We suspect that not everyone reading this will know what ‘lampwick’ is, let alone its connection with mountaineering so we’ve included a photo, opposite, which should explain how a length of material wicks paraffin up from the reservoir of a lamp and is lit to produce the flame/light. We’ll turn to Geoffrey Winthrop Young and his 1920’s book, Mountaincraft, to explain the mountaineering connection. Whilst discussing the use of an ice-axe for both ice and rock work, he makes the following observations:- “A sling should not be needed to prevent the axe slipping from the hand while step-cutting.The hand must practise and learn its tenacious grip, even on an iced axe-shaft. For rock work,a sling is useful, allowing of the axe being slung back over the shoulder. Lampwick joined to make a circle of some 25 inches does well enough. The fixed hemp sling so often seen gets wet, gets left on because it is stiff to undo, gets cut during step-cutting, and breeds rust.” Having read that and having found this length of lampwick in the shed we couldn’t resist making the connection.