Pitons were the main method of making rock anchors/ belays in the early days of mountaineering and then someone came up with the idea of threading some nuts ( as in nuts and bolts) on a length of rope to use for jamming into cracks. The first commercially produced ‘nuts’ specifically produced for rock climbing replicated the hexagonal shape of a nut, with companies like Clog in North Wales being leaders in the field. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of variations on the theme have appeared in the ensuing decades, some rather more bizzare, some successful and some not. The Tri-Cams we have here in the collection were created by American climber, Jeff Lowe, in the early 1980’s and were popular in America, less so in the UK, though they are still available in 2020 for around £20 each and are produced by Camp in Italy. These three were salvaged by our good friend, Morten Hansen, when the Skye Mountain Rescue Team, of which he is a member, were having a clear out.