John Schmidt topping out on the last pitch of the North Chimney.

All Locations > Utah > Southeast Utah > Grand County > Castle Valley > Castleton Tower > N Chimney (5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a)

John Schmidt topping out on the last pitch of the North Chimney.

ID 111781729 ·

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Vicente Planelles, El Gato de Espana.

A bit of exposure from the top!

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4.9 from 33 votes

Mike Engle

Apr 15, 2016

“John Schmidt topping out on the last pitch of the North Chimney.”

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John Schmidt topping out on the last pitch of the North Chimney.

A bit of exposure from the top!

67 years old, enjoying the shade on the summit of Castleton after North Chimney. Couple of old dudes getting 'er done.

Having fun with 40+ mile an hour winds on the top of Castleton

Route Overlay Castleton North Chimney.

looking across the valley. third pitch

Joe following on the first pitch of North Chimney

Looking up at the third pitch on North Chimney

Calcite detail, N Chimney belay.

P4 transferring to the Kor Ingalls at the top.

looking down at the last baly.. on a sweet day lil clouds lots of fun cool temps good frends

Kyle Heck doing a victory handstand on top.

Somewhere on the 3rd pitch

I call him "Herman". Worth bringing to back up the manky bolt.

Inside the chimney!

N. Chimney

Some folks had a high line set up between Castleton and the Rectory.

Amazing views from the top. photo by fiddlehead.photo

Bart Fay leading the 1st pitch of the North Chimney route on Castleton.

The fun, middle part of P1. There's another crux above, where the crack on the right wall converges with the corner.

Owen starting up the stellar first pitch.

An epic stem at the top of the chimney! Photo by fiddlehead.photo

Bailing from the P1 anchors with a storm rolling in. The crack at the crux bulge near the top is hungry for rope, so be extremely careful about getting your ropes stuck if doing this rappel. See my comment for my beta on avoiding a stuck rope.

November top out! Beautiful views.

Abbey Tuke on North Chimney 5-25-2025

Abbey Tuke on the last pitch North Chimney 5-25-2025

View from the first belay

The Bolt (don't worry I also placed the #5)

Rapping off the north face. Two 70m ropes get you down in two!

Luke starting the 2nd pitch.

Nearing the top of pitch one.

moving across the face on the last pitch. WINDY!!!

Looking down on Chuck at the belay from the top of the chimney.

Second pitch near the top.

Finishing pitch 4

180º vertical pano from inside the second pitch.

Rapping the north face kate Schaefer in photo

Piles of death blocks atop the N. Chimney. You did wear your helmet, didn't you?

Ken Leiden leading the 2nd pitch of the North Chimney route on Castleton

The beautiful north face of Castleton.

yeah! the view... and the death block.

Looking up Pitch 3 of the North Chimney. Super fun climbing!

Anders on the first few moves.

This view shows well the length and singularity of the line on P1 of the N. Chimney.

The lower crux on P1 is the move off the ground and then around this ceiling. Brian has back cleaned some gear so the rope will run straight.

Along pitch 1

Daisy Solo on Castleton's North Chimney

This is roughly the upper third of pitch 1

The bolt protecting the offwidth on P2. Photo shot on 10/24/11.

Looking at North Face of Castleton Tower, three climbers on ledge in midst of rappelling

Along pitch 1

Pitch 3

Pat gives the thumbs up after pulling the OW section of the second pitch. Notice the "X'ed" loose block or the right.

We found that the N. Face of Castleton was the easiest way to get off the tower. You can see if anybody is on the route, there's very little chance of getting your rope eaten by cracks, and on this occasion, it was fairly sheltered from the wind.

The super fun first pitch.

2nd belay

Viiiiiictory!!!!!!!

Alex cleaning up the last pitch of the climb. <br>
Check out the Calcite stuck to the wall.

Vicente Planelles jamming his way up the 1st pitch.

Vicente Planelles, El Gato de Espana.

In This Photo

John Schmidt

Pocatello, ID

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