First steps to climbing (2): “cheap ropes are an abomination”

Advice for tyro mountaineers from the nineteen-twenties.

The equipment of the climber, especially in his early stages, is very often a matter of fads and fancies. The actual necessities are few. Yet they must be of the very best quality and most suitable for the purpose required. Cheap ropes, for instance, are an abomination, and numerous fatal accidents have been caused by their use…

"A safe straight pull on a steep buttress ..."
Image and caption from First Steps to Climbing

Of equal and even greater importance is the climber himself – his individual equipment, both mental and physical. The writer holds strong views that climbing is only suitable for those who have reached the age of discretion. Boys may be taken out by their experienced elders, but before the age of twenty-one serious work, such as leading, should not be undertaken. The question of over-straining the bodily powers, though this may prove serious, is not in mind here, but rather the youthful lack of responsibility. The sad records of any public school which has bird-nesting crags within convenient reach will accentuate this. 

References

From George D. Abraham, First Steps to Climbing, Mills & Boon, Limited, London, 1923.