A huge thanks to everyone who has helped out so far. The money we have raised has helped significantly to defray Layton’s medical costs, though there are more and there are many. We are planning to do more case-by-case guiding days, of all kinds, to continue to generate some financial assistance for Layton in the future. So check back to this site in the weeks and months to come if you would still like to climb with pro climbers or experts, either for adventures or teaching days. Many guides and pro climbers would like to donate future days to people who can donate more money to support Layton Kor. He will still need support, even though this phase of fundraising is complete, so we are going to keep finding creative ways to help.

So now, the final winners of the raffles!

Eric Lett has won the final gear package.
Andy Laakman has won the Washington’s Column climb with Conrad Anker
Sumi Bitner has won the Cruise climb with Jimmie Dunn
Denise Driver has won the Castleton climb with me
Mike Harris has won the Kor’s Flake climb with Tommy Caldwell
Jean-Philippe Martin has won the Gunks day with Eric Horst

Congratulations to everyone, for pulling together as a community to help such an inspiring, respected figure.

And I hope to get stories and photos from everyone after their climbing adventures!
xxxSteph

Scott Baxter belays while Layton watches Albert grappling with the first pitch.

Layton has fun on the first pitch.

Layton happily bangs away at pitons while dangling aiders...it doesn't get any better than this!

Albert, Layton, Susan, and Scott relax in the setting sun on the tailgate of my pickup truck.

The fundraiser we started to help Layton Kor with his medical expenses will go on for another two months, and then we will finally announce the winners of the climbing days with me, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmie Dunn, Eric Horst and Conrad Anker. The support from the climbing community has been an outpouring, and has helped Layton both financially and for the heart. Thanks to the many companies who have contributed gear, this month’s giveaway for those who donate is the best one yet, including a tent and a rope, along with a whole pile of other awesome gifts for the February raffle winner. Please check it out, and don’t miss these last two raffles to support Layton Kor, such an incredible pioneer of the sport we all love so much.

Recently, I got an email from a climber who has gone to visit Layton and climb with him. For Alfred, it has been the experience of a lifetime, spending time in the company of such a legend and experiencing some unforgettable climbing outings with Layton Kor. I asked him if he would write a small account of his adventures with Layton, and he did:

2010: Adventures with the Great One
by Alfred Enumen

Alfred:
“Layton, how is that cam?”

Layton:
“I have no idea. Slack!” ‘Clip.’

I look over at my buddy W., we cringe. One of the more legendary men in the history of the sport is 30′ above us, bashing in pins, blindly shoving in cams, inching his way up the unclimbed tooth-like formation. In the deepest reaches of the desert Southwest, we are a mile from the nearest 4×4 road, and another hour drive from the closest town.

Layton reaches higher and pounds in a not-so-great sounding pin. Suddenly he edges out right, leaving aiders and scurrying up and around a low angle arete.

I’m screaming, “Layton get some gear in.” Layton with the glee of a 17 year old yells, “this is just like the Dolomites,” and free climbs around the corner. W. is in such shock all he thinks to shout is, “Layton the Great’n!” A cool breeze picks up, in the distance a coyote yips.

We had driven over the evening before to visit with this great hero of rockclimbing. After a hearty steak dinner we sat around for a few hours absorbing tales from back the early days of modern climbing. I’ve been fortunate to meet enough “heroes” to understand they are real people just like the rest of us, each facing the challenges, setbacks and rewards in which our sport and life offers. W. and I listened with rapt attention to stories of Black Canyon and Canyonlands first ascents and long climbs in the Dolomites.

“I climbed with this one fella, he wanted to do a 1200′ route which stopped halfway up the wall. I just couldn’t understand it. We ended up climbing a 2000′ route to the summit.” His thirst for adventure and new routes seems almost insatiable. “There is this unclimbed wall in the Black, real pretty, we could rap in from the rim and establish a new line, ground up,” he said in his deep voice.

Layton slows and we hear him pounding in an anchor. W. and I share an uneasy glance when it is his time to follow as we know Mr. Kor is using a hip belay. “The follower must not fall” is what we were thinking. W. reaches the belay, shores it up with an extra pin and puts me on belay. A short roped scramble puts us on the summit.

Layton glows with the enthusiasm of youth. When W. starts hand drilling a bolt, Kor sighs, “You know some people use electric drills these days. I heard they even start at the top of the cliff and work their way down to set up the climb.” A while later we are safely on the ground and slowly working our way back to the truck.

