Just Deserts

I'm in Denver now--- woo hoo! The weather is still sunny and warm, with 60 degrees or so each of the last two days. I've had a chance to relax, look at our pictures and even re-acquaint myself with the concept of showering. I also had the chance to show some Pacific Northwest photos to the cool people at Trango Climbing Gear.

Kurt and I did four desert tower routes in the Castle Valley, a beautiful area 25 miles NE of Moab. The first route was the North Face of Castleton Tower, a 3-pitch climb involving steep, physical, and wild crack climbing.

























The first pitch was a vertical hand and fist crack for 100' (with basically no variation in crack size) followed by a few wild face moves on a flake out to the belay.



















The final flakey moves. The white calcite coating on the rock reminded us of frosting.















Here's a shot of Kurt on the last pitch, preparing to do battle with the wideness of a desert chimney.



















Castleton Tower is on the right... Kurt left his headlamp running at the base of the tower... it was bright enough to facilitate night photos.