Castle Valley

Access to Castleton is restricted by private property now. You need to look for a rough road to the west of the old turn-out and the approach is much longer. If we continue to use the old appraoch we run the risk of pissing off the locals and loosing all access.

could you elaborate, please? What is the private property/access situation exactly, and how long has it been in effect? I didn't notice any no trespassing signs last time I was there, and the sign at the trailhead was still up (in November). Is there a trail from the parking area you suggest? How about better directions? Has there been anything about this in the mags?

THE LATEST: Approach Castleton from the climber's campground in Castle Valley just off the La Sal loop road access road.

Here is my understanding of the current situation (5.16.02) The locals are the ones who saved the private property from being developed! Local climbers such as Jay Smith, Kitty Calhoun, Greg Child and others have been very instrumental in preventing the climber's access from fading. Money is being raised to buy this land and reserve it to climbing access and prevent asshole developers from putting in over-priced lodging for tame tourists.

Nevertheless, the hike is still a killer from this spot! Just did it two days ago: the hike up was not so bad, but is was HOT coming down.

As some of the may know, the access lands and camping areas around Castleton Tower are currently threatened by development. In order to prevent this from happening, the Castle Rock Collaboration (http://www.castlerockcollaboration.org) was formed with the goal of finding a 100% conservation solution for this land. They have entered into an agreement to purchase the land around Castleton Tower, but now they need your help to raise the funds for this purchase. Any contributions you can make, however large or small, will be greatly appreciated. For more information, please visit their web site at: http://www.castlerockcollaboration.org

I'm not familar with this site so pardon the stupid question.

Is there a standard, or convention on cams for route beta? ex: when route beta says you need a #4 cam do they mean the rather large BD cam. or the rather small Trango cam?

There isn't really a standard, but usually it seems that when vague you can assume camalots.

There's no standard on the site. When the type of cam isn't listed, I always assume friends since they've been around the longest and they correspond roughly to inches. A #3 Friend tips out at 3 inches. Most guide books use the friend convention too. Sometimes it's possible to figure it all out based on the type of crack under discussion. #4 cam in an offwidth discussion ususally means Camalot. #4 cam in a fist crack reference usually means Friend. It gets even more interesting when people specify the color of cams that you aren't familiar with. "Bring lots of yellow cams". The supertopo website has an excellent cam conversion chart which is helpful in matching up your rack to the beta. Regardless, I usually fatten up my rack with a few purchases and then steal my friend's rack before heading out. Then, I survey the cracks and make my own decisions before starting up.

From personal expierance castle valley is nearly unclimbable in the summer. Also it is well worth your time to find and stay on the trail. Bushwaching it is very hard and dangerous. Finally if you are bold/dumb enought to attempt it in the summer plan 1.5 gallons/person per day.

Just wondering, i am from the east coast and plan on climbing Castleton Tower on my spring break; are there any updated guides or topos that might cover access with respect to the current issues with Castle Valley? If not where is the Castle Valley climber's campground located? ThanksDerek

For the apres-climb time, there is a terrific little winery with wine tasting just downstream along the River Road. Castle Creek Winery at Mile 14, Hwy 128 in the Red Cliffs Lodge. Reasonable prices. Chardonnay & the Merlot are particularly enjoyable.