# Piton

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{{Short description|Metal tool used in rock climbing}}
{{about|the rock climbing tool|other uses|Piton (disambiguation)}}
thumb|
{{Climbing sidebar}}
thumb|1960s-era pitons, including: knifeblades, lost arrows, bugaboos, ring angles, and bongs
A '''piton''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|iː|t|ɒ|n}}; also called '''''pin''''' or '''''peg''''') in [big wall climbing](/source/big_wall_climbing) and in [aid climbing](/source/aid_climbing) is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a [climbing hammer](/source/Rock_climbing_hammer), and which acts as an anchor for [protecting](/source/protection_(climbing)) the climber from falling or to assist progress in [aid climbing](/source/aid_climbing).  Pitons are equipped with an eye hole or a ring to which a [carabiner](/source/carabiner) is attached; the carabiner can then be directly or indirectly connected to a climbing rope.

Pitons were the original form of [protection](/source/protection_(climbing)) and are still used where there is no alternative.  Repeated hammering and extraction of pitons damage the rock, and climbers who subscribe to the [clean climbing](/source/clean_climbing) ethic avoid their use as much as possible.  With the popularization of clean climbing in the 1970s, pitons were largely replaced by faster and easier-to-use clean protection, such as [nuts](/source/nut_(climbing)) and [camming devices](/source/spring-loaded_camming_device).<ref>{{cite book|last=Loughman|first=Michael|title=Learning to Rock Climb|year=1981|publisher=Sierra Club Books|page=78|isbn=0-87156-281-2|url=https://archive.org/details/learningtorockcl00loug_0}}</ref> Pitons are still found in place (as "fixed" pitons) on some established [free climbing](/source/free_climbing) routes, as fixed belay station anchors, in places where nuts or cams do not work; and are used on some hard aid climbs.<ref>{{cite book|last=Loughman|first=Michael|title=Learning to Rock Climb|year=1981|publisher=Sierra Club Books|page=80|isbn=0-87156-281-2|url=https://archive.org/details/learningtorockcl00loug_0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Genereux|first1=Andy|title=Yamnuska Rock: The Crown Jewel of Canadian Rockies Traditional Climbing|date=May 2006|publisher=Rocky Mountain Books|isbn=9781894765749|page=219}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Protection using pitons|url=http://www.mountaineeringmethodology.com/protection-using-pitons/|website=Mountaineering Methodology|access-date=4 May 2017}}</ref>

==Types==

Pitons are sized and manufactured to fit a wide range of cracks.  From small to large, the most common are:<ref name=MFOH15>{{cite book | date=2018 | title=Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills | edition=9th | isbn=978-1846892622 | publisher=Quiller Publishing | author=The Mountaineers|chapter=15. Aid and Big Wall Climbing (Pitons) | pages=285–287}}</ref>

* '''RURP''' (Realized Ultimate Reality Piton) – a tiny piton the size of a postage stamp used in thin, shallow seams. It was designed by [Tom Frost](/source/Tom_Frost) and [Yvon Chouinard](/source/Yvon_Chouinard) in 1959 and was manufactured by Chouinard Equipment in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jones, Chris |title=Climbing in North America |page=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/274 274] |publisher=American Alpine Club and University of California Press |location=Berkeley |year=1976 |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/274 }}</ref> It is not a strong piece, and is mainly used for [aid climbing](/source/aid_climbing), although it can feature as protection on extreme free routes (e.g. Rurp The Wild Berserk (E6 6b) at The Brand, Leicestershire, UK).<ref>[http://www.leicesterclimbs.f9.co.uk/ThebrandR.htm Climbs at The Brand]</ref><ref name=MFOH15/>
* '''Beak''' – hooking pitons with the ability to hook, which can be placed without a hammer.  Known often as Birdbeaks named for [Jim Bridwell](/source/Jim_Bridwell) whose nickname was "The Bird".<ref name=MFOH15/> 
* '''Knifeblade''' – also known as a bugaboos, are thin straight pitons, that work in thin, deep cracks.<ref name=MFOH15/>
* '''Lost Arrow''' – also known as a wedge piton, was designed by [John Salathé](/source/John_Salath%C3%A9) and Yvon Chouinard (named after Salathé's ascent of [Lost Arrow Spire](/source/Lost_Arrow_Spire)), is a hot-forged, tapered piton for medium-sized cracks.<ref name=MFOH15/>
* '''Angle''' – A piton made of steel sheet bent into a "U", "V", or "Z" shape; works well for larger cracks, where the steel deforms elastically as the piton is placed.<ref name=MFOH15/>
* '''Bong''' – The largest pitons are angles made from sheet aluminum called a '''bong''', named for the sound they produce while being hammered into place (or dropped).  Largely replaced by [camming](/source/Spring-loaded_camming_device) units and [nuts](/source/Nut_(climbing)) (chocks) that perform better and without damaging the rock.<ref name=MFOH15/>

<gallery>
Wired Chouinard RURP.jpg|Wired Chouinard '''RURP'''
File:Climbing gear - Seneca Rocks pitons - 20.jpg|'''Knifeblade''' pitons
File:Fichtelhaken.jpg|Soft Metal '''Lost Arrow'''
File:Profilhaken.jpg|Medium size '''Angle'''
</gallery>

==Development==

Early pitons were made of malleable iron and soft steel and would deform to the shape of a crack when hammered into the rock, which worked well in the irregular cracks found on European limestone.  Soft pitons are difficult to remove without damaging the piton, so they were left in place and became fixed anchor points on a climb.

During the exploration of the hard granite in [Yosemite Valley](/source/Yosemite_Valley) in the 1950s and 1960s, it was found that soft pitons did not work well. The long routes developed in Yosemite made it impractical and costly to fix routes, and the soft pitons were not durable enough to be placed and removed more than a few times.  Pitons needed to be removed and used again on subsequent pitches, sometimes many times.  Leaving gear in place went against the ethics of many climbers.  [John Salathé](/source/John_Salath%C3%A9) pioneered designs using hardened steel which were much tougher than the European pitons.  Salathé's pins, which he developed for a climb of the [Lost Arrow](/source/Lost_Arrow_Spire), resisted deformation and were easier to remove and reuse, and were durable enough to be reused indefinitely.<ref>{{cite book |author=McNamara, Chris |title=Yosemite Big Walls: SuperTopo  |url=http://www.supertopo.com/bigwalls/yosemite/bigwalls.html |page=113 |publisher=SuperTopo |location=Mill Valley |year=2000 |isbn= 0-9672391-1-7}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Pitons}}
* [Aid climbing](/source/Aid_climbing)
* [Big wall climbing](/source/Big_wall_climbing)
* [Bolt](/source/Bolt_(climbing))
* [Copperhead](/source/Copperhead_(climbing))
* [Grappling hook](/source/Grappling_hook)
* [Kaginawa](/source/Kaginawa)
* [Kyoketsu-shoge](/source/Kyoketsu-shoge)
* [Rock climbing equipment](/source/Rock_climbing_equipment)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Climbing navbox}}

Category:Climbing equipment
Category:Mountaineering equipment

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