We think these are the earliest Simond ice screws produced, the two that look almost identical probably the earliest of all, dating from the late 1960s. Prior to that climbers had been hammering ice pitons into the ice to make anchors, which were very good if the ice hadn’t disintegrated in the process, then the problem was hacking them back out again.

The arrival of ice screws improved things a little, though they were pretty hard to place and could be quite hard to remove.

We’re not quite sure if the ones we have here were meant to be hammered or screwed in, possibly both. Ice screw technology moved on very quickly after the early prototypes, with these ones having a very short life span, so we are pleased to have them here in the collection.