North Chimney 

I'd give this route at least a 9-. A 5.8 leader is likely to have issues with two spots in particular.

For the rack, take 1 set of nuts and 1 set of cams plus a few extra hand-sized pieces to make protecting the first pitch more straightforward. A screamer for the bolt on P2 might be wise.

While this route climbs an enourmous chimney, it has virtually no chimney climbing. The P2 OW is short and not that bad. I think a #4 camalot would work there, but I'm not sure as I didn't have one.

At the top of the chimney (by the huge chockstone), exit climber's right.

I entered this route at 5.8 because that is what it was originally rated. I believe that ratings are becoming softer and softer, and all this upgrading of routes, especially in the desert is detrimental to the history of climbing there. The ratings in the desert are stout, it's always been that way and it needs to continue to be that way. That is part of the allure of climbing there. I really don't care much about the numbers, but for the sake of climbing history, I just don't think there should be all this upgrading that is taking place in the newer guidebooks.

Ben

A helmet is strongly recommended on this climb as there is a lot of loose junk lying around on pitch 3 - it is very easy to knock stuff off with your rope even if careful. Of course a helmet is always a good idea in the desert, but I just thought I would mention it as this route tends to get rather crowded.

The climbing definitely felt like 5.9 to me, and both the first and second pitches are rated as such in various guidebooks. While I think climbing history should be honored, it's also conceivable that the first ascentionists, for whatever reason, rated it a grade easier than it should have been. This happens today and it happened back then. Some do it deliberately, some not. But either way, it makes sense to update ratings based on how the route feels to the average climber. It's been done to Bastille Crack and Stettner's Ledges, among others, for better or for worse; but in the end I feel it does a service to the climb and to those who climb it to give it a rating that's as accurate as possible.

As for gear, doubles of cams up to a #3 Camalot and a set of stoppers(rarely used), plus a #4 Camalot worked well for me. I also used a screamer on the old and extremely sketchy-looking bolt, which I backed up with the #4, however, if you have a #4.5 you'll be able to get it in at about bolt-level, instead of having to go a little higher to place the #4. Also, the anchor at the top of pitch 2 is fixed with 2 pins and an old cam or something. Be extra careful when pulling on to the ledge as you exit the main chimney on pitch 3 as it's littered with rocks of all sizes right to the edge, and the jumble of chockstones above this, just before the belay ledge looks like an accident waiting to happen.

Technically, I thought this was waaaaay easier than the Kor-Ingalls. It's more sustained--nearly every move on the first two pitches is 5.8, but there are also good rests after every move. I'd call it 5.8+ (sorry Kurt!), history or not.

Personally I thought the Kor-Ingalls was not only harder (I led the crux of each climb) but a little bit better (although the first pitch of N.Chimney has the best climbing on either route), but Kurt disagrees with me on both counts!

I agree with Charles, this climb is definitely easier than the Kor-Ingalls. And please, lets reserve personal attacks for email.

I thought the route was really sustained 5.8 with a 5.9 move at the top of pitch one and another at the bolt on pitch 2. All in all, I thought it was much easier than Kor-Ingalls, and also much much better. Fantastic route.

So we go up to do Castleton the other day, and there are climbers on pitch 1 of the North Chimney, which is the route we wanted to start with. I've led the whole Kor-Ingalls route, so that wasn't appealing as an option. My partner Allen decides: we can warm up on the 11b first pitch of the North Face! So that's what we did. I DO NOT recommend this. After top roping this crux pitch, I led the first pitch of the North Chimney. This went fine, but I definitely noticed my fatigue from thrashing up the North Face pitch first. Allen then decided to lead the rest of the North Chimney route as one pitch on a 70m rope! That was quite tiring... non stop climbing from the top of pitch one to the top of the tower!

So considering that I had just done the first 11b pitch of North Face right before pitch one of North CHimney, it made the first pitch seem more like 5.9 than 5.8. I'd like to go back and climb it fresh and see if it feels like 5.8.

Also, since we combined pitches 2-4 into one long pitch, that ALSO felt harder and more sustained than it might have had we broken it up.

For experienced and/or enduro climbers, this is a GREAT way to climb the North Chimney. Pitch 1 is consistent enough to stop at the anchors, but then climb straight to the TOP from the pitch 1 anchors! Of course you need a 70m rope, but this saves SO MUCH TIME. I hauled a 60m 9mm rope for rappel as well.

just a quick little something. i climbed this route a couple of springs ago, and found it to be very nice. i did happen to bring a #4 with me and it was very nice right at that old spinner. some dude and his girlfriend who tried to race past us as we were gearing up scorned me for bringing it, but as we were heading up the last part of the chimney i could hear him below cursing as his #3 was just a little small. the move isn't bad there, but some added pro never hurt anyone.

