ice gear / how old is too old?

[rockermike]

I haven't done any pure water-ice in 20 years (and I don't really want to drop a bunch of $s) but I'm thinking of a trip to Ouray soon. My gear is real old; like 1980 Chouinard ridid crampons and old Forrest (1980ish) axe and hammer with interchangeable reverse dropped picks (ie. they look to my eye more or less like modern stuff except straight shaft).

My questing, is this stuff going to work or am I going to hate life?

thanks

[John Frieh]

I'll buy them both; you name the price. Check your pms.

[tomtom]

Your gear will work just as well as it did 20 years ago.

[Alex]

your tools will get you up the routes fine, but if you are going to lead anything I suggest you try the "new" screws - they go in with one hand these days!!

 

with that gear ppl will be walking up to you in the ice park wondering who you are, probably taking lots of pictures of you

[cj001f]

Your gear will work just as well as it did 20 years ago.

I've met people who put up NEI5 20 years ago who still climb WI5 today on the same equipment.

[Alex]

I wish I climbed NEI5, then or now!

[DirtyHarry]

Your gear will work just as well as it did 20 years ago.

 

Yeah. But the question is - will he?

[Don_Serl]

I haven't done any pure water-ice in 20 years (and I don't really want to drop a bunch of $s) but I'm thinking of a trip to Ouray soon. My gear is real old; like 1980 Chouinard ridid crampons and old Forrest (1980ish) axe and hammer with interchangeable reverse dropped picks (ie. they look to my eye more or less like modern stuff except straight shaft).

My questing, is this stuff going to work or am I going to hate life?

thanks

 

a. your old stuff will work well enough to let you see whether you are keen enough to ge re-involved, but

 

b. the forrest tools were totally metallic (therefore suffered from severe vibration), the "striking face" on the point of the pick was too deep (therefore displacing more ice and causing surface shattering, thus requiring repeated swings to get a "stick"), and the teeth were too deep and aggressive (resulting in difficult removal). file/angle down the depth of the front inch or so of the pick, round out the top corner/shoulder of that front face, and file off about half the depth of the teeth - that'll help some.

also, the steel heads were pressure-inserted into the aluminum shafts, then held by steel scroll-rivets. the aluminum could not withstand the beating, the rivets worked their holes larger, and the tops of the shafts tended to split. warranty costs on this fault is what drove Forrest out of business. check for looseness before using...

 

c. the chouinard rigid crampons were the most remarkable 'poons of their era - in fact, they have remained my favorites for alpine - till last spring, when i broke one on a big alpine route. check the frames carefully just behind the "knob" that supports the front bail - i have 2 pair, and i found 3 more cracks when i looked them over carefully after the one breakage. they are now retired...

 

d. by all means go and enjoy, but be prepared for the fact that ice climbing has changed immensely. #1, it's popular; #2, it's now reasonably safe, #3, it's a "sport" now, not a cult-like fringe activity. access to places like Ouray has contributed, but mostly that's down to better gear. the tools are light-years from the old stuff in ease of placement and removal, so you can climb way harder technically. the screws are easy to place and reasonable effective, so you climb with better confidence and security. clipping in is easier; racking is a snap; lighter gloves instead of big woollen mitts ease manipulation; better clothing keeps you more comfortable and allows better focus on the climbing; etc.

so, if you're serious about considering a "come-back", do yourself a favour and rent good modern crampons to compare to your old ones (maybe even try two or three styles...), and rent or borrow good modern tools to also compare to your old stuff.

 

"progress" exists. come prepared for that! if you "like" it, you're gonna find yourself spending a few bucks....

 

and don't worry being "out of it" for a while. "old-timers" learned better coping skills because of the difficulities they faced, and it won't take long for the "movement" skills to come back if you once had them.

 

nor does age matter much. i've been climbing waterfalls for 30 years, i'm no longer young, and i think i get better every winter. i try to, anyway...

 

go enjoy.

cheers,