# Layton Kor

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{{short description|American rock climber}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox person
|name        = Layton Kor
|image       =File:Layton Kor, in Eldorado, on the climb "Exhibit A".jpg
|alt         =
|caption     =Layton Kor, in [Eldorado Canyon](/source/Eldorado_Canyon_State_Park), on the climb "Exhibit A"
|birth_date  = {{birth date|1938|06|11}}
|birth_place = [Canby, Minnesota](/source/Canby%2C_Minnesota)
|death_date= {{death date and age|2013|4|21|1938|6|11}}
|other_names =
|known_for   =
| height  =  {{height|m=1.90}} 
|occupation  = Rock Climber
|nationality =
}}
'''Layton Kor''' (June 11, 1938 &ndash; April 21, 2013) was an American [rock climber](/source/Rock_climbing) active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jeff |last=Achey|author2=Chelton, Dudley |author3=Godfrey, Bob  |title=Climb!|publisher=The Mountaineers Books|year=2002|isbn=0-89886-876-9}}</ref>  His routes included many climbs in [Eldorado Canyon](/source/Eldorado_Canyon_State_Park), near [Boulder, Colorado](/source/Boulder%2C_Colorado), The Diamond on [Longs Peak](/source/Longs_Peak), towers in the desert southwest, and [Yosemite National Park](/source/Yosemite_National_Park), among other locations.  Notable among his first ascents is the [Kor-Ingalls Route](/source/Kor-Ingalls_Route_(Castleton_Tower)) on [Castleton Tower](/source/Castleton_Tower) and The [Finger of Fate](/source/Finger_of_Fate_(Fisher_Towers)) Route up the [Fisher Towers](/source/Fisher_Towers)' [Titan](/source/The_Titan_(Fisher_Towers)); both routes are recognized in the historic climbing text ''[Fifty Classic Climbs of North America](/source/Fifty_Classic_Climbs_of_North_America)''.<ref>{{Fifty Classic Climbs}}</ref>

Kor also authored the book ''Beyond the Vertical''.<ref>Kor, Layton (1983) ''Beyond the Vertical'', Boulder, Colorado:Alpine House. {{ISBN|0-9611748-0-3}}</ref>

Kor received the 2009 [American Alpine Club](/source/American_Alpine_Club)'s ''Robert & Miriam Underhill Award'' for outstanding climbing achievement.<ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Layton Kor honored by AAC: If you've climbed, you've likely done a Layton Kor route. There's the Kor/Ingalls on Castleton Tower, the Finger of Fate on the Titan, and innumerable routes throughout Colorado, Yosemite and the West | newspaper =[Rock and Ice](/source/Rock_and_Ice) | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =2009 | url =https://www.rockandice.com/people/layton-kor-honored-by-aac/| accessdate = July 23, 2022}}</ref>
Kor lived in [Kingman, Arizona](/source/Kingman%2C_Arizona) and continued climbing until his early 70s. He had kidney failure and prostate cancer at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite news | last =MacDonald | first =Dougald | title =Layton Kor is Dead | newspaper =[Climbing](/source/Climbing_(magazine)) | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =April 22, 2013 | url =https://www.climbing.com/news/layton-kor-is-dead/| accessdate =July 23, 2022 }}</ref>

==Notable first ascents==

===Colorado===
* 1959 ''Diagonal'', Lower East Face, [Longs Peak](/source/Longs_Peak), CO. (V 5.9 A3) with Ray Northcutt.<ref>Jones (1976), pp. 224-225.</ref>
* 1959 ''T2'', Redgarden Wall, [Eldorado Canyon](/source/Eldorado_Canyon_State_Park), CO. (current rating 5.11a) 1st ascent with Gerry Roach<ref>Levin (2009), pp. 160.</ref>
* 1960 ''Yellow Spur'', Redgarden Wall, [Eldorado Canyon](/source/Eldorado_Canyon_State_Park), CO. (5.9 (A1)) FA with David Dornan, Feb 21, 1960<ref>{{Cite book  | last = Kor  | first = Layton  |author2=Bob Godfrey   | title = Beyond the Vertical  | publisher = Alpine House  | year = 1983  | location = Boulder, CO, USA  | pages = 21–22  | isbn = 0-9611748-0-3 }}</ref>
* 1960 ''Long Dong Wall'', [Kissing Couple](/source/Kissing_Couple). FA with Harvey Carter and John Auld, May 4, 1960. (5.11a)<ref>Cameron Burns, ''Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah'', 1999, Mountaineers Books, {{ISBN|9780898866575}}, page 34.</ref>
* 1962 ''Psycho'', Redgarden Wall, Eldorado Canyon, CO. (III 5.9 A4) 1st ascent with Huntley Ingalls<ref>Levin (2009), pp. 166.</ref>
* 1962 ''The Naked Edge'', Redgarden Wall, Eldorado Canyon, CO. (III 5.9 A3) with Bob Culp.<ref>Jones (1976), pp. 294.</ref> Entire route with Rick Horn, 1964 (5.9 A4).<ref>Levin (2009), pp. 187.</ref>
* 1962 ''Yellow Wall'', The Diamond, [Longs Peak](/source/Longs_Peak), CO. (V 5.8 A4) 2nd route on the wall, with Charles Roskosz.<ref>Jones (1976), pp. 295.</ref>
* 1963 ''Canary Pass'', Redgarden Wall, Eldorado Canyon, CO. (III 5.7 A4-) 1st ascent with [Pat Ament](/source/Pat_Ament)<ref>Levin (2009), pp. 169.</ref>
* 1965 ''Green Slab'', [Black Canyon of the Gunnison](/source/Black_Canyon_of_the_Gunnison), CO. (VI 5.8 A4) with Brian Martz.<ref>Jones (1976), pp. 300.</ref>