I just wanted to thank my climbing partner Paul C for leading the entire climb for me as this was my first tower and it was bone chilling cccoold. The ambient temperature was around 40 f and a chilling wind roared up that shaded chimney the entire climb, we lost feelings in our fingers and toes. You never trusted your feet and fingers were to stiff to fiddle with gear. Every move became incredibly hard and this was the first time in 3 years I ever worried about Paul on lead. The only comforting thoughts were the hot tub he promised would be at the top, me climbing this tourist style (climbing second) and he's climbed this 4 times before. As for anyone new to this type of climbing I would recommend you never climb in this type of cold, it's just not fun and it is simply dangerous for the lead. As far as the climb itself anyone new to offwidths should practice on a few before you do this. This was my first time feeling stuck but kinda happy I was stuck so I won't fall but at the same time worrying I may not make it up and my lead would have to climb down and rescue/laugh at me. What a strange feeling. Oh and for anyone new to this type of exposure the rap off the North side is nuts but fun. Again, Thanks Paul!

Superb crack climb. Sustained at 5.7/5.8 with a few slightly more difficult moves and pretty sewn up except for the OW on the second pitch which is quite awkward.

I'd recommend continuing to the top from the 2nd belay and doing in 3 pitches total unless the sun is really baking (great shade in the corridor before the last pitch) or there is a party on Kor-Ingalls.

We rapped the North Face and it took four single 60m rope rappels. The distance for the last rap was about 110' and required a short down climb.

For a rack, I took: Stoppers- 1 set, Cams- (singles) green alien through .75 Camalot, two red, two yellow Camalots, and one 3 and 3.5 Camalot. If I did the route again, I'd leave the 3.5 behind. I felt fine on the OW without a giant cam and I'm not a particularly bold leader.

I don't think it's a question so much of being a bold leader, but simply that there is no other good pro if you don't have the #4 camalot (or something bigger) at the crux of pitch 2. The bolt is terrible, much worse for example than the bolts on Kor-Ingalls. If it pulls, you might fall down past your belayer and almost certainly get hurt. I too felt very solid on this section--it didn't seem too hard--but I was happy to have the #4, given that I considered it my only real pro here. I'd recommend at least that anyone who leads in the 5.9/10 range take it--if you feel at all insecure on this section (which some consider the route crux), you'll be glad.

Charles, you are definitely right about the bolt being terrible. It looks like it has already seen some hard falls and is probably ready to succumb to the next one; or maybe not, but I wouldn't want to test it. Does a #4 Camalot even fit in this crack? It looks much too wide even for a #4.5.

I own a #4.5 but not the #4. I agonized over whether or not to bring it right up until we started hiking and ultimately decided againsed it. We were trying to be fast and light since temps were getting up to 100* on Tuesday. We were back at the van by 11:30am, thankfully. But, I surly would have been glad if I had the 4.5 at the time...

If you find yourself here w/o a large cam, a medium sized piece can be plugged into the crack, eight or so feet below the bolt (deep in a chimney). Not the best placement but better than nothing.

Scott--with a #4, you have to clip the bolt, and do a move to get right up to it, then you can reach up and place the #4, and it is very good. You can do all this before committing to the crux moves. A 4.5 would make things easier, you could place it before you even get to the bolt. The only reason I responded to your comment is because I wouldn't want people to get the idea that there is other good pro there. The moves felt pretty far below my limit but I was still happy to have some good pro.

I agree that the rest of the route is pretty sewn-up--if you bring the big cam, then overall this climb has significantly better gear than the Kor-Ingalls, IMO.

My girlfriend and I climbed the first two pitches on this route last Friday. (Thundering skys convinced us to back off at the top of the second pitch.) I would certainly give the first two pitches three stars as they were fun, contained a variety of moves, and kept me honest.

After reading all the debate on this page regarding which cams to bring or leave behind, and since I am a much better hiker than climber, I brought both a #4.5 and #4 camalot on this climb. As stated above, the 4.5 fits great right at the bolt. I walked the 4.5 up until I could reach up and slide the #4 in. I then walked the #4 up and placed it behind a chockstone with a long runner. The 4.5 would have made a great first piece of gear right off the second belay as well. I enjoyed the security of having the 4.5 in addition to the old bolt while sliding up that OW. Not everyone needs that kind of security. It is a nasty fall though if that bolt were to shear and you didn't have it backed up with anything.

