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Tower Inventory
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Ok, so many of us, especially in the Utah desert have a tower list. Crusher Bartlett may have the definitive answer but what are the requirements to define a rock feature a “tower?” 5th class on all sides, higher than wider, too high to jump down off of, thoughts? Is Bridger Jack Butte or the Rectory a “tower?” |
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All of the above plus being on the colorado plateau. Bridger Jack Butte is a…. Butte, as is the Rectory. Paul Ross and Cam Burns are probably sitting on some lengthy lists. |
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Thanks, Randy. For my personal list I’m going to go with the “higher than wider” criterea but not sure about the CO plateau caveat. I’d have to give up Seneca Rocks Gendarme for one! |
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Ah, i was thinking desert towers. And obviously these lists dont matter, its just fun to see them and plan another mission. I wouldnt call anyone out if they had Fine Jade or Voodoo child on their lists. These threads have good lists: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/110998710/complete-list-of-north-american-desert-towers https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/116783051/the-ultimate-desert-tower-to-do-list Also Required Reading: High on Moab Desert Rock (all 5) Select Climbs of the Desert Southwest Desert Towers Canyon Country Climbs |
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My 2 cent's worth (if even that) is that a desert tower is a formation on the Colorado Plateau that does not have a walk off. Decent is via rappel (or alternatively 5th-class down-climbing). So, yes, "5th class on all sides" Simple. This does include broad mesa-type features (eg Rectory) but there's not actually that many of any great size so the "list" is still mostly skinny-sh things. As they become much broader there's usually some kind of sub-5th-class way up or down (eg Parriot Mesa). Trying to build a definition around tower shape quickly runs into the problem of all those fin-shaped formations. |
Ed Oakwrote: Which of course no longer exists! |
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Thanks, Crusher! I just bought your book from Sharp End and was psyched to see your autograph on it. This website is a great bonus! I see Ekker and Bagpipe Buttes on the list so that may define the wider end of the ”tower” definition. |
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Steve has been nothing but a critic and a hassle to me for three decades now. He is the master tower climber. You should listen to him. |
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So says Mr. Putterman. |
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Hey Camster, you were the first person to have climbed 100 desert towers. Most them previously unclimbed, best I recall. Quite a feat, 25 or so years ago. I can be a judgmental dick sometimes. I'm trying to do better these days. |
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Being situated on the Colorado Plateau should not be a requirement. The entire Sedona area lies below the Mogollon Rim (southern border of the Colorado Plateau in AZ). I think anyone would consider Sedona spires to be desert towers. |
Steve Bartlettwrote: I'd be curious where Jimmy G's (James Garrett) tower count is/was. Ditto Ben F. Lotta red dirt down the shower drain for these fellers... |
Brian in SLCwrote: Thanks, good point. Thinking this over, it was not total number of towers but total of first ascents of desert towers. There was a list from somewhere, a document, with easily a hundred or so first ascents. Putterman this, Putterman that ... impressive tally. |
Flexwrote: Not that anyone else’s parameters mater, i believe Sedona is on the Colorado Plateau? And even if it isnt or wasnt, i would still put those towers on my list, which is literally just a sheet of paper to aid in remembering:) |
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As I stated above, the Mogollon Rim is defined as the southern border of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona. Sedona lies along but decidedly below the Rim in the physiographic province known as the Transition Zone (between Colorado Plateau to the north and Basin and Range to the south). |
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i am curious how many towers ben k has tallied. gotta be way up there. i think ralph is probably still at the top though. |
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Last I heard from Ralph, he was over 500. Whether these towers meet the sandstone and/or Colorado Plateau criteria I don’t know. |
slimwrote: I've heard rumors of one or two people being over 1,000. I can't speak for how "tower" is defined for them ... It feels like a different world now. There's folks who stumble onto desert towers while working their way through the officially sanctioned "Lists of John" peaks. BASE guys climb lots of towers and don't even care because they only want to huck themselves off the top. There's others collecting marked high-points on old USGS maps ... others ticking off high spots in every county .... |
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Cam seems upset |
Steve Bartlettwrote: I'm a bit over 1000 "towers". My criteria is it needs to have at least 50 vertical feet of climbing that is harder than 5.5 (i.e. no scrambles or easier on the formation), be sandstone on the Colorado Plateau (I've been counting Sedona as being on the CP), you can't just rap to the summit (i.e. it's just barely detached from the wall), and just jugging a rope up doesn't count. The taller than wide one is tricky. There are so many towers that blur the line. Like River Tower, it's wider than it's tall in the back. Then you factor in domes or fins that are pretty much towers, that might be taller than they're wide, but it's hard to tell. So, I count buttes, domes, fins, etc, as long as they meet the above criteria. For me, it's about the adventure, challenge, and the beauty of the desert. The little guidelines I use help to keep me motivated to explore and try new corners of the desert. I know some people that have stricter guidelines and others looser, but to each their own! |
Paul Swrote: well said. some of the best days i have had climbing have been on little podunk things that dumped a lot of sand in my britches. |
