Layton Kor
Encyclopedia
Layton Kor is an American rock climber
active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world. His routes include many climbs in Eldorado Canyon
, near Boulder, Colorado
, The Diamond on Longs Peak
, towers in the desert southwest, and Yosemite National Park
, among other locations. Notable among his first ascents is the Kor-Ingalls Route
on Castleton Tower
and The Finger of Fate
Route up the Fisher Towers
' Titan
; both routes are recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
.
Kor also authored the book Beyond the Vertical.
Layton Kor received the 2009 American Alpine Club
's Robert & Miriam Underhill Award for outstanding climbing achievement.
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world. His routes include many climbs in Eldorado Canyon
Eldorado Canyon State Park
Eldorado Canyon State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system. It is located in Boulder County near the city of Boulder. The park consists of two areas, the Inner Canyon and Crescent Meadows . The park encompasses with a variety of recreation opportunities available...
, near Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, The Diamond on Longs Peak
Longs Peak
Longs Peak is one of the 53 mountains with summits over 14,000 feet in Colorado. It can be prominently seen from Longmont, Colorado, as well as from the rest of the Colorado Front Range. It is named after Major Stephen Long, who explored the area in the 1820s...
, towers in the desert southwest, and Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, among other locations. Notable among his first ascents is the Kor-Ingalls Route
Kor-Ingalls Route (Castleton Tower)
The Kor-Ingalls Route is a traditional rock climbing route located on Castleton Tower. Castleton Tower sits in Castle Valley North-East of Moab, Utah. The Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.- External...
on Castleton Tower
Castleton Tower
Castleton Tower is a Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot talus cone above the northeastern border of Castle Valley, Utah. The Tower is world renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic rock climbing routes, the most famous of which is the Kor-Ingalls Route featured in...
and The Finger of Fate
Finger of Fate (Fisher Towers)
The Finger of Fate is an aid rock climbing route located on The Titan, the tallest of the Fisher Towers. The route saw its first clean ascent in 1996 by Setvie Haston and Laurence Gauoult. The Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a...
Route up the Fisher Towers
Fisher Towers
Fisher Towers are a series of towers made of Cutler sandstone capped with Moenkopi sandstone and caked with a stucco of red mud located near Moab, Utah . The Towers are named for a miner who lived near them in the 1880s. The Tower is world renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic...
' Titan
The Titan (Fisher Towers)
The Titan is the largest of the Fisher Towers near Moab and Castle Valley, Utah. It has also been attributed to be the largest free standing tower in the United States. The tower contains the Finger of Fate Route which is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North...
; both routes are recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
Fifty Classic Climbs Of North America is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a definitive piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspiration for more recent climbing books, such as Mark...
.
Kor also authored the book Beyond the Vertical.
Layton Kor received the 2009 American Alpine Club
American Alpine Club
The American Alpine Club, or AAC, was founded in 1902 by Charles Ernest Fay, and is the leading national organization in the United States devoted to mountaineering, climbing, and the multitude of issues facing climbers...
's Robert & Miriam Underhill Award for outstanding climbing achievement.
Colorado
- 1959 Diagonal, Lower East Face, Longs PeakLongs PeakLongs Peak is one of the 53 mountains with summits over 14,000 feet in Colorado. It can be prominently seen from Longmont, Colorado, as well as from the rest of the Colorado Front Range. It is named after Major Stephen Long, who explored the area in the 1820s...
, CO. (V 5.9 A3) with Ray Northcutt. - 1959 T2, Redgarden Wall, Eldorado CanyonEldorado Canyon State ParkEldorado Canyon State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system. It is located in Boulder County near the city of Boulder. The park consists of two areas, the Inner Canyon and Crescent Meadows . The park encompasses with a variety of recreation opportunities available...
, CO. (current rating 5.11a) 1st ascent with Gerry Roach - 1960 Yellow Spur, Redgarden Wall, Eldorado CanyonEldorado Canyon State ParkEldorado Canyon State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system. It is located in Boulder County near the city of Boulder. The park consists of two areas, the Inner Canyon and Crescent Meadows . The park encompasses with a variety of recreation opportunities available...
