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Working his bare feet up the face, the climber takes a knotted sling from his shoulder and places it around a stone horn. He takes a second sling, deftly unknots it and feeds the cord carefully around his hempen lead rope and the slung rock. With the rope now connected to his natural protection he ties the second cord back into a sling and climbs on....
Before Otto "Rambo" Herzog first conceived using carabiners, climbers had only two options for connecting their ropes to protection: tie the rope and protection together, or untie and run the rope directly through the gear. Neither option was quick or especially safe.
In Alpinist 35 we examine the history of the carabiner; why Otto "Rambo" Herzog first thought of using the device, how it was modified over the last century and how the carabiner got its name.
Click in to learn more about the evolution of the carabiner.
La Sportiva's ski mountaineering line debuts five new ski models, the tech RT Binding, and skins.