The first ascent of the mountain was made in 1947 by Don Dooley, Elvin Johnson, and Norma Johnson. The peak was named by Elvin Johnson in honor of his friend and climbing companion, Robert F. Piro, a former fire guard at the nearby Dose Meadows station (1941). Piro, of the 85th Regiment of the Tenth Mountain Infantry Division, was killed on Riva Ridge in Italy during World War II.