Early mountaineers simply tied the rope around their waists to secure themselves to the end of it, which was fine if they didn’t fall off. This led to the maxim ‘a leader never falls’. Unfortunately, they did! Be it from falls into crevasses in the early days or from ever steeper rock faces as the sport progressed, mountaineers and climbers soon realised that a big fall with a single piece of rope around the waist was not good for the constitution! Several strands of a hemp ‘waist-line’ helped spread the load, quckly followed by padded waist belts of various types, often made at home from recycled materials. We’ve an excellent example of this here in the collection; a waist belt made from part of a parachute harness with padding and a canvas cover. Metal rings have been added to make a fine job. Possibly made by the RAF for one of their rescue teams, it ultimately belonged to Mountain Guide, Dave Cheesmond, who kindly passed it on to us when he retired.