UKC

Early North American developments of climbing tools and techniques, to about 1910:

https://www.bigwallgear.com/p/climbing-tools-and-techniquesearly?s=w

Thank you

Actually, would love to hear more of the Cambridge buildering.  Once I visited and was shown some of the problems done decades before—wow.  Once tried to read Young’s 1900 Wall and Roof Climbing, but was bewildered as I expected some sort of guide.  Just ordered the reprints.  Fascinating stuff.  We carried on the tradition at Dartmouth and Stanford of high ball solo buildering.  Oh, also chatted at length about adventures on buildings and statues with Ed Drummond one cold night on top of El Cap once too.  
 

any Night Climber stories?

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/the-night-climbers-of-cambridg...

Hi John, another excellent article! I think your essays are amongst the best postings on UKC. They are starting to be a definitive history of mountaineering in Europe and the states. I hope a book is in the offing!

Thanks for that - tell me about the Dartmouth highballing? I was there as a visiting prof a few years back and there’s plenty to fall off….

B

kresge had some good ones, a lie back crack outside, a leap of faith to a shelf then mantle 3 stories up inside, and another one inside up the concrete holes (we toproped that one first, I set off the fire alarm once after using it as a foothold, the whole library had to exit late one night-I turned myself in).  
 

Thrte we’re quite a few routes up the older buildings.  Lots of good lowballs too.  I was the only one who could climb all the “numbers” in Kresge, barefoot with toes and fingers in the shallow concrete holes.  Also recall a sloping shelf on one of the buildings facing the quad, super balance traverse.  Of course the great finger traverse outside the computer lab, which we also climbed up.   Sure all this has changed.

after getting it wired, I soloed the big tower up on the hill, probably 5.10c or so.  Also aid soloed the smokestack quite a few times, putting up banners in the middle of the night(got caught on that one too and had to report to dean).

I have a few pics and will try to find sometime.

Don't have too many pics, here is a few from that time:

This site has a few on pylons, bridges, chimneys, gas holders and the like. Mostly ladder climbing but a few of the older reports are a bit more exciting

https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/willington-cooling-towers-a-different...

Really enjoyable read.

I had the quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson in the front of my thesis: "Where there is no path, leave a trail"

Thanks for that. You weren't kidding about the thin traverse!

b