A Select Tour of Piton Antiquities
| Seq. | Piton Image | Date, Mfg., Country & Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Circa 1930s-1950s. Machine/hand forged by Alex Lienert, Einsiedeln, Switzerland. Normally used as an ice piton, but this particular one was retrieved from Newton Pinnacle. Square blade piton with a tapered point with ring at head and grooves cut at angles to provide resistance when placed in ice. | Newton Pinnacle, Mt. Hood |
| 2 |
|
Circa 1940s. Hand cut flat pitons (made for Everett Darr). Made in the NW USA. Rough cut metal stock, limited refinement, entirely flat piton 1/8" thickness, the 'eye' at the head is flush with the blade. | Newton Pinnacle, Mt. Hood |
| 3 |
|
Circa 1940s. Hand cut flat pitons (made for Everett Darr). Made in the NW USA. Rough cut metal stock, limited refinement, entirely flat piton 1/8" thickness, the 'eye' at the head is flush with the blade. | Newton Pinnacle, Mt. Hood |
| 4 |
|
Circa [?], hand forged; origin [?]; made from soft iron. | Oregon |
| 5 |
|
Circa 1947. Hand-forged by Don Baars in his fathers auto repair shop. Made from brake rods of an old Model A vehicle. Used on the first ascent of the Alpenjaeger Route (Saddle Route) on St. Peter's Dome on 6-18-1947. See feature article in the Mazama annual [year 2008] written by J. Thomas and D. Baars. | Columbia Gorge |
| 6 |
|
Circa [?]. Origin [?]. Flat piton cut from sheet steel originally placed in West Chimney, Crown Point. | Columbia Gorge |
| 7 |
|
Circa [?], made in Zurich, Switzerland by Fritsch Co. from malleable iron. Retrieved from old nailing route left of ravine drainage near ROA. | Columbia Gorge |
| 8 |
|
Circa 1930s-'50s. Origin [?]. Machine/hand forged from malleable iron with double eye at head of piton. Both pins are broken in mid shank, but are typically about twice the visible length seen in the photo. Placed in 1965 in the upper Hanging Gardens Route, Broughton Bluff. | NW Oregon |
| 9 |
|
Circa [?]. origin [?], made from malleable iron. Spoon blade piton, found at Warren Creek Falls. | Columbia Gorge |
| 10 |
|
Circa [?]. Smaller pin made in Zurich, Switzerland by Fritsch Co. from malleable iron. One ring piton, and one LA style piton, from Rabbit Ears. | Columbia Gorge |
| 11 |
|
Circa [?]. Thick KB (aka Bugaboo) made from alloy steel. Retrieved from Fire Spire, Apocalypse Needles. | Columbia Gorge |
| 12 |
|
Circa 1964. Made by Stubai Marwa, in Austria from alloy steel. Wire frame ice screw. | Oregon |
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| 13 |
|
Circa early 1990s. This baby angle piton is a stamp-cut, folded new piton made in the USA by N. Watt from alloy steel. | Oregon |
| 14 |
|
Circa early 1990s. This flat piton is stamp-cut from sheet steel; made in the USA by N. Watt from slightly flexible alloy steel. | Oregon |
| 15 |
|
Circa early 1990s. This classic LA style piton is stamp-cut from sheet steel and has a 90° bend to accomodate tight corner placements. Made in the USA by N. Watt from slightly flexible alloy steel. | Oregon |
| 16 |
|
Circa modern. Made in Europe by Bachli. A typical modern piton composed of alloy steel. | Oregon |
| 17 |
|
Circa modern. Imported piton made by Claudius Simond, Chamonix, Brevete S.G.D.G. from alloy steel. Retrieved from Sturgeon Rock on Silver Star Mtn., Washington. Though a bit bent it has weathered well at 5k altitude. | SW Washington |
| 18 |
|
Made by Chouinard (Black Diamond) in USA. This 4" tall Bong piton is stamped and folded from sheet aluminum. A modern type of very wide piton, but seldom used due to the popularity of effective modern camming units. | Oregon |
| 19 |
|
Circa modern. Another example of a typical piton made by Cassin (C.A.M.P. Co.) of Italy from steel. | Oregon |
| 20 |
|
Circa modern. Upper piton is steel alloy manufactured by Stubai CMV of Austria. The lower piton is a C.A.M.P. Interalp. Both were fixed at the Ozone Wall in the mid-1980s by rock climbers. | Ozone Wall, SW WA |
| 21 |
|
Circa modern. Made by Hupfauf Einsiedeln in Switzerland. An imported stamp-cut and rolled piton composed of alloy steel. | Oregon |
| 22 |
|
Circa modern. Origin Russian [?]. From stamp-cut and rolled metal stock. Modern super light titanium piton great for light alpine climbing. | Oregon |
| 23 |
|
Circa modern. U.S. Army pitons commonly sold regionally at surplus stores. Made in USA. A long narrow angle piton with an eye ring composed of folded alloy steel. | Oregon |
| 24 |
|
