Watchtower Rock Climbing

Park at the last "hair pin turn" before The Crest. Use the below “approach trail narrative” and / or “approach trail map” to reach the top of Watchtower.   Included is where to deviate to get to the top of Tombstone.

APPROACH TRAIL NARRATIVE

Hike uphill to the North Crest Trail and then north to a major trail junction 0.2 miles from the parking spot.  At this trail junction there are four vertical knee-high posts blocking the trail that goes south and up to the antenna area.

Continue north on the North Crest Trail, skipping a left fork to some obvious limestone benches and then, in another 45 yards, passing through a ridge-top open view to the west.  After some additional minutes, the North Crest Trail makes a pronounced right turn away from the crest ridge and down into deeper woods.  Leave the trail to continue along the ridge on a boot path for another 100 yards where one drops off the west (left) side of the ridge.  There has long been a yellow and black “Land Survey Monument” marker propped against a boulder at this drop-off point.

Drop over the west side of the ridge onto a boot path and follow it down as it trends right (northward) for 100 yards.  Then continue on the boot path as it zig zags straight down until the forest somewhat opens up to the sky and the steepness lessens a bit. If the boot path has been lost, this point is at 10,173 feet elevation with coordinates 35.22188, -106.45259.

Note: If heading to Tombstone, leave the boot path and contour (traverse) back south for a few hundred yards, eventually working through a crowded aspen stand before reaching the top of Tombstone.

For Watchtower, continue down to find a cairn on the south side of a clearing. Follow a cairned climber's trail down the southern rib of the Watchtower until you reach a large tree with  boulders beyond it. Look for the cairn on top of the rock marking the start of the handline down to the bolted rappel anchor.

APPROACH TRAIL MAP
https://www.mountainproject.com/map/106014542/watchtower

AREA TOPO

HANDLINE TO ACCESS FIRST RAPPEL ANCHOR
To access the first bolted rappel anchor, you must first descent a fixed hand-line down an exposed section of the cliff. A cairn marks where to look over the edge for the handline. Scramble down to access the pink fixed line and prusik down to the first rappel anchor. [Handline was replaced May 2018; 47 foot length of rope covers the span including the knots. Handline pitons replaced with bolts in 2024. Handline is in good condition as of June 2026.]

HOW TO RAPPEL TO THE GROUND
Rappel to the ground using the Watchman's Secret anchors which involves three (3) 35 meter rappels with a 70m rope. Each rappel station has modern bolts. From each rappel, head straight down to find the next anchor.

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ARCHIVED DETAILS FOR OLDER  RAPPEL ROUTE DOWN SEVENTH SOJOURN

• 1st Rappel: short, best to use a single rope. Start off a large tree set back about 20 feet from the top of the cliff (there is not usually tat on this tree). Once you have descended the rope enough to look down the face, traverse hard climber's left down to a ledge with a bolted anchor that you don't see until you are right above it. This anchor was updated in July 2025 with modern hardware and chains.
• 2nd Rappel: 140' rappel down to the bolted anchor on the ledge at the top of pitch 2 of Seventh Sojourn. The anchor was updated in 2024 with modern hardware and rappel rings.
• 3rd rappel: 150' rappel to the ground.