Pitons For Sierra Winter Climbing

This is a primer on pitons (or "pins") for a modern climber who has maybe only occasionally clipped one but never placed one. Pitons are heavy and take more time and energy, and a better stance, to place than a nut or cam. They're not necessary on classic summer routes being climbed in the winter. They can be somewhat useful on new winter routes, and they're especially helpful on the rock in the Mount Morrison area and on Blue Crag.

Black Diamond is the number one seller of pitons in the US, so I'll reference them a lot here. Camp, Petzl, and Moses pins can be found online and occasionally in shops. Moses and Singing Rock pitons can be found at the Fixe store in Bishop. I've only seen Krukonogi pins for sale online. Camp and Petzl also sell soft iron pins, you can tell these by their more silvery color. They can work better in some non-granite rock types, but don't have quite as long of a life as the chrome-moly options. They're also better for fixing. Ebay can be a good for pitons, though a lot of them are sold as overpriced "vintage" items by folks who don't seem to be climbers. This is also where elusive titanium pitons may be found.

All other things being equal, for me shorter pins have been more useful than longer ones, because they're less likely to bottom out in the placement. A pin that won't go all the way in needs to be removed or tied-off, and I'm not that psyched to do either of those things when I'm free climbing. If you happen to own some longer pitons and wish they were shorter a hacksaw can solve this problem for you in a few minutes.

Angles

Small cams and nuts have mostly supplanted angles, but a smaller angle (like a number 1 or 2 BD) can be handy. They're sized by thickness at the widest part and are often referred to by this size in inches. The smallest two sizes are sometimes called baby angles. Camp calls these "Corners" and the sizes generally correspond to the BD sizes though the BD are slightly cheaper. Camp also makes three angles that they call "Baby Angles", confusingly, though they're actually sawed-off angles. Petzl calls their chromoly version the "V Conique".  

 

BD angle piton specs.

 

Lost Arrows

Often abbreviated as "LA". A fairly useful, though heavy, style of pin. These can take a beating. They'll go places that cams and nuts won't (ballnuts can work where an arrow will, but you're probably not carrying those). I've found the BD sizes 2, 3, and 5 to be useful. Camp and Petzl call these "Universal" or "Fixed Ring". 

Knifeblades

Often abbreviated as "KB". BD calls their bigger ones "Bugaboos" but you almost never hear folks use that name. Great for thinner cracks and can go places other gear can't. I've found BD sizes 2, 3, 5, and 6 to be useful. Petzl calls their soft one "Rocher Mixte" and their hard one "Livanos".

Beaks

"Beak" is a generic name for this type of pin, which have revolutionized aid climbing. Moses Enterprises makes the best ones, "Tomahawks". Tomahawks are available at the Mountain Shop in the Valley as well as at Mammoth Mountaineering and the Fixe store in Bishop. The BD Pecker is lighter and sized slightly smaller than the Tomahawk; their number 1 is not useful for most Sierra winter climbing. Krukonogi makes beaks in a number of sizes and shapes, but they're hard to find in North America. As of 2021 Rock And Resole and Verti Call (in Canada) are the only places I've seen this brand.

It's worth mentioning that the cable on the BD pecker is only rated to 3kn! Clip the hole instead (good), tie some cord through the lower hole (better), or get someone to put a stronger one on there (best). Part of what makes beaks so great is their hooking qualities, but they also like to grab onto everything else on your harness or in your pack when hung upside down. Add some cord or webbing to the top hole to rack them with.

Medium and large Moses Tomahawks (left) and BD Peckers (right) with racking loops.

What To Bring

• For general winter climbing in the Sierra or mixed cragging in Lee Vining I'll carry a small angle, a #2 or 3 lost arrow, and a #5 or 6 knifeblade, in the bottom of my pack and rarely use them. 
• If it's a new route maybe I would add a beak and the other LA and KB from above. 
• If the route is on Mount Morrison, Torre De Mierda, Blue Crag, or some other non-granite peak I'll bring the above plus add a couple each of medium and large beaks. 

What To Hit Them With

A hammer, duh. Seriously though, a piton hammer works best, but most of us aren't carrying one of those into the mountains. Several European companies make a slightly lighter piton hammer that might be better than the standard BD model for remote pursuits. 

Most of the time you'll use your ice tool. The bigger the hammer is on the back of your ice tool, the easier it is to place and clean pitons. If you don't have any hammer attachment at all, you can still do this, it'll just be harder to do and harder on the tool. The bigger the curve in the shaft of your ice tool the harder it is to place and clean pins.

I've seen pins beaten into place with rocks. I've also seen it done with the adze of a mountaineering ice axe. Probably best not to try that with a super light model.

Jim Erickson wrote a thorough piece on pitons for Climbing Magazine in 2020. If you're new to this type of gear it's worth reading.