the Crack N Up for pulling as well.
I don't hammer beaks either unless I have to.
Peace
Karl
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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These were just on ebay and I missed them somehow buried in work, but I did ask the seller to make a copy of the blueprint for me and hopefully he did. So would this blueprint have been done by Frost? If not by whom? Anyone know who was responsible for producing them at Chouinard?
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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I've got a strong hunch Tom Frost did the actual design and may well have drawn those blueprints.
I had a set and as far as actual use goes I'll side with Largo and I weighed in at 129.
Maybe, maybe if I had a hammer and heard the thing ring as I buried it, maybe.
What an amazing thread...I had no idea anyone used them the way they were actually intended.
Awesome.
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ChrisW
Trad climber
boulder, co
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Mar 10, 2007 - 12:38pm PT
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Where do u get these? Didn't think anyone made them anymore?
What route in Eldo? Healyje?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 11, 2007 - 01:13pm PT
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Frost definitely designed the things so the blueprint work is probably his and may bear his signature or name. They have not been available since the late seventies when YC pulled them off of the shelf. Ebay and the used gear stores are your only source besides word of mouth. Strangely, lots of climbers bought them back in the day and never learned to use them so you might luck out. Brilliant design that few people besides myself have ever seen fit to push to its limit! Birdbeaks were an unfortunate and tragic end for many underutilized Crack N Ups! Perhaps the amnesia will pass one day........
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Too much Pate - LOL!
I wuz just painting my colors on the other day (yellow) and snapped this shot of that kind of gear.
The picture above of Josephs crack N Up, here's JH doing that lead showing where that piece, the first of the route, was located. It doesn't show it, but the route is much steeper and that Crack-N-Up further off the ground than a normal climber would go, perhaps even if there was a bolt, perhaps over 30-40 feet.
The wired JH runs off the hole on top is an ingenious and critical modification. The Crack-N-Ups will rack upside down so that they don't act like a boat anchor as you climb up, and thus not catch on every damn ruggosite and projection you brush on as you ascend.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Yes it is Pate. Those guys did a hell of a job on designing them, and one of the nice design features is that they color coded them for Straight, left and right. Makes it easy to grab when you're looking down at a pile of crap all tangled up on a gear rack. Blue = right.
I would want to experiment on this idea, but I "THINK" (sometimes this is a bad choice of words) that perhaps the left and right might work for any application including a straight in crack, and that the straight, unbent Tomahawk may not be necessary at all.
Can anyone else speak to that idea?
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Photo of 1973 Chouinard foldout supplement catalog showing the #1 Crack N Up.
Tom Frost told me that they only made 10 of the #1 since they would bend at 150lbs. 6 were trashed in the testing. I know where one is.....TOM! Time to break out so I can finally see it. It belongs in a museum for sure! Due to the problem with the #1, Crack N Ups were not sold to the public until 1975.
Photo of 1973 Chouinard foldout supplement catalog price list
Rock on! Marty
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Way cool, Marty! Hardware Mania!
Mud Beaks too! Do we need to send you some Tomahawks?
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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What a waste... Poor hooks, condemed to spend their life stapled to a board on the wall...
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T Moses
Big Wall climber
Paso Robles
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Great thread and major props to Frost for having the vision to kick this whole end of the game off to a clean start. I think he was too far ahead of his time when it came to the crack'n ups.
It's really cool to see the evolution of hooks and beaks all laid out by Marty.
Minerals, I recognized the mud beaks too!
Marty, do you need a few Tomahawks?
Cool collection! I don't see a Leeper micro cam hook or a fragile flake cam hook. What about the z pitons. Are those on another board?
Edit: Nevermind on the micro and FF. They are sideways and I missed them the first time through.
For Tomahawk info: http://mosesclimbing.com/tomahawks/
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karabin museum
Trad climber
phoenix, az
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Thanks for the link for Moses products.
I purchased a few Moses items through Mtn Tools in the past.
Mostly Leeper hook replicas. The Tomahawks are SWEET! Lots of cool stuff I dont have! Yeah! And a new bolt hanger too! Cool!
Marty
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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Sounds like we need to send you a set o’ Tomahawks for the collection, Marty! Hey Theron, mind “hooking” up Marty? :)
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Tea
Trad climber
Behind the Zion Curtain
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man...that FISH captain hook is a thing of beauty (and a beast!)...I guard mine with my life.
Anybody got some of those Pike Crud spades (can't remember the name) lying around they want to sell?
Awesome display Marty!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Mar 25, 2013 - 11:31pm PT
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Bump
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Roots
Mountain climber
SoCal
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Oct 10, 2013 - 04:55pm PT
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....Fortunately Loomis has trusted me to preserve this beauty:
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Oct 10, 2013 - 05:47pm PT
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They go for upwards of $30 each on ebay if in good condition.
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Loomis
climber
Svět
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Oct 10, 2013 - 09:51pm PT
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Roots: You really have taken excellent care of the number 1, great shots!
I'll be down for a visit soon, Scott
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France
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Oct 11, 2013 - 08:41am PT
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Roots: not a beauty... a treasure...!
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Roots
Mountain climber
SoCal
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Oct 11, 2013 - 12:18pm PT
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A beautiful treasure indeed!
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Cave Creek, AZ
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Oct 26, 2014 - 02:30pm PT
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Axe of Dog bump
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ClimbingOn
Trad climber
NY
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Oct 26, 2014 - 02:54pm PT
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I'm looking for a #2 to complete my set. Will buy or trade for it. Have lots of other vintage gear if you're interested in that kind of thing.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Oct 26, 2014 - 02:57pm PT
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ClimbingOn- PM me for your #2.
Cheers!
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ClimbingOn
Trad climber
NY
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Oct 26, 2014 - 08:50pm PT
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Steve, sent you a PM.
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Crack-N-Up
Social climber
South of the Mason Dixon line
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Oct 26, 2014 - 10:21pm PT
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I used them to advantage on thin arching, expanding flakes. Because they are not wide going in they fit well. You can place them on a right or left flake and step on them like a hook. #3 is the best. I have used them like hooks, but they never got much use by me, but having them at the right time is the ticket. Placed them by hand. Leave them in your car for trade routes. Beaks might be better for hammer use; didn't have them when I was in the valley.
I would suggest clipping them inside a small leather pouch, as like hooks, they get tangled really easy.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Oct 26, 2014 - 11:42pm PT
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Used them for free pro on Texas limestone way back when. Mostly psychological, never fell on one.
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| Messages 1 - 79 of total 79 in this topic |
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