L'Equipement de l'Alpiniste 1900

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Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 3, 2014 - 10:00am PT

Jubiläumsschrift Sporthaus Fritsch & Co Zürich 1928


Sporthaus Fritsch & Co 1928 - 25 years.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 13, 2014 - 09:24am PT

Winter resorts 1912-13 in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia etc from "Winter Sports Annual 1912-13"

Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 13, 2014 - 09:42am PT

Winter resorts 1912-13 in Scandinavia from "Winter Sports annual 1912-13"

Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Dec 13, 2014 - 12:30pm PT
Love those classic Portraits!

Not much going on in 1928 on the gear side of things. Plenty on the character front. LOL
jgill

Boulder climber
Colorado
Dec 13, 2014 - 07:47pm PT
There doesn't appear that there was much noticeable progress in climbing gear from 1920 to 1954 when I bought my first real climbing equipment. But by the 1960s things had begun to change dramatically. A dormant period I suppose while Europe convulsed and the US came to its rescue.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2014 - 12:09am PT

jgill

There were some nice European achievements during that period. On the ice axe front the short-shafted Super Conta is an example.

Charlet Moser Super Conta


Showing the patina of its age this lovely Charlet Moser hammer probably dates from just after WWII and belonged to Ian Leigh, who for many years was the Commandant of the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre at Fort George in Scotland and a retired Army major. Along with Simond, Charlet Moser were and still are in 2010, long established gear manufacturers in the Chamonix Valley beneath Mont Blanc.

The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection: http://www.smhc.co.uk/objects_item.asp?item_id=31718

jaaan

Trad climber
Chamonix, France
Dec 14, 2014 - 08:10am PT
Hey Marlow, you can still get traditional handmade step cutting axes in Switzerland. Here's mine, a Bhend from Grindelwald. It's so beautiful that I've never used it! I must have posted this photo on another thread as it was already in my gallery.


Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2014 - 08:34am PT

Jaaan

The Bhend is an absolute beauty and known for being a great axe at it's time - before wooden shafts were disregarded. Lately I found an axe by another wellknown Swiss smith. The axe is a used Fritz Jörg, Zweilütschinen, Berner Oberland. Also a great tool at it's time, but far from being in the same condition as your 2010 Bhend.

Were in Switzerland do you find Bhends like that one?

The Fritz Jörg is similar to the one below.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2014 - 08:55am PT

Here's a bit of Bhend history from Cold Thistle's website: The ice axe that glows... Bhend

Bhend ice axes earned their first great success in 1938, when German climbers Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vorg, and Austrian climbers Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek, completed the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, a climb which repelled numerous other parties, and lead to several widely-reported tragedies, including the deaths of German climbers Max Sedlmayr and Karl Mehringer, in 1935, who froze during a storm, and the death of German climber Toni Kurz, in 1936, who hung lifeless on a rope before the eyes of would-be rescuers. These tragedies contributed to the myth of the Eiger, which became known as the Morwand, or Wall of Death, a play on the common name, Norwand, or north face.

Following World War Two, the British Everest expedition, lead by Colonel John Hunt, contracted with Alfred to supply crampons, ice axes and ice hammers, and New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary, and Nepalese climber Tenzing Norgay, carried Bhend ice axes on the first ascent of Everest, in 1953. A photograph taken by Hillary shows Norgay standing on the summit, cloaked in an insulated jacket and overboots, holding a Bhend ice axe triumphantly over his head. Bhend ice axes were also used by the Swiss expedition of 1956, lead by Dolf Reist, which succeeded in making the second and third ascents of Everest, and the first ascent of Lhotse.

When I visited Bhend Metallbau, Ruedi showed me two ice axes, an old ice axe, made in 1880, and a new ice axe, made in 2010. The old ice axe was over one meter long, with a shaft of dark, rough-grained wood. The pick was chipped, and the head was dull gray, although the characteristic engraving was still visible: K. Bhend, Grindelwald. It was strange to hold an ice axe more than one hundred years old, and it was hard for me to imagine how the tool would have been used. I reasoned that the long shaft was held like a staff, and the spike was important for balance. The pick was straight, with small teeth on the underside, and the adze was flat and angular. Perhaps the pick was anchored in the ice, and climbers pulled themselves along the shaft, like a handrail, while the adze was used to hack platforms.

