Objects Database

Alpine hammer

Accession Number

947.2011.1

Object Name

Alpine hammer

Created

17/11/2011

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

17/11/2011

Brief Description

Hammer with pick and wooden shaft and attached blue leash.

Materials

wood, metal

Dimensions

length of shaft-29cms.Length of head -19cms

Number Of Objects

Colour

brown

Maker

Chouinard

Provenance

A classic item in mint condition is a good start to describe this lovely little hammer. There's a trilogy of Chouinard hammers: the Crag hammer, Yosemite hammer and this , the Alpine hammer and we are lucky to have examples of all three in our collection ( see related items ). The Alpine hammer enjoyed a brief period of success in the 1970's and 80's, but like everything during that era, it was soon overtaken by new ideas and technology. Creator of the hammer Yvon Chouinard called his first manufacturing company The Great Pacific Iron Works and their 1978 catalogue tells us the story:-
"Alpine hammer
The Alpine Hammer is good for cleaning moss and ice out of cracks, removing nuts, placing and removing ice pitons, and chopping steps at close quarters. However, its special design feature is its use as an ice dagger for hard water ice. For this purpose it has a long, narrow, drooped pick with teeth. Over the years the Alpine Hammer has gone through five major design changes. This model has a full set of teeth on the pick next to the shaft for climbing waterfalls where the ice is often thin and the pick breaks through to water or air. We have also beefed up the head to improve its balance and graduated the taper of the pick to make it stick better in brittle ice. Weight: 20 oz. Price: $24.00"