Joe Brown, one of my early climbing heroes, died on April 15
at age 89. Joe was a working-class
climber from Manchester, England who advanced the standards of rock climbing
during the 1950s and 60s. He also did
notable ascents in the Alps and Himalayas.
His autobiography, The Hard Years (1967) was a formative influence on my
own climbing. Joe was famous for using fist-jams
in vertical rock cracks, and I still have scars on my hands from using the
technique. I bought a Joe Brown climbing
helmet in the mid-70s, and it is still my one-and-only for rock and ice, although it is a bit scuffed up. Please read this fine obituary of him.
-Zenwind.
.
