Ken led the first pitch up a crack in a northeast-facing alcove (~130 feet, 5.9). Maurice led the short second pitch to the base of the third, an overhanging northwest-facing crack. Using double-9s, Maurice led this crack, traversed right to the arete (5.11+), and burlied up a short, narrowing crack that was defined by a pillar perched on the arete (5.11). Above this, Maurice ran out of time and/or gear, so we retreated to the ground and hiked back to camp. We had had occasional rain during the day.

The next day, we jumared to the base of pitch three, and Maurice continued jumaring to his previous high point. He finished his lead to the summit, and Ken followed. When my turn came, the rain gods answered someone else’s dance and I moved from the tarantella into a frenetic polka. After completing the crux traverse, I got a jam inside the perched pillar as reddish-brown-sugar holds squashed away under the weight of my galoshes.  When the crack pinched off, I grabbed a Friend and lurched onto the final exposed arete.

One finished hand-drilling a 3/8-inch hole into the squishy, flat summit. Another cut six feet from my old, soggy 7mm haul line, to back up and extend the bolt. The first rappel was overhanging for at least 150 feet. The next was also at least 150. Ken said that it was more like an escape than a descent. The two 9s wore grooves into our rappel devices.

We gathered our wet gear and slogged back to find a flood flowing through our camp. Good thing Elsie (spelled “LC”) was parked on the right side of the flood. We cleaned and dried our gear in a Moab motel. The next day we climbed at Maverick Buttress in Long Canyon.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Deadman’s Tower