Dolt bolt hangers
- Starting with the Nose Route history, Yosemite California, USA.

The Nose Route started July 1957 and completed November 12, 1958. 125 hangers were placed in 45 days of climbing over 18 months time. For the final 14 hours, Warren Harding hand drills 28 bolts on the summit pitch during the night by headlamp to finally reach the summit. In 1957, three styles of homemade Feuerer hangers were being used. I refer to them being Feuerer hangers and not Dolt, because Dolt had not been established yet.

All of the hangers used on the FA of the Nose have a homemade look to them, possibly all made by Bill Feuerer. Ed Leeper told me years ago that Warren Harding did not make his own hangers. So throughout the Nose route entirety, hangers that were made by Bill were being used.

The FA hangers I see the most of that are credited to the Nose is the rectangle with midway bend flat bracket that has a hex shape top and hex shape bottom. Photos of Dolt hangers from the Nose Route first ascent:
King Swing Dolt hanger was placed in 1958
Nose FA hanger (far right)- Nannook collection
Nose FA hanger - ASCA
Nose FA hangers, Near the Glowering Spot
Nose FA hanger - ASCA
Nose Route FA - Wayne Merry collection
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Dolt - two hole hanger (Three hole hanger?)
- A few of these hangers were used on the Nose FA.
- The hanger may be made to face to the left or to the right.
Bill Feuerer hanger
- Keith Lober photo
Steve Grossman collection
Clint Cummings photo
Bill Feuerer - Magnesium strap hanger - Used in 1957 for the first ascent of the Nose Route.
- Harding mentions that Bill created some aluminum strap hangers that they were using and even some of them were made of Magnesium. Harding also recalls some of the magnesium hangers breaking while on the route.
Dolt Magnesium strap hanger
- Possibly from the Nose FA
- YC Collection
Bill on the Nose - Strap hanger in the photo.
Feuerer strap hanger under the Dolt winch
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(From: MK - The Dolt Show - “Bill is narrating”).

CAT (Story off stage narrator)-

— 28 photo Bill in camp 4
Bill was never the good leader. On one of his ascents he said that “his brain would not transmit the message to his fingers on techniques for tying a bowline knot to his waist.

(Pause)

On another ascent he stepped onto his etrier that was not attached to the rope, and was still on his harness which caused him to take a fall.

(Pause)

Through excess of Prolific wine consumption, climbers began discussing Bills idiosyncratic unpredictable judgements, and that Bill was guilty of “Doltish” behavior.

(Pause)

And with wine sloshing from his cup while performing a foot scorching drunken dance upon the fire, Bill asserted again and again, yes “I am the Dolt”.

………………………………

MARTY - (as Bill)

— 29 photo dolt closeup with hat
(Dancing on stage) “YES I AM THE DOLT…… YES I AM THE DOLT!!!!!
Dang look at that great looking guy!

— 30 photo Camp 4 - 1
Yes we drank a lot of wine and had a lot of fun all of us having Doltish behavior.

— 31 photo Camp 4 - 2

— 32 photo Camp 4 - 3
It was fun being so involved with my friends. It made life a great adventure.

— 33 photo El Cap later in 1957
Fall 1957 we pushed the Nose Route higher up and bad things started to happen over and over. Warren took a big fall which caused a bad rope burn on his left hand. I took a good fall from one of my bolt hangers breaking. Already at that time I was telling Warren that I was not into the route as much as when I started. Our fixed ropes were getting chewed through from the Valley weather. My beard got stuck in my prusik. I was quoting the Bible a lot more.

— 34 photo pushing route higher up
By November 1957 other climbers got involved with the route and we pushed it up to a big ledge appropriately named Dolt Tower, which is around 1200 feet up.

— 35 photo Dolt Cart
Warren, Mark and I noticed that below Dolt Tower the wall is quite flat so we devised a easier way to haul up the gear making a cart with bicycle wheels. At this time the cart brought new energy to the Nose Route ascent.

— 36 photo Dolt cart on wall
With our genius we dubbed the cart the Dolt cart.

— 37 photo Dolt cart side view
We hauled a lot of gear with the Dolt cart

— 38 Nose Dolt Winch
We used a Windlass winch we named the Dolt Winch to haul up the cart which was more work than it was worth, but it was working. Mark Powell took a big fall while climbing another route which messed up his ankle pretty bad. While at camp 4 I told Warren I am going to learn to fly… and Warren got concerned with my craziness. We gave the route a break.

