Alpenstock places they use sticks tipped with iron, by leaning upon which they climb steep slopes. These are called alpine sticks, and are principally in use among the shepherds." On August 8, 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard made the first ascent of Mont Blanc. Balmat, a chamois hunter and crystal collector, had experience with high mountain travel, and Paccard had made previous attempts to climb the peak. Illustrations show Balmat carrying two separate tools (whose respective functions would later be re-assigned to the ice axe): an alpenstock (or baton), and a small axe that could be used to chop steps
The Night Climbers of Cambridge the Case for Fascism in the Post-War World". "The Night Climbers of Cambridge" is repeatedly referred to in "The Bad Quarto", a mystery novel by Jill Paton Walsh. Her novel mentions a supposed additional chapter regarding night climbing in St Agatha's College, the fictional Cambridge setting for most of Walsh's story's about Imogen Quy, college nurse at St Agatha's. Night climbing plays a central role in "The Bad Quarto", along with a production of the 1603 quarto version of "Hamlet". The Night Climbers of Cambridge The Night Climbers of Cambridge is a book, written under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith", about nocturnal