We just love these old ring pitons, they’re like pieces of giant jewellery. Interestingly, pitons have been around for much longer than karabiners which is why early ones have rings. In the absence of karabiners, the rope would be threaded through the ring, often before a climb commenced. The piton could then be hammered in at a suitable point to make an anchor or running belay. The rope would also be threaded through the ring when abseiling or roping down. As karabiners (krabs) started to appear in the 1930s and 40s pitons began to have eyes, into which a krab could be clipped, rather than rings, and so ring pitons became things of the past.

We can just make out Austria on one of these pitons which makes us think one, most likely all three, were made by Stubai of Austria. This is somewhat confirmed by a page from their 1955 catalogue opposite, where figure 881 shows as an abseil ring. There were plenty of karabiners around by 1955, but by using a ring piton there was no need to leave a krab behind when retreating from a climb. These three pieces of ‘mountain jewellery’ came from a pal of Mick Tighe’s, called Art McCarthy, out in California. They must have gone from Austria to America and now to Scotland – thanks Art.