Layton Kor (June 11, 1938 – April 21, 2013) was an American

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world. His routes included many climbs in

Eldorado Canyon El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

, near

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, The Diamond on

Longs Peak Longs Peak (Arapaho: ) is a high and prominent mountain in the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, southwest by south ( bearing 209°) of th ...

, towers in the desert southwest, and

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

, among other locations. Notable among his first ascents is the Kor-Ingalls Route on

Castleton Tower Castleton Tower (officially, Castle Rock) is a Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot Moenkopi-Chinle cone above the northeastern border of Castle Valley, Utah. The tower is world-renowned as a subject for photography and for its classi ...

and The Finger of Fate Route up the

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 Towers are world-re ...

' Titan; both routes are recognized in the historic climbing text ''

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 classic piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspi ...

''. Kor also authored the book ''Beyond the Vertical''. Kor received the 2009

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...

's ''Robert & Miriam Underhill Award'' for outstanding climbing achievement. Kor lived in

Kingman, Arizona Kingman is a city in, and the county seat of, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is located southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and northwest of Arizona's ...

and continued climbing until his early 70s. He had kidney failure and prostate cancer at the time of his death.

Notable first ascents

Colorado

* 1959 ''Diagonal'', Lower East Face,

, CO. (V 5.9 A3) with Ray Northcutt. * 1959 ''T2'', Redgarden Wall,

, CO. (current rating 5.11a) 1st ascent with Gerry Roach * 1960 ''Yellow Spur'', Redgarden Wall,

, CO. (5.9 (A1)) FA with David Dornan, Feb 21, 1960 * 1960 ''Long Dong Wall'',

Kissing Couple Kissing Couple is a 5,815-foot-elevation (1,772-meter) sandstone pillar located in Colorado National Monument, in Mesa County of western Colorado, United States. This iconic 400-foot-high tower is situated on the west side of Monument Canyon, 1.5 ...

. FA with Harvey Carter and John Auld, May 4, 1960. (5.11a) * 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,

, 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 Ament Pat Ament (born September 3, 1946) is an American rock climber, filmmaker, 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. Climbing career Ament bega ...

* 1965 ''Green Slab'',

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is an American national park located in western Colorado and managed by the National Park Service. There are two primary entrances to the park: the south rim entrance is located east of Montrose, Colora ...

, CO. (VI 5.8 A4) with Brian Martz.

Southwest deserts

* 1961 '' Kor-Ingalls Route'',

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

; FA of tower with Huntley Ingalls * 1962 '' Finger of Fate'', The Titan,

. 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 Monster Tower is a tall sandstone tower located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in San Juan County, Utah, San Juan County, Utah, United States. Description The tower is situated 300 feet southeast of Washer Woman, ...

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their r ...

, 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 Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, a ...

, Utah; FA with Bob Bradley and Charlie Kemp, 17 January 1964

California

* 1963 ''West Buttress'',

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. (VI 5.10 A3+) FA with

Steve Roper Steve 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. Farquhar Mou ...

. * 1964 ''South Face'',

Washington Column Washington Column is a roughly 1800-foot high rock formation, arising from Yosemite Valley. It is east of the Royal Arches, behind the Ahwahnee Hotel. North Dome North Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California. It is the ...

, 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 Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. FA with Dick McCracken, Jim McCarthy and

Royal Robbins Royal Robbins (February 3, 1935 – March 14, 2017) was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of bolt ...

, Aug 4-7, 1963.

Publications

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Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kor, Layton American rock climbers 2013 deaths 1938 births