Layton Kor has always been the most fascinating, inspirational climber I know of. As I learned to climb around the southwest, and then Yosemite and Europe, stories of his incredible pioneering climbs and spirit always arose. No one who climbed with Layton Kor ever forgot it, and the stories they told were stunning, funny and legendary. His personality shone through every 3rd person retelling: a climber who was remarkably brave, driven, visionary, eccentric, humble and, by all accounts, bad ass. As I became an established climber, people frequently asked me if I had any climbing heroes. By a certain point, I had met, climbed with and played with many people who had been the famous climbers of my own day, and continued to be equally inspired by everyone around me. But Layton Kor was different. His style, big ascents and all-out pioneering vision literally blew my mind, every time I climbed something like Castleton Tower or the Salathe Wall, and still do.
(more…)
Posts Tagged ‘steph davis’
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Climbing With Kor
Monday, September 21st, 2009
Climbing Castleton for Layton Kor!
As you know, this fundraiser has taken on a life of its own, thanks to everyone who keeps thinking of more ways to help. As soon as Alison Osius wrote the first article about the site in Rock and Ice (thus forcing us to make the site in time for the article to come out!), she got an email from a friend who was interested in doing a bonus guiding day and giving an extra donation to Layton right away. We hadn’t thought of that yet, but it seemed like a great idea! So I spoke with Al, who has climbed in the desert for years and years, and found out that he was hoping to have a great Castleton day with his son Luke, who has just started to climb.
(more…)