– Advanced Desert Towers –
Call us at 435-259-3317 or email us at [email protected] to book one these awesome adventures!
With climbing up to 5.11+, we offer multiple Advanced Tower Climbs for those that have already climbed the classics of Ancient Art and Castleton and would like to keep ticking off some more iconic Moab towers! These routes will challenge your crack climbing and multipitch skills so come prepared to try hard and push your climbing in a wholly unique way!
All of these trips will be private at no extra cost!
Abraxas Tower – 5.10
Perhaps the easiest of the advanced towers, Abraxis is still full value with technical crack climbing right off the ground, a short offwidth sequence, and then a long squeeze chimney that varies in size. Enjoy a shorter-than-normal approach and comfortable belay stances, this tower is a great introduction into the style. If you have climbed desert style cracks and multipitch before, then this route is a great place to start your Desert Tower journey!
Lighthouse Tower – 5.10+
Located above the breathtaking Colorado River, Lighthouse Tower is sure to offer an unforgettable day out. The climbing throws a little bit of everything at you, a 10c stem box, hand cracks, finger cracks and some face climbing. Moderate crack and face climbing skills are required for this spectacular desert tower. This is a very worthy desert tower tick for anyone with the pre requisite skills, comfortable with a little exposure and looking for a full day adventure!
North Face – 5.11-
Ready to step it up a notch (or two) from the North Chimney and Kor-Ingalls routes on the iconic Castleton Tower? The steep and imposing North Face of Castleton offers a classic 3-pitch 5.11- crack climb featuring a range of crack sizes from fingers to chimney (including a long wide-hands crack on pitch one) as well as underclings, laybacks, stems, and a pumpy, exposed hand traverse. You’ll want to be able to follow near-vertical 5.10 face climbing and cracks of varied sizes before enjoying the incredible position and awesome calcite-coated cracks and faces on this route!
The Priest – 5.11
The Priest is a favorite tower within Castle Valley, standing alone just to the left of the Rectory and from many angles, resembling a Priest. An advanced tower, the route “The Honeymoon Chimney” offers hard free climbing, continuous offwidth, and a wildly exposed step across to the unbeatable summit! Climbing Castleton is a great way to prepare for this tower!
North Six Shooter – 5.11
Often considered sandbagged for the grade, North Six Shooter is truly a desert classic and a must do for those that have checked off most of the other the Moab towers. You can expect to climb every size from finger cracks to a sustained squeeze chimney. Add in a steep approach, pulling a roof, making “bouldering” moves and you can start to see why this might feel harder than 5.11. The summit of North Six Shooter rivals the best of the best with some of the finest views of the desert.
Fine Jade – 5.11
While not a tower formation, this beautiful climb is located across the ridgeline from Castleton tower and summits the Rectory mesa formation. With climbing up to mid 5.11 this route is geared for the experienced all around climber. Advanced crack climbing skills particularly in the “thin” sizes and comfort following 5.10+ sport climbs are the pre requisite for tackling this desert classic. This is a full day packed with steep hand cracks, gorgeous finger cracks and unforgettable exposed faced climbing.
Trip Overview
- Duration: 7 – 10 hours, route depending
- Drive from Moab: ~30 minutes
- Season: all year
- Max. Guide to client ratio: 1:2
- Technical: Up to 5.11+ grades with lots of vertical crack climbing, big exposure, up to 400ft of climbing, and up to 5 pitches
Skill & Fitness Level
- Must have prior multi-pitch climbing experience
- Must have climbed Castleton or have equivalent vertical crack climbing experience
- Must be comfortable climbing 5.10+ outside
- Advanced fitness level
- If you are on the fence about how your skill level matches up to any of these climbs, then please call us and chat about adding a day of Crack Climbing before hand
What to Bring
- 3-4 liters of water
- Sun screen
- Lip balm
- Brimmed hat
- Light long-sleeve shirt (for sun protection)
- Sun glasses
- Light rain gear
- Camera
- Extra snacks or lunch
We Provide
- Snacks
- Transportation from our office to the route and back
- Backpack
- All of the high quality technical gear you will need for climbing*
*If you do have and would prefer to use your own climbing harness, shoes, and/or chalk bag, please do so. Otherwise, we provide these items for you.
What you should wear
- For the approach, shoes with a soft, flexible sole, such as running shoes or lightweight hiking shoes
- No open-toed sandals, please
- Clothes that are light-weight and loose fitting to allow you flexibility and freedom of movement
- Clothes that are suitable for the season
Departure Times
All trips depart from our office at 253 North Main, Moab, UT. See location on Google map
5:00am – 6:00am -Departure times for this trip vary with the season, but usually begin quite early in the morning. Call to arrange details: 435-259-3317
