Trevor Peck owned a hosiery factory in Leicester in the 1950s and was introduced to rock climbing by Pete and Barrie Biven in 1951, the three of them went on to form a formidable climbing team for many years. Chocks/nuts were fairly embryonic in the 1960s and Trevor dreamt up the idea of this one, which he called the Cracker, in the early 1960s. It was made from knarled round steel, or Duralumin bar cut to size. The larger versions were threaded with rope, whilst smaller ones used the innovative swaged wire system allowing for greater strength and easier placement. Peck also joined forces with Hamish MacInnes in the 1970s to produce the MacInnes-Peck ice-axe which you can find elsewhere in the collection.

These two mini-crackers are a bit rare and were kindly donated by Findlay Swinton