Chouinard Stopper #1
National Geographic article chronicling Doug Robinson’s, Dennis Hennek’s, and Galen Rowell’s 1973 ascent of the Northwest Face of Half Dome. The team is credited with doing the first hammerless or clean ascent of a big wall. The three tiny Stoppers were used on the climb.
Name/Title
Chouinard Stopper #1Entry/Object ID
2026.1.73Description
One of the Chouinard stoppers used on the 1973 clean ascent of the Northwest Face of Half DomeUse
Designed to fit into narrow, tapered rock cracks, locking securely when weightedContext
One of the stoppers that was used on the 1973 ascent of the Northwest Face of Half Dome. Climbers Doug Robinson, Dennis Hennek, and Galen Rowell climbed without the use of pitons, making it the first big wall clean ascent. The climbers did not even bring a hammer. It was featured on the cover of National Geographic's June 1974 issue. This was a big achievement at the time because there was not much clean climbing gear in production. This stopper was manufactured by Chouinard Equipment and is an early version. The later modifications added a sleeve to the wire to protect fingers from damaged threads. They also added later a sliding sleeve to prevent multiple stoppers from getting tangled.Collection
Yosemite Climbing Museum Permanent CollectionCategory
Climbing Hardware, Nuts/Chocks