This tower is a fine squared-off pinnacle, about 240' high, of best-quality Wingate. It is hidden way back in a corner of the basin. It can be seen (just) jutting out to the right, from from the cliffs behind from the main Lockhart Basin Road, just where there is a turn-off heading down to the river. The rock quality is superb. As it happens, there is a seam on the east side (facing in to the main cliff face, inside a cool 20-foot-wide chimney slot, and no other climbable features are obvious. There is likely an analog seam on the west side, but this side is more ledgey and less continuous. The location is described in Bjornstad's Desert Rock IV.
Getting There
The approach is arduous. Took a morning to locate the parking from the main road. Took about 1.5 hours to hike the approach from there, fully loaded with gear. The legal status of the 4X4 road is unclear; currently it is not marked as closed, and it is marked on the Latitude 40 Moab West map. If this is closed off, the hike would be ridiculous. The tower may well be approachable from the top, via rappel. From Indian Creek, follow the road north past two barb wire gates, into the center of the basin. More or less 14 miles from the Indian Creek road, there is an obvious turnoff left, down to the river. About 100 yards before this is a less obvious turnoff, up a rough wash to the right. This is the north one of two similar washes). This 4X4 road heads in the direction of the tower. Follow this (some soft sand) to a broad flat featureles salt pan area. Head more or less in the same direction, past an obvious pair of ten-foot-high boulders, to where the road is more apparent. The tower is more apparent now, as you get closer. Over a rise, then follow the road to a badly washed-out creek bed. Stop. Considerable care is need to negotiate the creek bed on your left, and head up a nearby steep gravel slope (the road cannot be seen on the slope). Hike this bit first, and locate the old road on top of the gravel plateau. Follow this to another creek bed, where a steep rocky climb gains a last plateau. Follow this to a dead end under some small silty hills. Hike around left and into the canyon behind. You should find yourself on a large rocky shelf. Stay high, then finally cross the creek (very cool spot, fed by a spring somewhere) right under the tower. Head up (and up) the very big talus slope. Whew....
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Trisstin's Tower:
The route on Trisstin's Tower ascends the perpetually shady backside. There is a description in Bjornstad's Desert Rock IV. As promised, it is superb, on absolute perfect Wingate. However, it goes mostly clean, and will certainlygo fully clean after just a handful more nailing ascents. I used just four pin placements; two Toucans on pitch one and the same two on pitch two, in both cases where the crack was too damn thin for #1 RPs to fit. I tried hand-placing Toucans, but they di...[more]Browse More Classics in UT
RSS Feed
2 more...
Slideshow
