Vintage Gear

Dolt piton

Dolt pitons were made by Bill Feuerer, aka the “Dolt.” He began making climbing equipment in 1957 during the months-long siege of the Nose of El Cap. Dolt designed, made and sold pitons, hooks, and other climbing-related equipment through the 1960s. His early pitons were lovingly finished, things of beauty; perhaps the most elegant pieces of climbing equipment ever made.

Kyle Copeland “bolts”

Kyle Copeland invented a simple bolt: a swaged loop that would fit tightly in a 3/8” hole, with a few hammer blows. The idea never caught on. These two removed “very” easily from Last Arrow Spire, near Moab

Layton Kor rap ring

Layton made several rappel rings out of baling wire with some wraps of electrical tape to protect the rope. When asked whether he’d actually trust it, he replied, “there’s six wraps there; you only need four.”

Pika “Toucan” prototype

After the success of A5’s Birdbeak pitons, Pika Mountaineering experimented with scaling up the concept, a hook-shaped piton, to fit knifeblade cracks. This prototype was placed by Cameron Tague on Beaking in Tongues (the red was his paint color). It remained there nearly two decades (lower clip-in hole is damaged).

Harvey Carter piton

Attempting the Totem Pole in the mid-50s, Harvey Carter needed pitons larger than the standard army-issue ring-angles. He had a metalworker forge heftier specimens out of heavy-gauge angle iron. This one is welded shut at the striking end. He painted his pitons gold for that classic look.

Layton Kor bolt hanger

For the 1962 ascent of the Titan, Layton Kor used a hacksaw to cut scores of hangers out of strips of iron from a hardware store. In the event, only about 30 were needed on the Titan and the rest, distinctive in design, were left behind on Kor routes for years afterward. This one is on pitch 2 of the original Monster Tower route. It may not be there much longer…