— 39 photo Bill Nov 1957 job
I ended up getting a job with McDonald Douglass Aerospace company, as a test engineer.

— 40 photo dolt toolbox
During that time I continued to make more gear as I planned on returning to the Nose Route with Warren and Mark.

— 41 photo DOLDT hangers
I created a handful of bolt hangers that I stamped “DOLDT” because I was not sure if I wanted to use the name spelled DOLT referring to me as a idiot.

— 42 photo DOLDT pitons
But then while I was stamping my DOLDT name on my personal climbing gear, I figured that I was becoming a double idiot for not spelling Dolt correctly, so I decided to just use the name Dolt.

— 43 photo Dolt personal pitons
So I stamped the remaining pieces of my personal climbing gear “DOLT”

— 44 photo Summit Magazine
Mark Powell wrote a article for Summit magazine about the Totem Pole first ascent and it made the April 1958 front cover.

— 45 photo Nose gear 1958
I created many more pitons for the Nose route including a set of angles and channel pitons. I was really enjoying creating climbing gear for the climbs.

— 46 photo Boot Flake
The three of us returned to the Nose Route around Easter 1958 and pushed the route to Boot Flake. We used my DOLDT hangers on the section that led to Boot Flake. Warren suddenly took a big fall when one of my special adjustable bong pitons cut loose. Hearing the sound of the rope abruptly catching him really got me scared. I could not stop quoting the Bible and was very very scared. I wanted off the route ASAP.

…………………………………………………………

CAT -

— 47 Photo Dolt scared
Dolt was really scared and Marks ankle was still bothering him so both of them left the Nose Route, and did not return.
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MK - I believe that as early as 1957, Bill was contemplating if using the "Dolt" word in what he was going to center his upcoming company world in, was a good or bad idea. To the point that he started his thoughts away from the proper "DOLT" spelling, and went with the spelling of "DOLDT". Then soon after he changed it back to the company being named "DOLT." It may have still been 1957 when Bill created the smaller hangers and stamped them "DOLDT." Then Bill took his personal rack of pitons and started marking them with "DOLDT," But then suddenly he stopped possibly in thought as the DOLDT spelling still didn't feel correct, then he changed his mind as a final thought, and marked the rest of his personal gear "DOLT." I say he did this late 1957 because by Easter 1958, Dolt was a company. Bill already had a catalog, and Bill had a small piton stamp created for his hammer holsters. Bill also created a full set of 13 angle pitons that were available for sale, and bolt hole scrapers.
Dolt aluminum hanger 1960, Unmarked DOLDT(?) hanger, and DOLDT Nose hanger.
Photo by ............... ?
Gary Neptune collection
Bills personal gear rack Bill was using in the 1950s. (MK) The DOLT mark was stamped on the pitons late 1957.
Photo of the gear used on the Nose in 1957-1958. Not sure where or when on the Nose Route this photo was taken. Since there is a lot of unique pitons showing besides the Stoveleg pitons, my guess is that this photo was taken near of when the Nose Route was completed. Bill was creating additional pitons for the Nose climbing crew throughout the many days the Nose was being first ascended. I believe Bill created the Tshape pitons and channel pitons etc, during the winter of 1957-1958 to be ready for the Easter 1958 return to the Nose.

In the bottom center of the photo is a pile of bolt hangers which are rectangle in shape with a midway bend. These hangers look like the hanger shown in the REI 1950s catalogs, but so far in any collection or museum, I have not seen this style hanger which has been retrieved from the Nose Route. Even in the Wayne Merry collection photo, Wayne shows that the Harding final pitch ladder, was made of Feuerer hangers. This pile of REI hangers may be a late addition to the gear cache the climbers had with them in reaching the summit. So they may have never placed any of the hangers shown in the photo.
Photo by Bill Feuerer
- Yosemite Climbing Museum
REI 1958 catalog page
I am not sure who exactly was supplying REI with these bolt hangers or if they are even a REI product, but for now I call these - REI hangers.
REI hanger from pitch 10 of the Regular Northwest Face route Half Dome. Placed by Royal Robbins June 1957, donated by Jim Bridwell.
REI 1950s hanger
Photo by Steve Grossman
Dolt 1958 catalog - showing Dolt bolt hole scrapers. It is interesting that they did not think of yet, using a plastic blow tube to clear out the drill dust like climbers use today. Maybe Bill got the idea of bolt hole scrapers from John Salathe? Showing bolt hangers from John Salathe's rack.
John Salathe's hangers.
Photo: Yosemite Climbing Museum
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