We part ways at Layton’s house, with him seeming as thankful to be out climbing as we are to spend time with this great hero of our sport. The experience made me feel as if we are all in this journey together.

To be continued….
Alfred Enumen

Don’t forget, we are starting right now with February’s gear raffle, another awesome fat stack of gear which we will raffle off on March 1, to everyone who donates this month!

I wanted some help with this month’s raffle, and luckily Mao had some spare time between naps, so he offered to do the drawing.

Also, my friend April of Naturally Bamboo, gave me this lovely red hat. Thanks April and Mao for being the guest raffle team for the January giveaway

This month’s winner is:
Tim Murdock.

Congratulations Tim!
Tim is still in the raffle for a climbing day with Tommy Caldwell on Kor’s Flake, which we will raffle off this spring. But he just won:

Marmot Trestles 40 Sleeping Bag
Therm-a-Rest Tech Blanket
Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus (either men’s or women’s)
Metolius six-pack of FS mini carabiners
Metolius Comp chalkbag and Element Key Lock Carabiner
4 boxes any Clif product
1 prAna outfit (top and bottom, your choice)
1 pair Five Ten shoes (your choice)
prAna yoga mat
Sender Films DVD (your choice)
3-pack Backcountry.com Stainless Steel coffee tumblers

Yes, all of it! Congratulations Tim, and thank you for your support of Layton Kor.

Please enter the February raffle, which starts right now….

As you know, everyone who donated $25 or more in the month of December was put in the hat for this month’s gear giveaway. Those who also requested a guide day are going to stay in that pile until we finally raffle off the climbing days in the next few months. And remember, everyone who donates in the month of January has a chance to win our next huge gear pile on February 1.

Since my zebra hat was out at a New Year’s Eve disco dance party last night, it seemed like it should be this month’s name drawing hat.

And this month’s gear winner is…..

Joanne Liu!
Congratulations to Joanne, who has not only won the December gear package, but is also still going to go into the raffle to climb Castleton Tower (with me!). Thank you Joanne!

Joanne’s thank you gift is:
MSR Skinny Too tent
Metolius six-pack of FS mini carabiners
Mammut 5-pack of shoulder length dyneema slings
Metolius Comp chalkbag and Element Key Lock Carabiner
4 boxes any Clif product
1 prAna outfit (top and bottom, your choice)
1 pair Five Ten shoes (your choice)
prAna yoga mat
Sender Films DVD (your choice)
3-pack Backcountry.com Stainless Steel coffee tumblers

Yes, all of it! And we have lots more gear, so we’re not going to stop doing these until we run out (thank you to the amazing companies who have donated gear!).

The next gear giveaway is just as fat, and everyone who donates this month will be in the February 1 drawing. Please come check it out, and donate to help Layton and have a chance to win a climbing day with me, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmie Dunn, Eric Horst or Conrad Anker, and to win a fantastic gear package on top of it!

Again, huge thanks to everyone who is making this fundraiser work to support Layton Kor. He feels very honored by the community support, and it is helping.
May you have a happy, safe and adventurous new decade.

Layton Kor was probably the largest bundle of energy to ever climb a rock. Everyone is probably aware of his height – I wonder how many know how tightly wound he was. This guy was intense. Don’t get me wrong. His behavior off the rock was not abnormal – except when he was behind the wheel of his automobile.

It was early 1965. I was in my tenth year as an aerodynamic engineer at North American Aviation in El Segundo. My climbing experience was initiated in 1961 and was limited to Stoney Point, Tahquitz Rock, and three trips to Yosemite. My first and only Yosemite climb in 1962 was Higher Cathedral Spire. I returned to the Valley in 1963 for one weekend to climb the Higher Spire again. In 1964, another Higher Spire ascent with Swan Slab and Patio PInnacle thrown in. That’s it – my entire Yosemite experience over a three year period amounted to five short ascents. Then I met Layton Kor and the curtain went up on Act-III of My Life in Spire Repair.

It was March of 1965, Layton was working at Chouinard’s tin shed in Burbank near the Lockheed aircraft plant. My Stoney Point climbing buddies, Dennis Hennek , and Ken Boche were both working for Yvon then and when I had time after work I would go by the tin shed by to visit and pound a few rivets in 1¼-inch angles. Compared to the motley crew, I looked sort of out of place in my suit and tie, but on my first visit Layton was impressed with my work ethic. I don’t remember when or where it happened, but one day he asked if I was interested in doing a Yosemite wall climb. I didn’t even ask which wall, I just said yes.

