Look at the gear and tie on!

When I think back to all that fumbling to get that sling you wanted out of all the tangle of other stuff around your neck... I mean, why didn't we just clip it to our waist?

Because basically slings were long and you'd get caught up with them if they were dangling around your waist unless you halved them. When on more vertical ground you could select them more easily around your neck.

Is that Dolamitie Toni Egger boots?

I thought the Toni Egger boots were such more pointed and stiff soled (Claudio Barbier did his solo ascents of the Tre, Cime N faces in them) but I may have got the name wrong.

A lot of polish since that piccy was taken!

@baldie & @jwc As far as I remember Claudio climbed in much stiffer and pointy boots at that time, mid sixties. He later changed (as most did) to Val d’Or, Darbellay’s type Eiger and some lighter Galibier’s??? Both very stiff and pointy (not the wide Gaston Rebufat’s).

Thanks RR, I once climbed with Claudio and was amazed at his technique with those boots.

I loved my Toni Egger boots. They did bend slightly when worn a lot . They had a thin rubber sole, not quite as good when resoled with the normal thicker sole. I was slow to move over to PA's so did loads of VS's and a few HVS's in them.