As far as the rating goes I would call the route sustained 5.8 with two 5.9 cruxes. We were actually surprised at how sustained the first pitch felt even with so many great rest stances. I can see calling it 5.8 though as many desert routes have conservative grades.

Next time we will step it up a notch and tackle the Kor-Ingels route. Need a little more OW training time first though. :)

I'm breaking out of Colorado on a road trip and could use some beta.

How big is the top of the tower? Could you sleep on it? Would it be ill-advised?

How bad is the sun? Can I climb middle of the day or is that really going to suck?

Also since I'm not familiar with the area what do I need to do to not piss of the locals and make more access issues for the area?

Re: sleeping on top, cool idea! The top is flat and could sleep 10. A great idea, but not if electrical storms are around. The N. Chimney gets sun very early, but is in the shade after about 10AM. In July, it might be bearable to climb in the late afternoon, although the approach would suck in the heat. The approach is longer and looser than it looks, hauling overnight junk up this would be a pain. Also I would not haul up the North Chimney, there is a lot of loose rock at the top and it's, er, a chimney. Kor-Ingalls would be better for hauling, or N. Face. Maybe climb up N. Chimney and rap down N face, then jumar it, hauling your overnight bag?

I brought a double set of cams and ran out of big stuff about 20 feet before the crux, I wan't exactly sewing up the whole route either. I put a couple big nuts into places that weren't designed for nuts, they would have been speed bumps at best. There is a seam that takes good, small nuts just before the crux. It would have bee nice to have another #2 and #3 camalot.

this route, being the north chimney, can get quite cold. be prepared even during the warmer months. the first pitch was sustained climbing at 5.9-. a nice long double crack system with quality gear.

aka North Chosspile. First pitch is good though.

GREAT climb! The first pitch is so good. Handjam after handjam for 160 feet. Plenty of rests and plenty of pro. The crux of P-1 is definately the bulge at the top. The pitch 2 offwidth crux was not nearly as bad as i thought it would be (and i have flailed on a 5.7 ow in lcc). However, this route keeps coming at you! Don't be fooled into thinking you are done with it after the crux, as there are plenty of 5.8 moves left. WARNING! About twenty feet up the third pitch you will see two sets of slings on the left wall above the giant chockstone. Pretend they are not there! I stepped across to the left wall, made some moves on top of it and found myself quickly off route. To get back on route i walked across the chockstone. That was, uhhh, thrilling. Just stay IN the chimney even though it looks kinda crappy. P-4 belay is the obvious flat spot between the main tower and the pillar to yr left. There are no anchors. P-4 is about the last forty feet of the Kor-Ingalls route and is full of sweet and easy face moves with HUGE exposure. What a blast. We did it in december on a clear day, upper 50's with no wind. I wouldn't go much colder than that.

My wife and I climbed this route on a beautiful April day this year. Just wanted to post a link to our trip report.

Does anyone know if you can link p2 and p3 together with a 60m rope?

P2 and 3 link with a 60m. I've done the route twice and that's how we did it both times.

Bring a jacket, the route is always in the shade and it's like a freezer in there.

Pith one is my favorite 5.8 pitch in the desert, it is long, sustained but with great gear and rests and a cool little crux protecting the first anchor. I still can't decide where the crux is, it is either the lieback move 130 feet up pitch one or the OW 15 feet up pitch 2.They are both short cruxes.

My favorite part about the climb is the "wiggle block" on pitch one, if you've climbed it you know what I'm talking about. I don't want to spoil the surprise for the next leader, so I won't elaborate anymore.

Great climb with a fantastic summit---does anyone know where the old summit logs went???

Rack: aliens--green, yellow, red Camalots-- .75, 1(x2), 2(x2),3,4a few big stoppersrunners back up the belay on pitch 2 with either green Aliens or #2 Camalots (I'd say green Aliens because you'll want the 2s for p3).

I found the North Chimney to be a much more fun climb than the Kor-Ingalls. Much less groveling up off-widths. Pitch 1 eats a lot of gear. I did the crux move at the top of pitch 1 with a tipped out number 1 Camalot. Next time I'll definitely have a number 2 for that. The off width for pitch 2 I found to be easier than the crux of pitch 1. We climbed up left at the top of pitch 3 and did a wild jump across the top of chimney. One of the most memorable parts of the climb.
The top is very exposed if there's lightning in the area.
Highly recommended.

