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Trail Lake Pinnacle Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Trail Lake Pinnacle

L › R R › L A › Z

	Behemoth T,TR 5.8- 5b 16 VI- 14 VS 4c
	Clean Cut T,TR 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Larsen Aid Route T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b C2
	Micro Moses S,TR 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
	Mountaineer's Route S 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Pleasant Surprise T,TR 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
	Shadow Dihedral T,TR 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a
	Spring Fever S,TR 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Technicality S,TR 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
	Wide One, The T,TR 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	YTP Crack T,TR 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b

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Elevation:	7,970 ft
GPS:	43.43962, -109.54461 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	11,951 total · 158/month
Shared By:	Eli Boardman on Jul 14, 2017
Admins:	Mike Snyder, Taylor Spiegelberg, Jake Dickerson Page Updates (admin only)

Access Issue: Petroglyphs and Private Land Details

Torrey Valley is known for ancient petroglyphs found on sandstone blocks, usually facing one of the lakes. It goes without saying, don't climb on or directly next to the petroglyphs, and don't harm them in any way.

The approach road (County Road 411/Trail Lake Road) runs through private land on an easement from the Whiskey Basin wildlife reserve to the public campground at the head of Ring Lake. It is illegal to leave the road without permission from the landowners in this area except for the boat ramp at Torrey Lake provided on a goodwill basis. The east side of the valley has a lot of private land, too. There is not much worth climbing in the private part anyway.

Description

Note: This piece of rock is known by several names. Old-time local climbers used to call it "Beck's Tower" (see below). Trevor Bowman wrote a mini-guide for the Dubois area in which he called it "Goliath Spire." Joe Larsen, the first person to record a climb of the tower, called it "Trail Lake Pinnacle" in the original summit register entry. Thus, I use that name for the Mountain Project area.

This is an imposing sandstone pinnacle high to the west of the inlet to Trail Lake in the Torrey Creek Valley. It has approximately 50 feet of prominence to its western saddle, but the east and south faces are much larger and complex. The first recorded ascent was on February 21, 1971, by Joe Larsen. It has a summit register that shows a few ascents a year in recent years. There is a double bolt rap anchor with chains on the summit. As far as I can tell, the easiest route to the summit is "Mountaineer's Route," 5.8+.

The majority of climbs are actually on a partially separated buttress on the lower southeast corner of the pinnacle. When hiking up from the road, this small buttress--and its two bolted lines--is the first thing you run into when arriving at the base of the rock. Find the two bolt lines, Spring Fever and Technicality, and then get oriented to find the other routes.

Getting There

From U.S. 287 outside Dubois, take C.R. 411 Trail Lake Road to the pullout at the head of Trail Lake. Stay on the road as you pass through the private property on Torrey Lake and Ring Lake. From the pullout at the head of Trail Lake, hike steeply uphill to the west until the pinnacle towers overhead.