16th C. Climbing/Mountaineering

October/November of 2008

Chamois Hunters from "The Triumph of Maximilian" Chamois Hunters from "Theuerdank"

I do not yet have a proper ten to twelve foot ash chamois spear/climbing pole, but I wanted to try using a pole for climbing, so several times I have taken my newly finished 16' pike out to practice climbing with it on some of the ledges along the Kenduskeag Stream here in Bangor. These pictures are from the second time we went out and Eliana brought her camera. In open forest I found the pike easy to run around with, but it becomes difficult to handle in brushy areas. I found the 16' length to be very useful while up on the rocks and it was not too hard to maneuver with it. I used pretty much the entire length for climbing and can very much understand why one would want the tip to be able to detach for climbing - it can be a little unnerving to climb to the top of the pike and have a steel point that I could be impaled on if I slipped a little. I am looking forward to trying a shorter pole to see if it is easier to manage while climbing. I am also now very much looking forward to trying a recreation of climbing irons based on images from the Triumph of Maximilian and Theuerdank. I hope to have an update on this project with more accurate equipment by late spring or summer of 2009.

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