From Pitons to Clean Climbing

Chouinard began forging reusable climbing pitons in 1957 and selling them from his car. As climbing grew, he and his collaborators recognized that repeated hammering was damaging popular routes, even though pitons were central to their successful equipment business.

Chouinard Equipment shifted attention toward removable aluminum chocks, and its influential 1972 catalog promoted what became known as clean climbing. Chouinard did not invent that movement alone: climbers and equipment makers collectively developed its practices, while the catalog helped give them a wider audience.