The new ice axe, in contrast, was about seventy centimeters long, and felt much like a modern ice axe. The shaft was made of blond, fine-grained wood, and the swing was light and balanced. Compared to the old ice axe, the head was smooth and polished, a graceful form, pleasing to hold in a variety of positions: pick forward, pick backward and so on.

The most striking feature of the new ice axe was the lack of teeth on the underside of the pick. Indeed, there seemed little to secure the pick in ice. This can be explained by the fact that a Bhend ice axe is, above all, a tool for cutting steps. There are several other features, in addition to the lack of teeth, which make the ice axe suitable for step-cutting. These include the smooth curve along the top of the head, the wide rounded blade of the adze, and the tip of the pick, which is flattened into a small horizontal blade.

Cold Thistle: http://coldthistle.blogspot.no/2014/03/the-ice-axe-that-glows-bhend.html
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Dec 14, 2014 - 10:58am PT
Photo of a Bhend Ultralight crampon please...pretty please!

Sweet ice axe photos folks!
Fossil climber

Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
Dec 14, 2014 - 11:07am PT
Thanks, Marlow - loved those old catalogs. We used some of that stuff on the Nose in 58 - I still have a few pieces. Time flies.
jaaan

Trad climber
Chamonix, France
Dec 14, 2014 - 11:15am PT
Here's the thread where I used that photo, post Aug 4 2013: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1253035&msg=2196521#msg2196521

Every time I went to Grindelwald I'd go into Bhend's little workshop and ask if they'd started to make axes again after Herr Bhend had died (I guess it must have been mid to late 90s, maybe earlier.) His two sons had continued with the business but had stopped production of axes as they were very time consuming and I guess they could more money more easily making steel frames for buildings and stuff like that. The answer was always no - must have been at least half a dozen times - but as I walked out of the building one of them would call after me saying 'but next time you're in Grindelwald come and ask again...' One day I wandered in and asked the question and it was answered with 'Yes. What length do you want?' I chose a 55cm as I could get it into my sac and not have to leave it in the axe rack at huts. They said it'd take several months but they'd let me know when it was ready. Some six months later it simply arrived in the post with the bill - I hadn't paid anything up to that point - where else in the world would that happen? This is typical of Switzerland, a country that works on trust.

The other manufacturer is Willisch in Täsch, just below Zermatt. Personally I don't find them as good looking as Bhends, but of course they have a very loyal following from Zermatt guides.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2014 - 11:35am PT

Fossil
Do you have a photo of those few pieces of gear? It would be great if you posted them here.

Steve
I'll remember to be looking for the Bhend ultralights.

Jaaan
Then my only chance is going to Grindelwald and if I'm lucky...
jaaan

Trad climber
Chamonix, France
Dec 14, 2014 - 12:03pm PT
Marlow, I think maybe they now produce a batch each year.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2014 - 12:34pm PT

Thanks Jaaan. I found Bhend eispickels on the web. Bhend produces preordered ice axes from January to April each year.

Here's a link to the history part of their pages:
http://www.eispickel.ch/geschichte.aspx

The link may also be giving Steve a photo of the Leichtsteigeisen he wanted.
Ende der Dreissigerjahre entwickelte Alfred Bhend (Vater) ein Leichtsteigeisen. Zu Beginn der Siebzigerjahre wurde die Herstellung eingestellt. Die industrielle Produktion von Steigeisen aller Art rechtfertigte die aufwendige Einzelherstellung nicht mehr.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 16, 2014 - 11:52am PT

Handwerk aus Grindelwald: http://www.nzz.ch/lebensart/reisen-freizeit/grindelwalder-handwerk-mit-geschichte-1.18252490

jaaan

Trad climber
Chamonix, France
Dec 16, 2014 - 12:05pm PT
Fabulous, Marlow! I love the one at the anvil.
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Dec 16, 2014 - 12:37pm PT
Thanks for the historical legwork Marlow and jaaan!

Great background on the Bhend family concern.

The link mentioned by jaaan above is to a thread about Charlet and Moser.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1253035/Charlet-And-Moser-Make-An-Ice-Axe-Chamonix-1960

With historical background and information slowly disappearing from many manufacturer's websites it is always rewarding to find good material.
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 17, 2014 - 11:14am PT

Sporthaus Schuster Summer 1967
Marlow

Sport climber
OSLO
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 17, 2014 - 11:17am PT

Sporthaus Schuster Summer 1967 continues
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