BETA PHOTO: Middle Bell Tower. Taken from main trail junction...
Description
The Middle Bell Tower can easily be picked out by a big right facing corner which pulls through two huge roofs (the Ellsworth-McQuarrie route). To the left of this is a shield of high quality granite which holds Arm and Hammer, a Bell Tower classic. The Middle Bell Tower is the 3rd Bell tower encountered, after the Far West and the West Bell.
Getting There
Start at the trailhead for Bell's Canyon off of Wasatch Blvd. Follow this uphill, steeply at times, for 2 or 3 miles until adjacent with the Middle Bell Tower. This takes approximately 75 to 90 minutes to reach, depending on how fast you hike. Look for a faint trail (a ways above the turnoff for the waterfall) which heads easily over to the base of Middle Bell Tower. This faint trail avoids any bushwhacking, but has a lot of scrambling over giant boulders to cross the creek. From the trail, it is about 10 minutes to the base of the rock. Total approach time ~ one hour and 30-45 minutes.
An amazing route. This is the route with the famous "Zion Curtain". Killer route, great exposure, and nice belay ledges. Ellison had a damn good eye. Make sure you do the pitch above the "Zion Curtain." Go to the small tree, don't traverse left into the gully, at the end of this pitch. If you do traverse, you can lower off some junk chockstones. This route deserves loads of stars!!! this route is free climbed at .11c or aided at 5.10a AO ...[more]
Middle Bell Tower
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