The Birth of Wheat Thin

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Mighty Hiker

Social climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Dec 2, 2008 - 10:51pm PT

Seems like a good time to give this one a hefty bump.

Mimi

climber

Dec 2, 2008 - 11:19pm PT

Thanks Anders. Another rich thread.

Wade Icey

Trad climber

www.alohashirtrescue.com

Mar 22, 2009 - 08:23pm PT

a good vintage

Fuzzywuzzy

climber

Jul 21, 2009 - 08:33pm PT

Right on Peter.

Keep them coming.

You were probably around when Klemens and Matt Donahoe took those big falls out of the Grinder?

Terrific history.

scuffy b

climber

Sinatra to Singapore

Jul 21, 2009 - 09:13pm PT

Well heck, I'll just clutter things up with some talk about
pants. Not worthwhile stuff like Who Was First but rather more
nerdly geekish faux tech talk.
I apologize if I've already "said" these things; I only went
back a page or so to "check."

Mighty H, the sailor pants referred to by eeKat are the Navy
surplus with about a dozen buttons in the front. A couple
held the trou together in the middle, then there was like a drop
seat flap (but in the front, not the back). They were
bell-bottoms. Easy to roll up if you wanted to do cool things
like swab deck on a ship, but for face climbing, some visual
obstruction was in the mix.
They had great lines (no pockets on the rear) and tended to fit climbers well.

The painter pants are no doubt more familiar to you these days:
generally straight cut, less flattering, more cluttered, with
a loop that is good for nothing but snagging on branches and a
strange pocket on the side that is good for holding a thin
paint brush or a bunch of dirt and live oak leaves.

MilkMan pants were the way to go for at least some of the
cognioscenti. Not as busy as the painter pants, and only one
button and a zipper, instead of 13 buttons (in certain circ#m-
stances, this could be a major consideration).

I believe a little digression is in order here. The Navy 13-
button units came in either white cotton or black wool.
The woolies were just wonderful, especially for ice skating,
perhaps especially on someone you were watching skate.

Now, to touch on the subject of climbing knickers and their
tendency to be a bit too warm for most conditions: a couple
friends of mine were climbing the Salathe Wall, and, yes, it
was back in the day.
When they got to El Cap Spire, Friend 1 (climbing in those
cord knickers made for Chouinard by Clark's, the really heavy
ones with a double seat and double knees) was so...what?...
distracted? outraged? demented? Well, he was so very something
or other from the heat that he converted his irreplaceable
Chouinard Cord Knickers (wouldn't you like a pair now?)
into SHORTS!!! By pounding on them with his hammer!!!
(maybe you wondered about some of the scarring there, maybe it
is not noticeable)
And I know what you're thinking, you're wondering why he didn't
just use a knife, aren't you?

Jan

Mountain climber

Okinawa, Japan

Jul 21, 2009 - 10:30pm PT

Thanks everyone, but especially Peter. It's great reading history written by people younger than me!

Summit.

climber

Bloatmeal, AZ

Feb 21, 2010 - 03:04pm PT

bump

Gobee

Trad climber

Upward Bound Col. 1:19-20 Grace By Faith

Feb 21, 2010 - 05:15pm PT

Nice Peter!

My friend Ed White and I climbed the Nabisco Wall together behind a group of Brits and had a grand time!
Years later I saw this book in Sports Chalet and there was Ed in the book from that day, cool!
It was first Pub in 1990, this was the 1997 edition!

Note; Ed had a split rim wheelbarrow tire blowup his hand and always had to tape his right hand!

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Sep 9, 2010 - 09:09pm PT

Alpinist 31 includes Peter's story of Wheat Thin, somewhat edited.

The diagram of Nabisco Wall that accompanies the story calls the stance at the top of Wheat Thin and Butterballs "Monkey Island". Is that name commonly used? When did it start to be used? I don't think I've heard it called that before.

Peter Haan

Trad climber

San Francisco, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 9, 2010 - 09:32pm PT

Anders, that was my name for it, Monkey Island. It didn't fit the "Cracker" theme of course back then, in 1971 and didn't quite reach general parlance; it seems to persist anyway, lo these 40 years. I guess my point and observation was that it was the convergence of Butterballs, Wheat Thin, Lady Fingers and Butterfingers, all on that itty bitty 8" wide or so ledgette. And to get there obviously one was part or whole monkey or similar cercopithecoid or platyrrhine.

The Alpinist #31 article is of course edited from the original tale and I like the way Katie Ives and I worked it into shape; it's a better tale and still loads of fun to read. Two more coming in Alpinist apparently soon, also!

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Sep 9, 2010 - 10:03pm PT

Thanks, Peter! Hopefully your name for it will catch on now. It's certainly an airy/aerie spot.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

sorry, just posting out loud.

Oct 25, 2010 - 10:34pm PT

just want to say I liked the article in Alpinist Peter. thx

oh and bump for climbing talk

Fritz

Trad climber

Hagerman, ID

Oct 26, 2010 - 12:33am PT

Impressive: Thanks Peter for starting this and posting along the way.
Thanks to everyone else that posted too.

Great history.

It appears that: The good guys wore white, except for Pat---who gets a by.

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Oct 26, 2010 - 02:45am PT

I got a copy of Geology Underfoot, and now I know all about the history of Wheat Thin. Except the last 0.0000000001%, that is. Peter covers that pretty well.