Circa modern. U.S. Army pitons commonly sold regionally at surplus stores. Made in USA. A short stubby flat stamp-cut piton composed of very flexible soft iron. For one time use only. | Oregon |
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| 25 |
|
Circa modern. Made by Cassin (C.A.M.P. Co. of Italy) from alloy steel to be used as an ice Piton. Riccardo Cassin produced his first pitons in 1947 in Lecco. | Oregon |
| 26 |
|
Circa 1940s. Hand forged by Alex Lienert, Einsiedeln, Switzerland. Normally used as an ice piton. Square blade piton with a tapered point with ring at head and grooves cut at angles to provide resistance when placed in ice. | USA MS Archive |
| 27 |
|
Circa [?]. Made locally in NW USA from malleable iron, and retrieved from the summit anchor on Needle Rock. MS Archive. | Detroit, Oregon |
| 28 |
|
Circa 1930s+. Machine/hand forged and in common use from '30s-'50s. Short ring pitons made in Austria from malleable iron. Retrieved from old nailing route left of ravine drainage near ROA. MS Archive. | Columbia Gorge |
| 29 |
|
Circa 1930s+. Machine/hand forged and in common use from '30s-'50s. This is a detailed closeup of one ring piton from selection #28. Made in Austria. MS Archive. | Columbia Gorge |
| 30 |
|
Circa 1930s-1950s. Made by Stubai in Austria from malleable iron. | USA MS Archive |
| 31 |
|
Circa 1930s-1950s. Origin [?]. Machine/hand forged. A double-eye piton with full shank, similar to pitons in selection #8. Retrieved from the South Chamber of Illumination Rock, Mt. Hood Oregon. | USA MS Archive |
| 32 |
|
Circa [?]. A malleable iron piton retrieved from the Alpenjaeger Route (Saddle Route) on St. Peter's Dome, Columbia Gorge. | USA MS Archive |
| 33 |
|
Circa 1950s. Made by Holubar in Boulder, Colorado USA from malleable iron. | USA MS Archive |
| 34 |
|
Circa 1950s+/-. Made in Stubai in Austria. | USA MS Archive |
| 35 |
|
Circa 1963+/-. Made in the USA by CMI and is called a Crack-tack. Square-shaped RURP with hole in center for sling. | USA MS Archive |
| 36 |
|
Circa [?]. Made by Cassin likely in Lecco, Italy from cheap steel. This style bears the imprint "R Cassin" only. | USA MS Archive |
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| 37 |
|
Circa 1950s-1960s. Made by Charlet Moser in Chamonix, France from alloy steel. Very short piton with a wide 'spoon' blade. C.M. began making medium-hard cadmium plated pitons in the 1950s forward. | USA MS Archive |
| 38 |
|
Circa 1950s-1960s. Both of these were crafted by Charlet Moser in Chamonix, France from light weight alloy steel. The upper piton has a 'u'shape fold for leverage when hammered into a crack, but was also promoted as an ice piton. | USA MS Archive |
| 39 |
|
Circa 1930s+. Made by Fritsch Company in Zurich, and is a 1" tall angle piton cut and folded from steel. | USA MS Archive |
| 40 |
|
Circa modern. Made in USA by Seattle Mountaineering Corporation (SMC). Another typical example of a light-weight stamp-cut and folded alloy metal 'bong' piton. | USA MS Archive |
| 41 |
|
Circa 1930s+. Made by Fritsch Company in Zurich, Switzerland. Machine and hand-forged with "waved" sides common on a Fritsch piton. Malleable iron piton similar in composition to a fat LA, but narrower in width. Retreived from East Ridge. |
Columbia Gorge |
| 42 |
|
Circa [?]; Malleable unmarked piton; retrieved from east ridge at same location as the above Swiss pin. | Columbia Gorge HB Archive |
| 43 |
|
Circa [?]; Steel Carabiner similar in style to early Stubai product line but has no markings. Pre-locked gate type. | HB Archive |
| 44 |
|
Surfboard? Kite Controller? Or perhaps a piton puller? | HB Archive |
| 45 |
|
Circa 1930s forward; Malleable sharp pointed piton. Ragged Mountain, Connecticut. Illegible markings inside a square stamp mark on side, but possibly a Salewa product. Possible original Fritz Weissner pitons. Fritz began climbing at Ragged Mtn. in the early 1930s. Other well-known climbers like John Reppy, Layton Kor, and Sam Streibert also frequented this site. Other pins in collection but no shown here include KB, LA, Rurp, Angles US Army issue ring pins, etc. | Ragged Mtn CM Archive |
| 46 |
|
Circa [?]; Stubai Austria ring piton made from well-defined square-cut shaped alloy. Most of the shaft has corroded off. | Ragged Mtn CM Archive |
| 47 |
|
Circa [?]; Extra thick head piton, unmarked similar in style to LA and composed of alloy steel. | Ragged Mtn CM Archive |
| 48 |
|
Circa 1960s [?]; CMI ?. Composed of alloy steel. | Ragged Mtn CM Archive |
| 49 |
|
Circa [?]; Unmarked malleable piton. | Ragged Mtn CM Archive |