Tower Inventory

Paul Swrote:

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!

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.

I 100% agree Slim.

I don't count these things (towers or new routes) on purpose so I don't have to keep track or "chase" numbers in my brain.

My problem is after 30 or so years of this nonsense I can't remember what I did or didn't do, or what I had named or didn't name.

I guess that's why people keep track.   

I have a strong suspicion that anyone over 500 towers has at least a few "questionable" status towers on the list. There are definitely a couple on mine... But they felt like a tower, were difficult, and usually an FA. They are towers to me!

I have it on good authority that Cam is indeed upset lol

Paul Swrote:

"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!"

DAMN! That is impressive!!! 

You're going to be leaking sand out of the corner of your eyes for the rest of your life. :)

I am curious how the single pitch towers work out with your partners if you have to lead to count the tower? 

Do you pull the rope like a sport route so you can both lead some of them? Or is it that by the time you get to 1000 towers, no one else want's to lead the deathly piles of sugar that you are climbing? 

Way to crush!

-Brad

PS.  Well said on your definition.

As someone who started as an alpinist before migrating to waterfall ice and big wall trad, it was all about the summits that attracted me to the towers of the SW.  Turned out they offered me the same high as a Canadian Rockies glaciated summit.  I have climbed just about every tower, that was legal, that I ever laid my eyes on.  My Moab list alone was an amazing adventure.

https://www.summitpost.org/moab-desert-tower-and-canyon-climbs/561713

But I got just as obsessed in places like Sedona.  It was all about getting on top and soaking in the view.

https://www.summitpost.org/sedona-spire-climbs/819151

I stopped at Colorado National Monument once just to get a run in on my way to the Black when another climber rolled down his window to ask me where a certain tower was and before I knew it, I stayed in the park and climbed all the towers before moving on to the Black.

What about this thing? Seems rather tower like and it is in a desert.

Same with these...

fossilwrote:

What about this thing? Seems rather tower like and it is in a desert.

One of the more baffling experiences I have ever witnessed between partners was climbing Monkey Face. We started on the other side to add a few pitches.  We could see a team of two climbing the shorter alternative.  We could tell from our vantage point that the 2nd was not cleaning any of the gear, both the trad leading up to the aid ladder and the draws themselves.  The leader of course was belaying well over the lip of the roof so had no vision.  We were already at the notch and starting to climb when we could hear the leader exclaim where all his gear was???  The 2nd said he did not know he was suppose to clean it.  We racked all their gear on our waist and when we slipped over the roof sort of joked "what gear?"  The leader was in a frantic state of mind.  One of the more entertaining disagreements I had ever witnessed between partners.  As I recall, I don't think the leader would have had an easy time trying to rap out of the "mouth" to retrieve his gear.  

fossilwrote:

What about this thing? Seems rather tower like and it is in a desert.

Same with these...

And there is more where that came from!:

https://www.summitpost.org/oregon-pinnacles/171071

If some of the 1000 tower people (very impressive) are running low on towers to climb and having to loosen their definitions a bit, perhaps loosen the geographic restriction. And while desert towers are cool and unique, there are also some pretty cool spires outside of the desert!

Oh no my friend, good rock doesn’t count.

Couldn't define the difference offhand, but spire and tower are distinct... might just be how pointy they feel tho lol (I'm thinking about the cathedral spires in Yosemite and they would meet all the usual criteria except ofc they are granite, and in the Sierra not the desert)

Brad Brandewiewrote:

Paul Swrote:

"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!"

DAMN! That is impressive!!! 

You're going to be leaking sand out of the corner of your eyes for the rest of your life. :)

I am curious how the single pitch towers work out with your partners if you have to lead to count the tower? 

Do you pull the rope like a sport route so you can both lead some of them? Or is it that by the time you get to 1000 towers, no one else want's to lead the deathly piles of sugar that you are climbing? 

Way to crush!

-Brad

PS.  Well said on your definition.

Thanks Brad!  

I don't have the sand in eyes problem, but I’ve always wondered about all the dust that I breathe in.  Going up a dirty squeeze can’t be good for our health..

A large chunk of the towers I do rope solo or with my partner that prefers not to lead.  Outside of that, I’ll usually come back and rope solo it.

I always enjoyed reading your trip reports you did back in the day.  

Can someone tell me if Dock Rock counts??

Possibly maybe   

Brad Brandewiewrote:

Brad Brandewiewrote:

Paul Swrote:

"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!"

DAMN! That is impressive!!! 

You're going to be leaking sand out of the corner of your eyes for the rest of your life. :)

I am curious how the single pitch towers work out with your partners if you have to lead to count the tower? 

Do you pull the rope like a sport route so you can both lead some of them? Or is it that by the time you get to 1000 towers, no one else want's to lead the deathly piles of sugar that you are climbing? 

Way to crush!

-Brad

PS.  Well said on your definition.

Okay, I just did something wrong here.....