Desert Towers with a single rack?

Looking to head to Moab in mid march and hopefully get up at least one fun desert tower with a friend, I can lead trad up to 10b. The only problem is my friend hasn't yet invested in any trad gear (he is a sport climber for the most part). I have somewhat of a frankenrack, but essentially has equivalent singles of of BD C4 0.4 - 4 with doubles of 0.75, 1, and 2s (10 cams total). Have a couple wired hexes, tricams and a set and a half of basic medium sized stoppers as well.

I have been looking specifically at Castleton Tower, with hopes of climbing either the North Chimney, or Kor Ingalls. From what understand KI is more doable on a single rack, however it is a decent amount harder, while the north chimney recommends a triple rack with much easier climbing. Personally I feel like i've been leaning more towards sucking it up and running it out up the North Chimney,  as I am not really scared of 20-25ft chimney runouts, but I was hoping to get some outside opinions on if I am crazy to consider this or not.

Also feel free to suggest some other fun towers that might be possible around Moab with a single(ish) rack.
Thanks!
-Davis

KI is a way easier route than NC.  There's only a short section of difficult climbing that is bolt protected.  Your rack would be fine.  I do like two #4s.  A five and six are also helpful but if you climb 10b you'll be fine.

What kind of 10b do you lead? I mean I was leading short handcracks and gear protected face at that level regularly when I tried KI. That was 20+ years ago. I didn't fall but got my eyes seriously opened.

Did it again maybe 15 years ago and it was completely casual.

I don't remember what gear it took but I had a frankenrack then and I'm still here. It doesn't have splitters.

Stolen Chimney on Ancient Art is near Castleton and shouldn't be a problem.  Climbs more like a sport climb on hard bits with the gear pitches being much easier.

The trick when short of cams is to leap frog them and/or slide them up. This applies to all types of climbing not just tower climbs.

I did them both, along with the NF, in a day roughly 20 years ago with a single rack. The cracks were all varied enough that I never felt super run out except on the first pitch of the NF, which was scary. The KI route was a much better line, imho, way less choss and more interesting climbing. The NC was mildly unpleasant, basically an easy way to stand on a cool summit. The NF is one of the better climbs I've been on in the desert.

The first pitch of NC  would be full on with a single rack if you aren't VERY confident on splitter hands. You also want a #5 or 6 for the start of pitch 2. There is  little  chimney climbing on the route. Most of it is handcracks tucked inside a huge chimney.

Ancient Art, Owl Rock, Bullwinkle, the Molar, and Lizard Rock can all go easily on a single rack.  I'll let you decide if any of those count as towers.
edit: add Tonka Tower to that list.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Kor Ingalls is sounding like a good option as of now. I had also looked at Owl Rock and will probably do that too!

Peter Blank wrote: KI is a way easier route than NC.  There's only a short section of difficult climbing that is bolt protected.  Your rack would be fine.  I do like two #4s.  A five and six are also helpful but if you climb 10b you'll be fine.

I disagree. I thought NC was way easier. KI was one that I would not be apt to repeat. 

Hobo Greg wrote:

What else would ancient art be?

An insignificant bump on a ridge?

FWIW The first time I did Castleton via the Kor-Ingle route I did not have any cams. Lead the whole things with just nuts, hexes, and tube chocks. Singles of each.

Another vote for North Chimney being better, and easier than Kor Ingals.

Lonely Vigil on Lighthouse Tower, Honeymoon Chimney on the Priest and Longbow Chimney on Parriot Mesa.

I’ve seen many people struggle on KI.  I’ve never seen that on NC.  That being said, leading the first pitch of NC with a single rack would require fairly long run outs.

So a single rack may be fine on KI, if you have a 4. But you will probably want an old 4 or a new 5 on NC.

There is not a lot of chimney climbing on NC

If you are willing to drive an extra hour or so down to Indian Creek, S Face on South Six Shooter would probably be another good bet.

Hey Davis et al,
I'll be down in Moab with a double rack up to #3 bd March 9-16. I'm looking for a partner/partners to climb and share racks with. Hit me up if you want to meet up and climb something.

Josh
661-478-5134

Psycho Tower in the Big Gypsum valley.  Farther away but the coolest moderate tower out there.

Castleton aint no sport crag. If you aren't proficient and don't know wtf you are you doing, then you are asking for trouble. You may fine, but you may have SAR out coming to save your dumb, cheap-ass.

There is nothing worse than coming up on some gumbo's with shake leg screaming back and forth on the first pitch any castleton route. I have seen parties take hours to clusterfuck up it and I was mighty pissed I had to wait because the 'crux is too scary, so I built an anchor 5 feet below the actual anchor.'

Good luck.

Allen Sanderson wrote: The trick when short of cams is to leap frog them and/or slide them up. This applies to all types of climbing not just tower climbs.

This. You can even lower down form a bomber piece(s) you place and retrieve some pieces you may need further up. You won't get the clean send, but if you're just climbing a really cool route and not in project mode you might not care.

It's not right around Moab, strictly speaking, but Otto's Route on Colorado Monument is fun, gets you up a big tower, and easily goes with a very light rack with one optional number four camalot.

In regards to the K-I vs NC debate, my two cents is that while the K-I is harder, I would much rather climb it with a single rack than the NC. If you do the K-I and it feels easy to you then go over and do Honeymoon Chimney on the Priest, which also goes with a single rack (and can easily go at 5.9 AO if you're not up to the bolt ladder).