Notes on equipment (14): "this peculiar concoction"

Advice on alpine outfitting from the mid-1930s. 

Drink.—In mountaineering the question of drink is even more important than that of food, for it is quite likely that hunger will not shew itself before a considerable period of training has elapsed, whereas thirst will come quickly enough and requires no wooing. 

The habit of drinking at every stream is to be discouraged, for it usually stimulates the craving that it is intended to allay, and it is a good rule in drinking to rely principally on what can be carried in the rucksack. 

Those who are subject to chills in throat or stomach should be cautious about drinking very cold water when they are exhausted or overheated. In these circumstances a dash of spirits added to the water may spoil the flavour but make a safer drink. Some find it agreeable to reverse the ordinary procedure of drinking and prefer red wine for the chilly dawn breakfast on the mountainside, while reserving tea for drinking during the heat of the day. The addition of wine, lemon, and sugar to tea makes a very refreshing mixture. It is worth while to know that very good tea can be made by soaking the leaves for about six hours in cold water and then straining.

A more curious drink, recommended by a climber who was consuming it when exhausted on his return to Randa from traversing the Dom and the Täschhorn, one hot day in August, was served in a jug and a bottle and consisted of hot milk and cold water, which the drinker mixed together. He claimed that this peculiar concoction was warm enough to avert chills, cool enough to be drunk with the utmost rapidity, and sufficiently unappetising to diminish an otherwise insatiable thirst.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (13): "young climbers in search of sensation"

Advice on alpine outfitting from the mid-1930s. 

Climbing-Irons.— Crampons, or climbing-irons, have long been popular with German and Austrian climbers. The Horeschowski, Eckenstein, Bilgeri, and Simond models all have ten points, but climbers with small feet can wear eight-point crampons if they wish. The shape of the Bilgeri model difers from the others and is the lightest. Hemp straps are the usual form of attachment and must not be buckled too tight, as hemp shrinks when it is wet. Horeschowski has designed a particularly convenient form of strap. Crampons should be fitted to the boots very accurately; Mr. Eckenstein states that they should be very carefully forged and points out that in the manufacture of them neither welding, brazing, soldering, nor riveting should be allowed.

Laurent Croux and Oscar Eckenstein demonstrate crampons in 1912
Image by courtesy of Grivel USA 

Although crampons are cumbersome, and at times even painful travelling companions, whenever they are worn they give a great sense of security. This can be appreciated if the climber will take the trouble to make the experiment of discarding his crampons while descending a steep slope of hard snow. He will be surprised to find how embarrassed his movements will at once become. It has even happened to a climber to become so hopelessly addicted to crampons that he will miss the opportunity of a good standing glissade owing to having shirked the trouble of removing them.

Pitons.—Iron pitons with rings and clasps may be bought from many of the foreign outfitters, such as Fritsch of Zurich. English mountaineers, so far, have preferred to use these implements merely for the purpose of safeguarding with a rope the descent of rocks or, similarly, for descending ice, in order to avoid step-cutting. In the Eastern Alps, however, young climbers in search of sensation sometimes use them for engineering their way up what would otherwise be unclimbable rock or ice. In the case of ice, such obstacles have to be sought for and are not easily found.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934

Equipment notes (12): "its enhanced price is prohibitive"

Advice on alpine outfitting from the mid-1930s. 

Rope.—In choosing a rope it must be understood that the method of tying the necessary knots in it will depend on whether the rope has a right- or left-handed lay. An expert in ropes may prefer to use different kinds on different occasions and to vary his knots accordingly, but the ordinary man will do well to choose one or other of the various makes and remain faithful to it; by doing so, his method of tying his knot will always be the same, and the knots few and easy to learn.

Of the best-known English ropes, the old Alpine Club rope, made of Manila hemp by Beale of Shaftesbury Avenue, has a right-hand lay; the newer Italian hemp rope known as the Frost and made by British Ropes, Ltd., is left-handed. The former of these two wears a little better, and the latter is slightly stronger. Jones & Co., of Victoria Street, Liverpool, the makers of another Alpine rope, also supply one that is lubricated to make it conveniently supple. It is not stated, however, whether the lubrication affects the durability at all.

