The 43-Man Squamish

[Anders Ourom]

I serendipitously ran across something rather witty. It was in Mad Magazine in 1965, a spoof on college sports through a fabricated game called the 43-Man Squamish. Details at http://www.collectmad.com/madcoversite/ ... mpics.html

Background at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43-Man_Squamish

The 43-Man Squamish has nothing directly to do with climbing, or even Squamish, although the game, as described, is perfect for climbers, and could well be played there. No intelligible rules, no organization that makes any sense, no way of determining who won. Though the illustrations suggest that climbing equipment and techniques wouldn't be out of place. And I suspect more than a few climbers like Mad Magazine. (Tami finds it "inspiring".)

Glenn Woodsworth was then very active at Squamish, and hadn't previously heard of this.

Anders

[Anders Ourom]

I should add that there's apparently no reason for the name of the game - just a random thing. I guess they thought it was clever - to the editors in New York, and the average American then, Squamish would have been utterly unknown.