, CO. (5.9 (A1)) FA with David Dornan, Feb 21, 1960 - 1962 Psycho, Redgarden Wall, Eldorado Canyon, CO. (III 5.9 A4) 1st ascent with Huntley Ingalls
- 1962 The Naked Edge, Redgarden Wall, Eldorado Canyon, CO. (III 5.9 A3) with Bob Culp. Entire route with Rick Horn, 1964 (5.9 A4).
- 1962 Yellow Wall, The Diamond, Longs PeakLongs PeakLongs Peak is one of the 53 mountains with summits over 14,000 feet in Colorado. It can be prominently seen from Longmont, Colorado, as well as from the rest of the Colorado Front Range. It is named after Major Stephen Long, who explored the area in the 1820s...
, CO. (V 5.8 A4) 2nd route on the wall, with Charles Roskosz. - 1963 Canary Pass, Redgarden Wall, Eldorado Canyon, CO. (III 5.7 A4-) 1st ascent with Pat AmentPat AmentPat Ament is an American rock climber, musician, and artist who lives in Fruita, Colorado. Noted for first ascents in the 1960s and 1970s, he is the author of many articles and books....
- 1965 Green Slab, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO. (VI 5.8 A4) with Brian Martz.
Southwest deserts
- 1961 Kor-Ingalls RouteKor-Ingalls Route (Castleton Tower)The Kor-Ingalls Route is a traditional rock climbing route located on Castleton Tower. Castleton Tower sits in Castle Valley North-East of Moab, Utah. The Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.- External...
, Castleton TowerCastleton TowerCastleton Tower is a Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot talus cone above the northeastern border of Castle Valley, Utah. The Tower is world renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic rock climbing routes, the most famous of which is the Kor-Ingalls Route featured in...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
; FA of tower with Huntley Ingalls - 1962 Finger of FateFinger of Fate (Fisher Towers)The Finger of Fate is an aid rock climbing route located on The Titan, the tallest of the Fisher Towers. The route saw its first clean ascent in 1996 by Setvie Haston and Laurence Gauoult. The Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a...
, The TitanThe Titan (Fisher Towers)The Titan is the largest of the Fisher Towers near Moab and Castle Valley, Utah. It has also been attributed to be the largest free standing tower in the United States. The tower contains the Finger of Fate Route which is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North...
, Fisher TowersFisher TowersFisher Towers are a series of towers made of Cutler sandstone capped with Moenkopi sandstone and caked with a stucco of red mud located near Moab, Utah . The Towers are named for a miner who lived near them in the 1880s. The Tower is world renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. FA of formation (V 5.8 A3) with Huntley Ingalls and George Hurley. - 1962 Standing Rock (Monument Basin), near Moab, UT. FA of formation with Huntley Ingalls and Steve Komito.
- 1963 Kor-Dalke-Schafer IV 5.10 A1, Monster Tower, Canyonlands National ParkCanyonlands National ParkCanyonlands National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab and preserves a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. The park is divided into four districts:...
, Utah; FA of Monster tower with Larry Dalke and Cub Schafer, 26 December 1963 - 1964 North Face III 5.9 A3(?), Argon Tower, Arches National ParkArches National ParkArches National Park is a U.S. National Park in eastern Utah. It is known for preserving over 2000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations....
, Utah; FA with Bob Bradley and Charlie Kemp, 17 January 1964
California
- 1963 West Buttress, El CapitanEl CapitanEl Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.The formation was...
, Yosemite ValleyYosemite ValleyYosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. (VI 5.10 A3+) FA with Steve RoperSteve RoperSteve Roper is a noted climber and historian of the Sierra Nevada in the United States. He along with Allen Steck are the founding editors of the Sierra Club journal Ascent.Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P...
. - 1964 South Face, Washington Column, Yosemite Valley, CA. (V 5.10a A2) FA with Chris Fredericks, June 1964 .
- 1965 Gold Wall, Ribbon Falls Area, Yosemite Valley, CA. (V 5.10 A3) FA with Tom Fender, May 1965.
Outlying areas
- 1963 Robbins Route, Mount Proboscis, Logan Mountains, Northwest TerritoryNorthwest TerritoryThe Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. FA with Dick McCracken, Jim McCarthy and Royal RobbinsRoyal RobbinsRoyal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
, Aug 4-7, 1963.