BETA PHOTO: Picture taken 3/13/02 looking west while driving i...
Description
This is probably the coolest looking tower in Tusher Canyon and is roughly 270 feet tall. The climbs are trad mixed with aid. I have not climbed it yet, but am sure the view from the top is worth the time getting there. The guide book mentions bolts and fixed pitons on some of the routes, but don't count on them. This is soft rock, and their condition could be poor. There will be no waiting line for the climbs on this tower; there will most likely be no-one else anywhere. A big part of the appeal here is knowing you're climbing something few others have.
Getting There
The directions for Tusher Canyon will bring you right to it. The tricky part is getting to the canyon; from there, you can't miss it. Just keep driving the 4x4 roads, hopefully by jeep, southwest until you see it ahead on the right with Aeolian Tower just south of it. Existing jeep roads work their way near enough for an easy approach. There is no need to play redneck by tearing up the desert getting there.
This route starts up the West face directly under the window (the obvious hole in the rock). Climb up some good cracks (5.8) with a couple tricky moves and lots of jamming to the window. From here, jam out the overhang on good hands that quickly turn to tight bastard hands in the dihedral (5.10+). Follow this until you get to the bolt ladder protecting the chimney. You now must climb the weirdest thing in the world (5.10+ squeeze) - you will ...[more]
I aided up the first pitch of the Window Route and then walked over to the upper pitches of "No Reply" (skipping the nailing first pitch of "no reply"). The flake pitch is quite sporty and fairly strenuous... I'd recommend leaving the large rack behind and just taking a draw for the fixed pin, a couple midsize cams, and some hand size stuff to build a belay.... Oh yeah, if you are used to having bolted belays on your tower climbs, expect a change. This route requires you to build your own anchors, so save some extra stuff when you get to the ledges. I think for most of the anchors I used hand size gear. I used #4's at the summit. You only need a few nuts for this thing. Plan on taking lots of cams from 1.5 through 3 (Friends)... like four or five each if you dont want to leap-frog. Most of the summit rappel anchors, which seem to exist above most of the routes at one time, have been chopped... but a full sixty meter rap just south of the Window Route gets you down, barely. I found two pieces at one of the belays. Name that belay and the pieces, and you can have them back! Sam
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