Most ropes are troublesome to handle when new, and at first they will require moderate straining after use, in order to take the kinks out of them. There used to be a legend that a silk rope was a desirable luxury, but the manufacturer states that a silk one is not much lighter, while its breaking strain is approximately the same as for the ordinary rope. There is this fact to be noted, too, that, although the silk rope is agreeable to handle when new, it has a tendency to become pulpy as soon as it is wet. Its enhanced price is prohibitive to most mountaineers.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

 

Equipment notes (11): "the device is well spoken of"

Advice on alpine outfitting from the mid-1930s.

Ice-axe.—Ice-axes have not altered notably since Dr. Claude Wilson wrote his description of the best form of axe in his book on mountaineering in 1893. He agrees with the Badminton Library that the ice-axe should balance at about 12 or 14 inches from the head; but nowadays, since shorter axes are popular, it is sufficient for an axe with a shaft only 39 inches long to balance only nine inches from the head. The best axes are to be got in Switzerland or at Chamonix from blacksmiths who specialize in making them.

Illustration from the Badminton Library: Mountaineering (1892)

The Badminton Library (1892) speaks scathingly of the man who may succeed in solving the problem of making an axe with a removable head, and recommends those who want axes without heads to use alpenstocks. But the problem has altered and, today, is not quite as stated. It is now a question of making the axe in two sections so that it can be carried in the rucksack; a great advantage, for instance, on some of the Chamonix climbs. The device has been carried out by Simond, of les Bossons, and is well spoken of. There is, in fact, no mechanical reason why the piolet démontable should be a failure.

Beale, the ropemaker in Shaftesbury Avenue, supplies the ideal contrivance for carrying the axe while rock-climbing; it was invented by Dr. Wilson and, with strong pressure buttons, works perfectly. Mr. Fynn’s patent sling, supplied by Fritsch & Co. of Zurich, comes near to it in excellence and can also be used to prevent the axe from slipping out of the hand while step-cutting. It suffers, however, from the serious defect that the sliding ring that travels along the axe-shaft requires a stop and the latter interferes with the shaft in its function of sounding for hidden crevasses. The same disadvantage also applies to the leather rings that used formerly to be nailed to the shaft to give a better grip for the hand. There is also a tendency in time for the wood of the axe-shaft to rot from damp and rust underneath the ring.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes: (10): "the ventilation is defective"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s

Sleeping bags – for those who wish to travel light, and yet to include in their programme some of the biggest expeditions in Alps, a sleeping-bag is all that is wanted, or blankets may be hired for the porters to carry up to the bivouac. The Tuckett sleeping-bag is lined with Jaeger wool, with mackintosh outside; it can be used as a knapsack, but is much less handy than a rucksack. It is as well to order one longer than the stock size.

"Blankets may be hired for the porters to carry up ..."
Illustration from Edward Whymper's Scrambles in the Alps

Another sleeping-bag recommended is 6 ft. 6 in. long by 2 ft. 6in. wide and is made of thin Willesden canvas lined with down; it is fitted with straps to roll up. The warmest—but, unfortunately, the heaviest—sacks are made of sheepskin. A big one made with three skins will weigh 11 lb. Mr. Smythe, on his expedition to Kamet in 1932, obtained excellent results by using two eiderdown bags one inside the other, with a waterproof bag enclosing them. In any case, whatever bag is used, a waterproof covering is required, even if it is only a mackintosh sheet.

An article that is frequently used for bivouacs by the hardy mountaineers of the Eastern Alps is the Zdarsky tent-bag. Two men are supposed to crouch in it face to face, but the ventilation is defective and cold creeps in wherever the backs or shoulders of the inmates are not protected from contact with the waterpoof material. No kind of tent-pole is supplied with it, and the occupants are supposed to fend off the covering from themselves by means of their axes.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (9) "ready for immediate erection"

 Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

Tents —In the early days of Alpine climbing tents were a necessity. Later on, when huts became numerous, tents were no longer needed; now again, as the vogue of mountaineering increases beyond all previous measure, they become useful once more. Most of those who have tried to sleep at crowded huts in July or August have longed for a tent, but the possibilities of tents have hardly yet been realized. They can serve alternatively either as substitutes for hotels or for club-huts, and for both these purposes the Whymper tent forms an ideal compromise; it is neither too big nor too small.

A Mummery tent
Illustration from the Badminton Library: Mountaineering

Fortunately, Switzerland is a country well served by railway and postal communications, with reasonable rates for goods and baggage. Between Zermatt and Saas, for instance, tents in bundles can be transported for three francs per twenty-five kilos, and the same rate applies to other distances in Switzerland not exceeding a hundred kilometres.

