Thanks Alan,
What I am most interested in is finding more info specific to the historical use of #206 Crossing hitch (aka Munter hitch, Backhanded hitch, Italian hitch, HMS, etc).
That is, I want to find out when the Chinese first started to use the Munter hitch for descending cliffs.
So far, my research points to Italians in the 1950's experimenting with the hitch as a means of belaying climbers.
The Crossing/Backhanded/Munter/Italian hitch was obviously known before the 1950's - however, it is the specific use of the hitch in mountaineering/abseiling applications that interests me.
If we can find evidence that the Chinese used the hitch for descending cliffs prior to the 1950's, this would 'rewrite history' so to speak.
So the next question is, how do we contact the Chinese herb gatherers?
Is there a way to contact them directly?