The Leaning Tower – he wanted to do the third ascent of the Leaning Tower. The first ascent in 1961 had just been followed by Robbins’ solo second ascent in 1963 and Layton had been quizzing Royal about the logistics. According to Royal there were still lots of bolts missing hangers and some bolts needing replacement. Other than that, he bade us well.

It was mid-April. There was still six feet of snow on the ground in the Valley when Kor and I drove into the Bridalveil parking lot. With help of Ken Boche and a few other friends, we stomped in a path – a six-foot deep trough – up to the Tower traverse ledge. It took us a couple of trips and most of the day to deposit our equipment. Kor and I spent that night in Camp-4. I think we were the only tent in the campground. I had a large McKinley canvas tent – large enough for Kor to stand erect. We sat that night under a roaring Coleman lantern discussing Kor’s plan. He had a “plan.” I had no clue.

It was obviously going to be a cold ascent and we were only taking down jackets. We would use our rucksacks for our feet. Layton had borrowed two pairs of Jumars from somebody and he had shown me how they worked in the tent the night before. We would not take a stove- just cheese, bologna, gorp, and water. Kor was convinced we could use candles to warm our hands on the bivouac. That was his “plan.”

Up early the next morning, we trudged through the snow trough to our gear and began the traverse out to the beginning of the bolt ladder first pitch. The ledge was snowy, wet and slippery – and cold. There was no question as to who would lead the first pitch. Layton clipped into the first bolt and seconds later began what was to be a non-stop, irate conversation with the Tower, with God, and with anyone else within earshot. I had never heard anyone curse as often and constantly while climbing. I heard curses that I had never heard before or since – though I admit that one of his favorite rubbed off on me and I still hear myself using it – hopefully nobody else does. It is one that I can only repeat here as a reference to “matriarchal prostitution.” Every missing hanger, every loose bolt, every scraped knuckle, every dropped nut (those that hold the hanger on the bolt), and every time he didn’t get his foot quickly into the next loop, a curse would echo off the wall and down the Valley.

Layton climbed quickly and was up to the belay bolts – he was breathing hard when he called down “Off belay.” I’m sure his respiration rate was due more to his conversation than to his exertion. The Robbins Jumar hauling system was not in our repertoire, so we hauled our food and gear by the old fashioned way – hand-over-hand.

My expertise with Jumaring was elementary at best and it took me longer to second the pitch than Layton took to lead it. When I finally arrived at his position he was already getting anxious and quickly put me on belay and urged me upward. About a third of the way up my pitch I clipped a bolt and in the process it came out in my hand. I thought, Whoa, now what? Layton was getting nervous, “Pound it back in, Lauria.” I tried, but it still just fell out when I tried to clip it. “It won’t go, Layton.”

Kor was reaching the red line on his patience meter. He had the extra bolts, but rather than send them up to me he suggested I come down and let him finish the pitch. With great relief, I descended and he took over the lead, replaced the bolt with a new one, and with minimal expletives raced on.

I cleaned the pitch and when I reached his belay stance, Kor suggested that for the sake of time he should lead the rest of the pitches – to Guano Ledge, I thought. He was off, epithets flowing eloquently, and after two pitches requiring several hanger/bolt modifications and some very tricky wet face-climbing over the last ten feet, we arrived on snow covered Guano Ledge.

Ahwahnee Ledge was out of the question – It was two feet deep in snow. We attempted to level out the very sloped Guano Ledge by clearing the upper portion and building up the lower portion of the ledge with the cleared snow. The temperature was in the 40s and everything was wet and it was getting dark – and did I say it was cold?

Never fear, we have candles. We settled down in our dampened down jackets with our feet in our rucksacks. Kor fought desperately with damp matches to light up three candles. With our 3-candlepower heater ablaze we soon realized that whatever heat was being generated, we couldn’t feel it. The worthless matriarchal prostitutes!

It wasn’t all a lost cause – we did have a cozy candle lit dinner and Kor revealed his future plans to climb every major wall in the Valley before he left for Europe to do the Eiger. He talked a little about religion, only to abruptly change the subject to his “plan” for tomorrow. Layton quite reasonably thought it would be best for him to lead the rest of the climb. It was obvious that my inexperience was just slowing us down. So it was agreed – I was now auditing the course – and did I mention it was cold?

