The North Face Route
5.7,
Trad, 270 ft (82 m), 4 pitches, Grade II,
Avg: 1.3 from 9
votes
FA: unknown
Arizona
> Northern Arizona
> Sedona Area
> Village of Oak…
> Castle Towers
> S Castle Tower
Description
This is the easiest and safest route up the South Tower of Castle Rock. We did it in 4 pitches to reduce rope-drag as the 1st and 3rd pitches are meandering in nature. Pitch 1: rope up to climb a series of ledges that are mostly 4th and easy 5th class but with one crack requiring a 5.7 hand-jam - probably the most technically difficult move on the route. Traverse up and left, do the short 5.7 handjam crack, then traverse back right as high as you can go to the obvious ledge below Pitch 2. maybe 130 feet Pitch 2: Here you are faced with your choice of two off-width cracks separated by a blocky column. Take the right-most crack which has lots of great holds and features. Although there's some loose rock at the top of this pitch, there's also plenty of solid stuff. Take your time and test each hold. Belay at two-bolt anchor taking great care not to dislodge the many loose rocks on the sloping ledge. Great Pitch! maybe 70 feet, 5.6. Pitch 3: Traverse left, up a short crack then back right up to the biggest ledge just before things get steep. Anchor with cams in any of the many cracks available. 5.5, 50 feet. Pitch 4: This is the money pitch - great protection and awesome 5.5 climbing on chickenheads and cracks with the valley yawning away below. Move right from the belay ledge and follow the cracks and chickenheads to a classic summit. Sling the large juniper God put there just for climbers for your belay. 5.5, 60 feet. Note: If you're the kind of climber who doesn't mind running out 5.5 on loose rock over a yawning abyss, you could run pitches 3 and 4 together, placing gear only the at beginning of the 4th pitch to avoid rope-drag. I wouldn't recommend it though. Not a classic perhaps but a good route and an excellent moderate outing depositing you on a classic summit.
Location
See photos for orientation location. Two double-rope (60m) rappels will get you back to your your backpack. Be aware of the presence of a couple of prickly pear cacti which will want to interfere with your rope-retrieval efforts after the final rappel.
Protection
Trad. Full rack of cams and nuts will do nicely with some long slings. Bring some slings to leave, black or sandstone color please. There is a two-bolt anchor on the on the top of pitch 2, the right one looks dubious and the hanger spins easily, the left one is solid. Beta per 2015.
Flagstaff AZ
Nevada
EDIT to add: I feel it's worth mentioning that, contrary to the route description, this is neither the easiest nor the safest route to the top of South Castle Tower. The easiest would be the south chimney. The safest would be Royalty or any of the main south face routes. Mar 2, 2016
Joshua Tree, CA
Tempe, AZ
Looking at the photo with yellow topo line we ended up veering right instead of left on the last pitch. At that point we were tired of cleaning off and inspecting every single hold and just got to the summit quickly.
Standard nuts and cams were fine. We used already installed accessory cord, and added some nylon(purple/red/black) as a backup for the rappel. If you're replacing you need at least 10 feet as the juniper tree is a bit far off the ledge.
It’s definitely a fun climb in the sense that it’s fun to get out and climb, and if you’re looking for an extra edge or psychological spice then by all means hit this route up, but certainly be aware of what you’re getting yourself into! Nov 14, 2022