===Southwest deserts===
* 1961 ''[Kor-Ingalls Route](/source/Kor-Ingalls_Route_(Castleton_Tower))'', [Castleton Tower](/source/Castleton_Tower), [Utah](/source/Utah); FA of tower with Huntley Ingalls<ref>Jones (1976), pp. 292.</ref>
* 1962 ''[Finger of Fate](/source/Finger_of_Fate_(Fisher_Towers))'',  [The Titan](/source/The_Titan_(Fisher_Towers)), [Fisher Towers](/source/Fisher_Towers), [Utah](/source/Utah). FA of formation (V 5.8 A3) with Huntley Ingalls and George Hurley.<ref>Jones (1976), pp. 292.</ref>
* 1962 Standing Rock (Monument Basin), near Moab, UT.  FA of formation with Huntley Ingalls and Steve Komito.<ref>{{Cite book  | last = Kor  | first = Layton  |author2=Bob Godfrey
   | title = Beyond the Vertical  | publisher = Alpine House  | year = 1983  | location = Boulder, CO, USA  | pages = 87–98  | isbn = 0-9611748-0-3 }}</ref>
* 1963 ''Kor-Dalke-Schafer'' IV 5.10 A1, [Monster Tower](/source/Monster_Tower), [Canyonlands National Park](/source/Canyonlands_National_Park), Utah; FA of Monster tower with Larry Dalke and Cub Schafer, 26 December 1963<ref>{{Cite book | last = Bjornstad | first = Eric | title = Desert Rock - Rock Climbs in the National Parks | publisher = Chockstone Press | year = 1996 | location = Evergreen, CO | pages = 201 | isbn = 0-934641-92-7 }}</ref>
* 1964 ''North Face'' III 5.9 A3(?), [Argon Tower](/source/Argon_Tower), [Arches National Park](/source/Arches_National_Park), Utah; FA with Bob Bradley and Charlie Kemp, 17 January 1964<ref>{{Cite book | last = Bjornstad | first = Eric | title = Desert Rock - Rock Climbs in the National Parks | publisher = Chockstone Press | year = 1996 | location = Evergreen, CO | pages = 142 | isbn = 0-934641-92-7 }}</ref>

===California===
* 1963 ''West Buttress'', [El Capitan](/source/El_Capitan), [Yosemite Valley](/source/Yosemite_Valley), [California](/source/California). (VI 5.10 A3+) FA with [Steve Roper](/source/Steve_Roper).<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = Kor  | first = Layton  | title = El Capitan's West Buttress  | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 22 | issue = 53 | pages = 79  | publisher = American Alpine Club  | location = New York, NY, USA  | year = 1964  | asin = B000FLCQEM }}</ref>
* 1964 ''South Face'', [Washington Column](/source/Washington_Column_(Yosemite)), Yosemite Valley, CA. (V 5.10a A2) FA with Chris Fredericks, June 1964 .<ref>Reid (1993), pp. 204.</ref>
* 1965 ''Gold Wall'', Ribbon Falls Area, Yosemite Valley, CA. (V 5.10 A3) FA with Tom Fender, May 1965.<ref>Reid (1993), pp. 201.</ref>

===Outlying areas===
* 1963 ''Robbins Route'', [Mount Proboscis](/source/Cirque_of_the_Unclimbables), Logan Mountains, [Northwest Territory](/source/Northwest_Territory), [Canada](/source/Canada). FA with Dick McCracken, Jim McCarthy and [Royal Robbins](/source/Royal_Robbins), Aug 4-7, 1963.<ref>{{Cite book  | last = Ament  | first = Pat  | title = Royal Robbins - Spirit of the Age
  | publisher = Two Lights  | year = 1992  | location = Boulder CO, USA  | pages = 125–127  | isbn = 1-881663-02-7}}</ref>
* 1964 ''[Burkett Needle](/source/Mount_Burkett)'', Coast Mountains, Alaska. FA with Dan Davis.<ref>Colby Coombs, ''Alaska: A Climbing Guide'', 2002, The Mountaineers Books, {{ISBN|9781594851438}}, p. 189.</ref>

==Publications==
* {{Cite book  | last = Kor  | first = Layton  |author2=Bob Godfrey
   | title = Beyond the Vertical  | publisher = Alpine House  | year = 1983  | location = Boulder, CO, USA  | pages = 21–22  | isbn = 0-9611748-0-3 }}
* {{cite journal  | last = Kor  | first = Layton  | title = El Capitan's West Buttress  | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 22 | issue = 53 | pages = 79  | publisher = American Alpine Club  | location = New York, NY, USA  | year = 1964  | asin = B000FLCQEM }}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book| publisher = Published for the American Alpine Club by the University of California Press| isbn = 0-520-02976-3| last = Jones| first = Chris| title = Climbing in North America| year = 1976| location = Berkeley, CA, USA| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone}}
*{{Cite book  | last = Levin  | first = Steve  | title = Eldorado Canyon, A Climbing Guide  | publisher = Sharp End Publishing  | year = 2009  | location = Boulder CO, USA  | isbn = 978-1-892540-65-2 }}
*{{Cite book  | last = Reid | first = Don |author2=George Meyers  | title = Yosemite Climbs: Big Walls | publisher = Chockstone Press | year = 1993 | location = Evergreen CO, USA  | isbn = 0-934641-54-4 }}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kor, Layton}}
Category:American rock climbers
Category:2013 deaths
Category:1938 births

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Layton Kor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layton_Kor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layton_Kor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.