We still had seven pitches to go and Kor knew it. He almost left skid marks leaving the ledge in the morning. He was around the corner out of sight, but never, never out of earshot. “You damn matriarchal prostitute!” resounded from the canyon walls.

Most of the remaining pitches are just a blur in my memory probably because all I did was belay and clean. There were two exceptions – The Evil Tree, where I learned even more new ways to cuss and the final pitch – the pitch where one traverses out from under the last overhang.

It was getting late. This was the sixth pitch. Kor finished it and, now out of sight, called down for me to be careful cleaning. He warned me about the difficulties of Jumaring and cleaning a traverse. Eventually I found myself up in a corner, with my head bumping an overhang, detaching my lead Jumar from the rope to bypass the next pin. With one aid sling on one side of the pin and the second aid sling on the other side, I began to understand the difficulties.

It was only after removing all but the last piece under the overhand that I had an epiphany. I realized that each time I detached the lead Jumar from the rope, I was supported by only one Jumar. Duh! But here comes the good part. I realized that if the Jumar (the ONLY one supporting me) came off the rope, I would plummet to the end of the rope – in those days, approximately 150 feet! Why, you ask? Read on.

This was my first wall climb and my first experience with Jumars. Nobody told me that I should attach them to my swami belt. I had just done the entire climb without ever being attached to my Jumars! The only thing attached to my Jumars when I released them from the climbing rope were my aid slings.
It was too dark and I was only a few feet below finishing the pitch, so I put the thought of my mind and continued on. I was too embarrassed to mention my folly to Layton. I wouldn’t have had time to anyway, as he was up and moving before I sat down. Over his shoulder came, “Come on we have to get down – now!”

So off we went in the dark on wet rock as it began to drizzle. Layton knew approximately where we were going based on his discussion with Royal. I just tried to keep up. We managed to find the rappel anchors in the Leaning Tower Chimney and after three very wet and cold rappels we were on easier ground heading for the snow trough and the parking lot.

Two days later, at my home in Canoga Park, Kor was sitting at the breakfast table with me and my three kids and my wife relating to them the details of our little adventure. He kept rubbing his right eye nervously. I noticed that the eye was quite red. He thought there was just a little sand left over from the Tower, but hours later the irritation had become almost unbearable. So we took him to the closest ophthalmologist we could find. When he emerged from the doctor’s office his eye was patched. The doctor said he had found a sliver of steel near the center of his right eye’s lens (obviously chipped off a piton on the climb). If it had remained in the lens any longer it would no doubt have left a rust mark and Layton’s vision would have been impaired – requiring eventual surgery.

For at least a year after the Tower, I would receive a card or letter from Kor relating his latest climbs and his future plans – the last coming from Europe. It was over twenty years later that we met up again.

I attended the AAC annual Banquet in Las Vegas in December of ’86. At that
banquet, as I entered the dining area, I bumped into another climber of Kor’s generation. We exchanged greetings and he mentioned that Layton Kor was in attendance.
“Where?”

“He’s hard to miss”, he motioned across the room. I looked in the direction he was pointing and there in the distance, standing well above the crowd, was a silver-haired giant. By the time I got over to him he was seated at the dining table, his back to me. I tapped him on the shoulder hesitantly, fearing he would not recognize the idiot he led up the Tower in 1965. He turned, “Lauria, you rascal, how are you?”

I’m not sure I ever told Kor that I was never attached to my Jumars.

Please donate to help Layton Kor with his dialysis and kidney transplant expenses.

Layton Kor belays Dennis Jump on the first pitch of our aborted route out in the Arizona desert.

Dennis Jump and I visited Layton for five days before Thanksgiving. Both Layton and his wife Karen expressed extreme gratitude to all the climbers who have been helping him out. We had lots of great conversations about climbing, with Layton remembering details of his ascent of the directissma on The Eiger in 1966, lots of his climbs in the Dolomites, some diving adventures in Guam and Bermuda, and climbing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in the early 1960s.

The three of us also got out climbing one day. We attempted an unclimbed 300-foot-high prow out in the Black Mountains. Layton led the first pitch up a groove to a good ledge. Above loomed an overhanging seam lined with loose blocks. Dennis and I both declined the lead so I slammed a couple bolts in and we rapped off. The adventure sapped Layton’s strength, so while he rested, Dennis led a loose crack up a nearby unclimbed dome.

