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Tan Man Tower
California
> San Diego County
> S San Diego County
> Eagle Peak
Description
Obvious looming tower of tan rock sitting atop the right side of the main wall. Contains about 8 single pitch sport climbs. The best being inside a large corner feature that is the centerpiece of this crag. The large corner faces East and gets shade in the afternoon making this a good spot on warmer days.
Getting There
Follow directions to the "Main Wall". As you descend the final 450 vertical feet to the base of the "Main Wall" you will see the Tan Man Tower on your right about 1/2 way down the hill.
[Hide Comment] Tan Man Tower is a fun place to crank out a few pitches at the end of the day. That said, the rock quality throughout the tower leaves much to be desired. Many of the routes should be considered temporary in their current state. My partner ripped off a large flake on Bush Docotor, and many of the "holds" on other routes are jugs created by exfoliating flakes. Tread lightly, absolutely wear a helmet and be alert.
Oct 20, 2015
[Hide Comment] Tan Man Tower has 7 pitches on it, I did First Ascents of all of them, and most of the routes at Eagle Peak in general.
The two right hand routes do have some flexible flakes on them, but there are more than enough solid holds to make them climbable and enjoyable. This is outdoor climbing, and there isn't a threaded fastener on every hold. Just be observant, and feel out any suspect hold before you use it. We added these two slightly lower quality climbs to the cluster to make The Tower a more interesting miniature climbing area.
If we had pried off every hold that was hollow or flexed on that little facet of The Tower, it would have been no fun to climb.
All the rest of the routes are bomber rock top to bottom. The headwall section of Bush Doctor did have some offroute flakes that I took one look at and knew they were unsound, and one onroute hold that was slightly flexible, but such a perfect hold that we left it.
I'm just surprised I see so many comments on Mtn Proj about loose rock and loose holds at expansive wild climbing areas like Eagle Peak. I've done somewhere around 2000 FA's, and I know what hazardous loose rock is. I also know how to avoid dislodging it, and how to pull on a suspect hold in a way that won't break it off. I also know how to simply not use a suspect hold and climb around it. These are skills that every outdoor climber should develop.
I personally actually enjoy the challenge that loose rock offers on First Ascents, but I always try to clean up a route for following climbers to the point it's about as safe as can be. We trundled tons and tons of truly loose and dangerous rock off of the cliffs at EP before it went public, but stopped short of removing every flexible hold.
All the climbs are climbable safely assuming that the climber uses a little common sense and understands outdoor climbing, 99% of the moves at Eagle Peak, are on perfect rock.
To say many of the routes are "temporary" is bs
Dec 31, 2017
[Hide Comment] Can’t remember what we called the face btw TMC and the “Left Arete”
Of the top of my head as I sit here - I dub it “Tan Line”
The left arete we named Blue Moon Arete, done on a blue moon, around the corner to the left is a fun, steeper variation on good rock
And btw, the tower is not named for its resemblance to a human, although there is from certain angles, but for reasons best left mysterious
Dec 28, 2020
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The Old Pueblo, AZ
La Jolla, Ca
The two right hand routes do have some flexible flakes on them, but there are more than enough solid holds to make them climbable and enjoyable. This is outdoor climbing, and there isn't a threaded fastener on every hold. Just be observant, and feel out any suspect hold before you use it. We added these two slightly lower quality climbs to the cluster to make The Tower a more interesting miniature climbing area.
If we had pried off every hold that was hollow or flexed on that little facet of The Tower, it would have been no fun to climb.
All the rest of the routes are bomber rock top to bottom. The headwall section of Bush Doctor did have some offroute flakes that I took one look at and knew they were unsound, and one onroute hold that was slightly flexible, but such a perfect hold that we left it.
I'm just surprised I see so many comments on Mtn Proj about loose rock and loose holds at expansive wild climbing areas like Eagle Peak. I've done somewhere around 2000 FA's, and I know what hazardous loose rock is. I also know how to avoid dislodging it, and how to pull on a suspect hold in a way that won't break it off. I also know how to simply not use a suspect hold and climb around it. These are skills that every outdoor climber should develop.
I personally actually enjoy the challenge that loose rock offers on First Ascents, but I always try to clean up a route for following climbers to the point it's about as safe as can be. We trundled tons and tons of truly loose and dangerous rock off of the cliffs at EP before it went public, but stopped short of removing every flexible hold.
All the climbs are climbable safely assuming that the climber uses a little common sense and understands outdoor climbing, 99% of the moves at Eagle Peak, are on perfect rock.
To say many of the routes are "temporary" is bs Dec 31, 2017
San Diego, CA
La Jolla, Ca
Of the top of my head as I sit here - I dub it “Tan Line”
The left arete we named Blue Moon Arete, done on a blue moon, around the corner to the left is a fun, steeper variation on good rock
And btw, the tower is not named for its resemblance to a human, although there is from certain angles, but for reasons best left mysterious Dec 28, 2020