It may be useful to know that the step of a twelve horse-power motor-car will carry two Whymper tents with the poles already in position, so that the tents are ready for immediate erection; that is to say, each tent (which will only require two pegs) can be put up ready for habitation in about two minutes. The fly-sheet, if used, will take about ten minutes more. Each tent with its fly-sheet and pegs weighs about 52 Ib. The same step of the car will also take two army folding stretchers, which make excellent camp bedsteads, although, as they do not fold across their length, they are not convenient to carry to a camp at any considerable distance from the car. The tents have the floor-cloth sewn into them and afford more than six feet of head-room: various sizes may be ordered from the makers (Benjamin Edgington, of 313 Regent Street). These tents will be most useful where the approach to the camp site consists of nothing more difficult than a mule-path.

The fly-sheet is chiefly of importance as protection against midday heat; it should have holes in it to receive the tips of each pair of poles, and the tips should have shoulders on which the fly-sheet rests. Stout durable strings should be substituted for the rings which are intended to receive the spikes of the poles. A gutter must not be forgotten and should be dug with an ice-axe all round the tent to drain away rain-water; it should run underneath the edge of the fly to receive the water pouring off it.

In very cold climates arctic tents are necessary. They are dome-shaped, supported on numerous ribs from which is suspended an inner tent. A flap extending all round on the ground enables the tent to be held down by weights. Such tents offer a minimum resistance to the wind and are warm, but for daily travel they are too elaborate and troublesome to erect. Camp and Sports Co-operators, Ltd., of 2 & 3 Greville Street, Holborne, are the makers.

On Kangchenjunga the gallant Bavarian expedition, toiling along the knife-edged ridges of this most formidable of mountains for weeks together, exposed to wind and cold, slept in caves which they hacked out of the ice. This method of camping has also been successfully adopted on the Dent d’Hérens and on the summit of the Moench. On Nanga Parbat, on the other hand, where the ascent consisted mostly of face-climbing under the full force of the Indian sun, it seems that the contrast between the grilling heat outside the cave and the icy cold of the interior was impossible to endure.

If a tent is only required as the substitute for a hut, a smaller one than a Whymper will suffice, and a Mummery tent will serve the purpose ; this type is supported by two ice-axes. In a larger-sized Mummery, extensions have been designed for lengthening the supporting ice-axes so as to give more head-room than in the standard pattern. Packed in a bag, a Mummery tent, 6 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. by 4 ft. high in the centre, and made of green rot-proof canvas, will weigh 10 lb. Made of aero fabric, it will only weigh 6 Ib. Even this weight, however, is a considerable addition to a rucksack, and if ice-axes are used as tent-poles, the tent will have to be taken down every time that the occupants set out on a climb. This disadvantage may be avoided by employing ordinary tentpoles, which should then be jointed in sections for convenience in carrying. 

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (8): "some prefer rubber water-bottles"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

How to carry food and drink— It is convenient to have a number of linen bags for holding provisions and other articles and keeping them clean in the sack. A large one will hold the bread. Butter, jam, or honey are best carried in aluminium boxes with double covers; aluminium bottles are good for wine or tea.

Felt coverings to the bottles are useful, as the felt may be dampened in hot weather to cool the contents, but some mountaineers prefer the rubber water-bottles made in Germany, for these take up less room when empty. The same applies to the leather Pyrenean “gourdes,” which may be procured from Paul Gleize of Chambéry. All these bottles can be cured by leaving wine and water or weak coffee in them for a couple of days before use.

Aluminium should never have tea, red wine, or spirits left in it for more than a day. Bottles made of this metal should be rinsed out with water and left to drain. The yellowish brown stains that form are protective and should not be scrubbed off; it is only the small white spots that must be removed. Neglected aluminium can he scoured with a 10 per cent. solution of carbonate of soda, followed by washing out with concentrated nitric acid.

Aluminium drinking-cups with handles are sold by most foreign outfitters and hold a quarter of a litre. The handles are indispensable if the cups are to be used for hot drinks. Leather has been tried as a substitute for horn or aluminium; it makes a compact though cheerless form of drinking-cup. An aluminium “egg,” for making tea, with a chain attached to it, saves using more than one utensil in the making; but the “eggs” usually sold are too small for any but the smallest party.