Here is a link to a blog post I wrote for my Climbing website at About.com. Check it out. It recounts a funny story that Layton told me while we drove across Golden Valley. Enjoy.

And remember to donate a few bucks to help Layton with his medical expenses. Steph and I have some great prizes lined up from the end of December drawing.

Photo below: Layton and Dennis go over the drawings Dennis is creating for Layton’s new book of adventure stories.
]]> http://laytonkorclimbing.com/a-november-adventure-with-layton-kor/feed/ 0 http://laytonkorclimbing.com/the-november-winner-is/ http://laytonkorclimbing.com/the-november-winner-is/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:54:03 +0000 steph http://laytonkorclimbing.com/?p=460

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped with this fundraiser so far, to support Layton Kor with his medical expenses.

We are rolling now with the monthly gear giveaways, which will happen on the first of every month, as long as we have all this gear to give away!

Today I printed out all the names of everyone who has donated to help Layton, with each name printed out once for each $25 donation (so some folks had several shots at it, because they donated more). Some of you requested to be in the guide day drawing (and you still are), others just wanted to be in the gear drawing, and you all went into the hat for this one.

I cut all the names up into strips. There were several pages, so it was a lot of snipping!

Everyone was put into my favorite hat that I wear all the time (here I’m wearing it on the Eiger mushroom in Switzerland about 2 weeks ago).

I tossed them all around in there:

and pulled out Harry Marinakis!

Congratulations Harry!  You have won a lot of awesome gear!

And congratulations to everyone for helping Layton Kor, a revered and cherished member of our community.

The guide day giveaways are still going on, and everyone who donates in the month of November has a chance to win the great prize package for December, so you can win a pile of gear just like Harry!

MSR Skinny Too tent
Metolius six-pack of FS mini carabiners
Mammut 5-pack of shoulder length dyneema slings
Metolius Comp chalkbag and Element Key Lock Carabiner
4 boxes any Clif product
1 prAna outfit (top and bottom, your choice)
1 pair Five Ten shoes (your choice)
prAna yoga mat
Sender Films DVD (your choice)
3-pack Backcountry.com Stainless Steel coffee tumblers

Thanks also to all these great sponsors who have so generously donated this gear to make these giveaways possible.

And a word from Harry:

“Thanks very much for the November Gear Giveaway prizes! Thank you Backcountry.com, Clif, Five Ten, Mammut, MSR, prAna and Sender Films.

The name Layton Kor has been known to me since I started climbing in 1974. How many of us started big wall climbing on the Kor Roof on Washington Column?

Climbing is a brotherhood. We’ve got to stick together. It’s time to give back to those who have led the way before us, and made all this possible.

Get well Layton.
Harry”

Layton Kor leads the second pitch on Cleopatra's Needle, New Mexico, in 1961.

Layton Kor on the first ascent of Middle Sister in Monument Valley, Arizona in 1966.

Layton Kor climbing Tour Mayer in the Swiss Alps in the late 1960s.

The last limited edition of two signed photographs of Layton Kor from Monster Tower in Canyonlands National Park are officially sold out.

I have three new photographs, sets of 60 photographs each, of Layton for sale. I’ll be heading down to Arizona after next weekend to visit Layton, go climbing, and have him sign the photos. I already have over a dozen pre-orders for these images. If you get me a check or pay for a print via PayPal in the next 10 days and send me an email with your information, I’ll have Layton personally inscribe the photo of your choice to you or the person of your choice!

Thanks to all the wonderful and generous climbers who purchased the first edition of photographs. Besides being unique and one-of-a-kind momentos of one of America’s iconic climbers, the funds raised have greatly helped Layton with his medical bills. He thanks all of you for your generosity.

Layton Kor and Ed Webster atop Kor's Kastle in Arizona. Photograph by Dennis Jump and published in Alpinist 27.

The climb, on a warm spring day, was memorable in lots of ways. For one, it was a first ascent with Layton, the master desert climber, the guy whose footholds I’ve been following for my entire climbing career since I was 12 years old in 1965. Then too it was another first ascent with my old climbing buddies Ed and Dennis.

We let Layton lead the first pitch. He launched up the rotten rock like in days of yore, chortling gleefully, “Rotten rock! I love rotten rock!” We watched as Layton wielded hammer and pitons, whailing angles, Lost Arrows, and knifeblades in every crack along the way. At the small belay ledge, he tied off a couple knifeblades and a baby angle and called it good.

