The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower is a prominent feature on the brooding north face of Thatchtop high above Loch Vale, visible to any climber heading to the Cathedral Spires. With an easy three mile approach, it's surprising that there are no documented lines on the feature. We decided to investigate and found consistently good climbing up the prow of the tower, somewhat reminiscent of The Flying Buttress, with great belay ledges and position, especially on the upper spire. It ends in a true tower summit. For climbers looking for more routes at this grade in the Park, it really is worth checking out, especially with the short approach and lack of crowds. We found no sign of previous passage, although it's certainly possible it's been climbed before. 

This wall can often be wet, but the Tower itself (and this route) seem to stay dry even when the rest of the wall is soaked.

To climb the tower proper, it's necessary to access the long ledge at 1/3 to 1/2 height on the face. There are several ways to do this:

(1) locate Necrophilia, which is a long, steep black streak in the summer, and climb a 200' right-angling weakness (easy 5th to 5.6, depending on the exact line) right of that route, that leads to the midway ledge.

(2) climb the first three pitches of Raise the Roof (5.8), and then walk left on the ledge to the Dark Tower. This is excellent climbing and consistent with the grade, but Raise the Roof deserves to be done in its entirety if you haven't done it before.

(3) climb the Dark Tower, direct start (5.10 R). This has a lot of good climbing, but it is a step up in difficulty and seriousness. In its current state, it's only recommendable for strong parties that like adventure routes in the mountains. That could change in the future.

Once on the ledge, locate the prow of the Dark Tower - an obvious feature with a splitter crack.

P1: climb the splitter crack directly up the prow for to a nice belay ledge, 5.8, 100’.

P2: climb directly up the narrow face of the prow to another good ledge with a large boulder for a belay. An excellent pitch on Hallett-esque rock with a ~20 foot runout halfway up, although the hardest moves are not too far above gear. 5.9- R, 130'.

Variation: climb a left-facing corner just left of the prow. At a roof, step left into the next corner, and continue until the system bends back onto the prow and low-angle splitter crack that leads to another nice belay ledge below a roof band, sustained 5.9. This is also quality, and actually harder than the prow, but better-protected. 

P3: from the right side of the ledge, climb past the right end of a roof, and continue up a vague, right-facing corner with micro gear to a ledge. Step right and ascend a steep, exposed corner on the edge of the formation (the next corner to the right also goes at a similar grade). Twenty feet below the corner's top, use a right-slanting finger crack to move around the arete, then work up and right to a belay in the saddle between the main tower and the Minotaur pinnacle, 5.8, 160'. 

Variation: after the initial roof, work steadily up and left below the headwall above until it’s possible to move back right and up easy but loose ground to the belay in the saddle. This is far less direct but still has good climbing, and you may get sucked into it initially in search of pro, though the direct line ends up protecting better overall, 5.8 PG-13, 180’.

Extra credit: from the belay, boulder up to the top of the Minotaur! - a 5.7ish mantel that must be reversed.

P4: climb directly up the prow until it levels off to a ridge for a spectacular finishing pitch. Belay on the summit of the Dark Tower, 5.8, 150’.

Descent: rappel 50 feet off the back side of the Dark Tower to a level area. From here, either scramble up to the ridgeline and do one of the walk-offs, or walk about 100 feet over to the top of the Deep Freeze rappels. Both options are described in a comment on the North Face area page. 

Major landmarks on the North Face include the Dark Tower, aka Dark Angel, the largest, rightmost, and most prominent of the towers on the left side of the face. The Dark Tower has a subsidiary pinnacle called the Minotaur. To the left of the Dark Tower is a deep gully/chimney that forms the famous winter ice climb, Deep Freeze . This extends the entire height of the face. To the right of the Dark Tower is another deep gully/chimney. This is the upper continuation of the winter ice climb, Necrophilia. A large ledge runs across the entire face at one-third to half height. On its left side, the ledge runs into another prominent gully, the NE gully, which is also a winter ice climb.

To access the Dark Tower, one must gain the large ledge. There are several ways to do this, described above.

A standard rack (with a #4 Camalot if doing the direct start).