Cascades: Tumwater Firsts. On 2 May 1948 Fred Beckey, Ralph Widrig, Joe Hieb and Wesley Grande climbed the imposing Tumwater Tower on the S. side of the Wenatchee River’s Tumwater Canyon. They used numerous pitons in granite cracks. A 70-foot stretch took three and a half hours.

On 9 May 1948 Piton Tower, in Tumwater Canyon, was discovered and climbed by Ralph and Dick Widrig, Pete Schoening and Wesley Grande. The climb up a 100-degree face required the use of 13 pitons for aid. The angle of the initial 40-foot overhang was such that the rappel rope hung out six feet from the base.

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