For carrying raw or lightly cooked eggs, special egg-holders are sold; as the holders are of aluminium, however, and are easily knocked out of shape, it is simpler to pack the eggs very carefully in paper in a tin.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (7): "the most comfortable puttees are Indian"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

Hat – A battered felt hat is one of the best forms of headgear, and a woollen passe-montagne or Balaclava helmet may be worn under it during great cold; but it will then be necessary to bind the hat on with a handkerchief, as it is unlikely to fit comfortably over the passe-montagne otherwise.

Felt hat without passe-montagne
Illustration from the Badminton Library: Mountaineering

Gloves – The question of gloves is important. The best kind are woollen, without fingers, and for high mountains such as Mont Blanc or Monte Rosa, waterproof over-gloves of the mitt pattern may be carried. The only form of glove that is at all possible for rock-climbing is a woollen glove with the tips of all fingers cut off.

Puttees or gaiters – For gaiters, all those who are accustomed to them swear by puttees. A hook sewn on to the lower corner of each puttee is needed, as it can be hooked on to the bootlace and will prevent the puttee riding up in crusted snow. For the lesser snow-climbs, half the usual length of puttee is sufficient. The most comfortable puttees are Indian and can be obtained from Arthur Beale of 194 Shaftesbury Avenue.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (6): "liable to sag and let in cold air"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

Shirts—Shirts for mountaineering should be made of a material that has been well shrunk. The best stuff, such as viyella, should not be heavy; two shirts that are of medium weight are more useful than a single thick one. In crowded huts at night it is unwise to hang up a coat or waistcoat with money in it; a pocket in the shirt, with a flap to button, is therefore convenient.

Sweaters—For extra clothing during halts or bivouacs there is nothing better than Shetland sweaters. The kind made in the shape of a waistcoat is inferior to the sweater type, as it is liable to sag and to let in cold air at the opening in front. Several Shetland sweaters can be carried on a big expedition, especially if there is to be any question of sleeping out. A woollen scarf, too, is most convenient and can be used in various ways. It should be wide and long, so that it can partly fulfil the functions of a plaid.

Stockings.—The perfect stockings for climbing are hand-knitted and must not be at all tight. The coarse goat’s-hair socks used by skiers are excellent for high ascents. It is remarkable that warmth from the foot will condense outside these socks, and even form ice, while the foot remains dry and warm inside; one pair of ordinary socks as well as stockings can be worn underneath them.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (5): "invaluable for hot valley marches"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

Shorts.—In order to avoid the discomfort of the great heat often met with on the way up to huts, one experienced mountaineer used to have his knickerbockers made so that when the knee-buckles were undone, the breeches could be turned up above the knees and worn as if they were shorts.Another plan is to have very thin flannel shorts made for wearing under the breeches, with tapes sewn on (as for drawers), through which the tabs of the braces can be passed. Thus it is possible to put the breeches in the rucksack and walk up to the hut clad in very thin shorts and without suffering from the heat. On arrival, it is only necessary to extract the knickerbockers from the rucksack, and put them on over the shorts, in order to be comfortably warm, even on a chilly evening. If a high peak is ascended next day the climber may be glad to wear both garments.

Shorts are also invaluable for the hot valley marches in the Himalaya. If the stockings are long enough, they can be turned up during halts, when the shorts can be tucked into them to protect the knees from biting flies. But those whose mountaineering takes them further afield than the Alps, and others whose Alpine campaigns are on an ambitious scale, will probably consult specialists in mountaineers’ clothing. Howard Flint of Avery Row, Bond Street, makes a special costume of Grenfell cloth, while Furcot Sports Wear of Holmbridge, Huddersfield, have produced a jumper and breeches at a very low cost. Both firms have used zip fastenings. In fitting these fastenings it is important to keep them from contact with the skin and to allow an ample under-flap of cloth, as the joining is not always weatherproof. The difficulty of repairing a damaged zip is another serious disadvantage.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (4): "the most efficient device"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

Cholera belt - Some may consider cholera belts a necessity in the tropics; they are no less so in the Alps for those who occasionally feel cold when wearing shorts, a form of garment which certainly exposes the stomach to chills. The chief defect of these belts is their tendency to ruck. For those who are obliged to wear something of this kind, the most efficient device is probably the long, wide, blue sash of the Chasseur d'Alpin, worn outside the breeches. Once the habit of wearing this protection is acquired, it is difficult to dispense with it. 