Did the N. Chimney on 10/13/06. The first pitch is excellent, though the crux is probably among the hardest "5.8" moves I've encountered. The 2nd pitch OW isn't too bad, but the bolt "protecting" the OW is a 1/4 inch starhead drive in, half way out and bent! I was glad to have a #4 Camalot...a second #4 or a #4.5-5 Camalot (older style Camalot sizes...not C4) could be placed on this pitch if OW scares you. Be prepared to backup the "anchor" atop pitch 2. It consists of 2 marginal pins. I fixed a #10 hex to back up the bong. There are PILES of loose rock on the ledges at the top of the 3rd pitch chimney...if you're there when no one else is around, toss some off! The route was very dirty the day we did it, perhaps due to the epic rains the week before. Overall, I enjoyed this route, but thought the Kor-Ingalls was more memorable. Save the N.Chimney for a HOT day, and enjoy the sun and scenery on the K/I when temps are cool to moderate!

As my first desert tower this climb will Always be special to me even though I almost died. Enthralled by Moab and eager to climb after a couple of days at the Creek. I buddied up with these guys Scott And Adam who I'd met at Potash Road. I led the first pitch but when Scott was half way up he got a bad feeling and told me to lower him off despite my protests. (Later I was soo glad he did). Instead Adam came up climbing quickly and efficiently. I led the second and was so impressed that I handed him the rack for the third. About fifty feet up the third pitch Adam accidentally kicked a couple of milk crate sized blocks lose that wizzed passed me by inches. Startled I screamed ROCK ROCK ROCK and Scott barely got out of the way at the base as the Rocks smashed onto the large boulder at the base. Thank God he prophetically lowered as one of us would have surely been hit at the top of the second pitch. Shaken but OK we summited only to find that our second rope had been cut over half way thru by the rockfall. The mini-epic continued when our good rope got stuck on the rappel and I made the decision to leave it as darkness was now setting in. (unknowingly we rapped the chimney instead of the Kor-Ingalls, Rap K-I or N. face) We now had to rap the last two pitches with a rope that was marginal at best. I remember rapping off the end of the rope at the same time I grabbed the slings at the top of the first pitch for the rope was barely long enough. I must have the best guardian angel out there because we all survived intact. I actually went back the next day and bribed the only two climbers there to recover my new supersafe from the route. In closing, the route is great but be ever vigilant for large loose blocks littering the upper pitches. I had my helmet on but it wouldn't have mattered given the size of these blocks.

"Chud": glad you and your buddy made it down in one piece. The upper pitches of NC are indeed in bad shape (more so than your typical desert route). I wish you had read my CONDITION REPORT from 3 months ago (top of COMMENTS section):

"Currently (10/13/06), due to the recent rain, the North Chimney is horrendously loose after the first pitch (P3 in particular is in very poor shape, with many loose, stacked blocks). This is an accident waiting to happen, so please be extra careful or better yet, avoid it altogether for the time being."

Great climb, fantastic summit. We linked pitches 3&4 together, which made for 3 nice long pitches for the route. A 4.5 was key for the OW on P2. As noted, lots and lots of loose rock as you exit the chimney on climber's right, use caution. Two double rope raps (60m) down the North Face just barely brought us to the ground.

North Chimney has been getting a lot of traffic lately. Much of the loose stuff mentioned is either easily avoidable or gone altogether. My partner and I did it in four pitches, however it can be done in 3. Also, I took a single rack with doubles of .75 to 3 and ran out of "good" gear about 20 feet before the crux on the first pitch. Next time I will take triples of 2's and 3's. No need to make an anchor at the 2nd belay as there is a hex, bong, (maybe a tri-cam) and a nut all fixed. Two seventies gets you to the ground in two raps with extra rope to spare off the North Face.

nice day - bit chilly at the belay stations. We passed the trail to the north face of the tower twice - at the first fork take the right towards the tower (left goes towards the rectory). Watch for a small branch that goes straight uphill to the left towards the base of the north face. If you miss it you end up around the south side at Kor Ingalls. Nice big boulders to scramble over to get to base.
Overall very fun route

I agree with Kay, take triples up to #3 camalot for the first pitch. Having something bigger than a #4 (all we took!) for the crux of the 2nd pitch would have made things a lot less tenuous. And to the party who found the Spirit biner my partner dropped while cleaning the first pitch: THANK YOU for leaving it on my pack. You rock!

There is now a 'modern' double-bolt anchor at the top of the first pitch, set up for rapping. We did this route 5/30/08 and were the only party on the tower. That's gotta be rare in this day and age. One logical belay for the top of the second pitch has a 2" bong on the left and a welded angle of some kind to the right. Just one choice. Still, I backed up the angle as I led by. We broke up the pitches a little differently than others because of gear availability. Loose stuff on the route was mostly gone. Gravity never rests.