the.com/piton
the metal spike climbers hammer into rock to bet their lives on friction
means A piton is a metal spike or peg that a climber hammers into a crack in rock or ice, then clips a rope to as an anchor against a fall.
from Straight from French piton, meaning a peg, eyebolt, or pointed peak. The French word likely traces back to a root shared with words for a sharp point or beak — fittingly, in the Alps piton also names a sharp mountain summit. As Alpine climbing took shape in the Alps, the gear borrowed the mountain's own word for 'spike,' and English took it whole, accent-free, somewhere around the early 20th century.
- french origin
- Name comes from French for spike or peg
- banned ethic
- Scarred cracks led purists to clean-climbing nuts instead
- removal tool
- A funkness device yanks stubborn ones free
- ringing pitch
- A solid placement sings higher as you hammer
- big wall legend
- Yosemite ascents drove their golden-age design
piton des neiges — 3,271m peak in reunion island, indian ocean, france's highest volcano
piton de la fournaise — 2,632m active volcano in reunion island, one of world's most active volcanoes
black piton — climbing equipment company founded 1989, makes steel climbing pitons for rock climbing