More specifically, roughly 13th century or earlier.
I am creating a setting in the Dying World genre in which mysterious caves exist and are explored, and I want to try to make the equipment that these Cavers use realistic to the setting's technological level.
So, are there any examples or accounts from the 13th century or earlier of climbing and the like, in which specialized equipment was used? My google-fu is failing me, so I've resorted to asking here.
Latex sap boiled down and coating feet was used around that period by natives of South America as climbing shoes, but actual protection didn't start in ernest until the 1900s. If you'd like to find more that's a little more tangentially related, the right avenue would to to look into middle age siege equipment, specifically that used for sapping walls.