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (3): "some may prefer long trousers"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s

Breeches —The breeches may be of the ordinary knickerbocker type, with tab and buckle at the knee, but if so, it will be best to draw the stockings up to the thigh, before putting on the knickerbockers, and thus avoid that chilly gap, which has been known to occur between the knee-buckle and the elegantly turned down stocking-top. Woollen garters, just below the knee, help to keep the stockings up without constricting the circulation. For those who like to dispense with braces the breeches should be provided with a buckle at the back, rather below the waist, in a position that is lower than usual, Some, on the other hand, may prefer long trousers, fastened with pressure buttons inside the calf of the leg.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (2): "no cloth can be too strong"

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s

Clothing —In the choice of material for clothing many vicissitudes have to be provided for: in the first place, the toilsome walk up to the hut in the oppressive heat of the afternoon; secondly, the chilly halts for meals high up on the mountainside, and thirdly, most important of all, voluntary or involuntary bivouacs. 

Involuntary bivouac
Illustration from the Badminton Library: Mountaineering

Voluntary bivouacs may be infrequent and it may be a matter of pride to avoid those that are involuntary, but the wise mountaineer will always have something in reserve, and extra clothing for nights out will form part of his equipment. Two tourists who were once lost on Mont Blanc, spent a summer night with their guides crouching in the snow near the Dome du Gouter. The two guides alone survived till daylight, solely because they were wearing the stoutest native homespun.

In choosing stuff it should be noted that no cloth can be too strong for the inexpert rock-climber, and even the most highly skilled will prefer to have something very tough for seat, knees, and elbows. It is well to choose a medium or heavy-weight material for waistcoat and breeches.

An ideal cloth is the strong whipcord which was employed in old days for making riding-breeches, and the French homespun, known as drap de Bonneval, is reputed to be good, but nowadays, owing to the introduction of machinery, most of the advertised homespuns are homespun only in name and utterly lacking in the strength of the genuine article. A light windproof and more or less waterproof material, such as the Grenfell cloth, has been recommended, but it remains to be seen how far it will withstand the wear and tear of rock climbing. Further information on the subject of clothing will be found in the chapter on arctic mountaineering.

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934. 

Equipment notes (1): "occasionally too porous..."

Alpine outfitting advice from the mid-1930s.

Boots —Of all articles of equipment there is nothing more important to a mountaineer than his boots. Some English makers produce boots with a good appearance, but these sometimes let in the water and wear badly, for English leather is liable to be too soft for soles, and, although uppers made with it are comfortable, they are occasionally too porous. 

The ideal boot should be made of leather such as those made at Grenoble; if manufactured by one of the best British firms, the maker should be warned not to produce too heavy an article, as is sometimes the tendency. To guard against danger from frost-bite, there should be adequate room in the toes, and the toe caps should be reinforced for the same reason. If the boots are heavy and clumsy they will hamper the wearer when he is climbing mountains such as the Chamonix aiguilles, where, for rock climbing, nailed boots cannot be discarded in favour of kletterschuhe, as in the Dolomites.

For convenience in rock climbing, the sole should not project unduly beyond the uppers. A quarter of an inch is perhaps the limit, and only when the boots are new. Tags should be strongly sewn on, for the boots should be easy to get into when they are frozen after a bivouac, and it should be possible to lace them up fairly tight without constricting the foot. Some climbers find that toe-caps are unsatisfactory, as they tend to contract the end of the boot and to compress the toes; this is liable to happen with Swiss leather, which is often too hard to be satisfactory except for soles and heels.

In England the classical bootmaker is Carter, who has supplied the Mount Everest Expedition and whose business is of many years’ standing. Another maker, Lawrie of Burnley, has also supplied boots for the expedition and takes that practical interest in the subject that only a mountaineer can.

As boots that will keep frost out may save the life of their owner, they surely deserve good treatment; trees, therefore, are well worth the trouble and cost, for they will greatly prolong the life of the leather. It must be remembered that hot water pipes are almost as dangerous to leather as fire is, a fact which the hotel “boots” does not always realize …

References

Chapter Three “Equipment” by C F Meade in The Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, Volume XVIII, Mountaineering, London: Seeley Service & Co, 1934.