After Layton belayed me up, I said, “Layton, we need more pins for this belay.” He smiled and said, “I think it’s good enough, isn’t it?” Ed and I looked at each other and said in unision, “No!” I welded a couple 3/4-inch angles and planted a couple Stoppers in cracks above for a bomber anchor.

Anyway, this is a great photograph of Layton and Ed. May Layton have many more first ascents in the years to come.

I talked to Layton a couple nights ago. He just had a rough day at the dialysis clinic. One of the nurses poked him a bunch of times in the arm before hitting a nerve. “She just left the needle in there against the nerve,” he said. “It was so painful that I could hardly keep from screaming.” He said his arm was so sore afterwards that he had to cut the session short by an hour and go home. That night, 12 hours later, Layton said his arm still throbbed.

The good news last week was that a plastic tube that went from his shoulder into a vein was removed. “I’ve been taking long showers every day,” Layton told me. “It feels good to have that water running down ya. You just don’t feel clean taking a sponge bath. We’re going up to Vegas soon. There’s a spa place there with a bunch of pools. I’m looking forward to laying in them for a couple days.”

“So you went out to the Garden today?” Layton asked me. I had told him that I was at the Garden of the Gods that morning with Jimmie Dunn and we had put a new anchor bolt on the summit of Red Twin Spire, a 65-foot-high spire in the Gateway. “I always liked to go down and climb at that place. Good climbing there. I went to the Garden with Wayne Goss a few times, and other Boulder climbers. Would climb in the Garden and go out for pizza after. Then drive back to Boulder. Oh, I only did one climb with Harvey Carter out there. Some little thing he called The Pizza. Crappy little climb. Some little blob. Usually I would climb Montezuma and the South Ridge of White and some other routes.”

“The best climb I did down there at the Springs,” he continued, “was Grand Specimen. Very worthwhile 600-foot climb. I did that with Harvey. Maybe the second ascent. We did the first ascent of this diagonal bottomless chimney for the first pitch. Does anybody do that now?”

“Some do,” I said. “The best way is a hand crack up a dihedral. That chimney is pretty wild climbing.”

“That was a big climb. It’s about the biggest one down by Pikes Peak,” said Layton. “We had bird problems at the top. Falcons. They dive-bombed me when I was leading. Exciting end of the climb. Do many people climb that these days? How many ascents do you think it’s had?”

“It’s been climbed quite a few times,” I replied. “I’ve done it three times. I think Jim Dunn has done it seven or eight. But really, it doesn’t get climbed too much now. It’s a long hike up the hill to get to it.”

“Really?” said Layton. “That’s the best climb I did down there. Nobody wants to go up that hill. It is a long ways. The modern climber. Interesting character. Likes areas to drive to, all bolted and everything.”

As we hiked up the trail, Al and I told Luke all the great stories we knew about Layton Kor doing the first ascent of Castleton Tower in 1961 with Huntley Ingalls, and what an amazing feeling of adventure it must have been to walk up the thousand foot talus cone with no trail, and no certainty. We laughed too, imagining how heavy their packs must have been with hemp ropes and iron gear, as we hiked up with our fluffy little packs of the most light, modern equipment…..

The North Chimney is a three pitch climb, with lots of crack climbing, face climbing, and a little bit of grovelling. The belay ledges are pretty roomy for two, but three is a little tight, Al and Luke were always pretty happy to get rid of me once the ropes were organized!

We used two ropes, so Al and Luke could actually be climbing together, and talk about how to get through the cruxes together. This is a pretty fun way to climb as a threesome!

At the very top of the last pitch, the North Chimney joins into the Kor-Ingalls. We were happy to be finishing that way, as it meant a lot to us to be climbing together on this day in honor of Layton.

We enjoyed the summit, looked around at the beautiful desert around us, and I showed Al and Luke the exit point for BASE jumping. We signed the summit register in one last little open page (note to self: bring a new summit register next time!), and got ready to rappel the North Face.

This can be a quite an intimidating rappel, and was the first time Luke had ever done a multi-pitch rap like this. So he and I simul-rapped, and Al followed us down.

I think this was the most exciting part of the climb for Luke, especially when a super powerful wind gust blew us 20 feet to the left, when we wanted to swing 20 feet to the right to reach our anchor….

We were very happy to have finished the route safely, and without even getting too hot! I think it was an unforgettable experience for father and son, to summit Castleton Tower together.

A big thanks to Al and Luke for initiating the first climbing day to benefit Layton Kor!