A Bozeman classic! One of those "at least once a season" type of routes. FA of the tower is unknown, but local legend Jerry Kanzler did the direct finish in 1967.
P1- Climb a right-leaning crack to a left-facing corner. End on an awesome ledge with rap bolts. 5.6, 60'.
P1a- Direct Start: Start to the left of said crack/corner, in another corner w/ a prominent flake. 5.8, 60'.
P2- The butter! Climb a gorgeous left-facing corner with a crack of varying sizes. Follow it through a series of bulges to the exit out right on a large ledge. NOTE: The old guidebook notes that it "takes a 50m rope" to belay from the big ledge (instead of setting the belay at the top of the corner), but who uses those anymore? 5.8, 150'.
P3- Grovel up the obvious chimney to easier ground. Scramble to the top. 5.7, 100'.
P3a- DIRECT FINISH. Highly recommended. The standard 5.9 for the Gallatin. Climb jugs and jams in a crack through the obvious overhanging face, right of the chimney. Hit easier ground and scramble to top. 5.9, 100'.
Location
The route is pretty much dead-center on the Tower. Look for the enormous left-facing corner from the ground. Descend by a single-rope rap off the summit. Scramble down a large ledge to the skier's left and find another bolted rap. 100' to the ground. Skirt the base of the tower back to your packs.
Protection
Take a standard rack w/ singles to a #3 Camalot. Lots of runners for the long second pitch.
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By John J. Glime From: Salt Lake City, UT May 10, 2007
One of my favorite stories about G. Tower comes from a good friend of mine. When he first moved to Bozeman he showed up at the base and came across Jack Tackle (I am not sure if he knew what grand company he was in or not!) But anyway, he asks Jack how many pitches it is, rope beta, etc. and Jack looks at him and says, "I have no idea, I haven't climbed this with a rope in years..."
This is a great route. It has been a long while since I've been in Bozo but I always enjoyed this route. It does get a lot of traffic and has seen its share of accidents. I even heard of a bachelor party at the top of the route :)--Montanans!
John, it's worth adding that Jack tramped all over our flaked ropes as we talked, then proceeded to solo the thing. It was a funny introduction to the Canyon classic.
By John J. Glime From: Salt Lake City, UT Jul 12, 2007
I forgot that part, that just makes it funnier. But I didn't realize that you were with Tim that day. Either way I hope you are still enjoying the canyon this time around. A beautiful place.
Gallatin Tower
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