Rotten Monolith. The Rotten Monolith is a rather conspicuous tower visible from the main highway, prominent on the skyline when viewed either from the south (driving from Sun Valley to Redfish Lake) or from the north (from the village of Stanley). It presents a formidable impression from the east. The tower from this side shows its entire unscarred, vertical altitude of at least 500 feet, smooth, perpendicular and holdless all the way. On the back (west) side, the main ridge of Braxon Peak runs right into the tower, only about 150 feet from the summit. On our first reconnaissance, this short pitch appeared so unbelievably rotten that we seriously considered looking for a route elsewhere, even though this would have greatly prolonged the ascent. Fred Beckey expressed his preference toward the short, direct approach. The climb was exposed and terribly uncomfortable at times, but no direct aid became necessary. We used about a dozen pitons and one bolt. In several instances chrome-moly blades could be hammered directly into the wall. Two huge, decomposed flakes heavily relied upon in the crucial spot did not come crashing down on us. On the top there was some doubt which of the two ends of the summit ridge was higher; to make sure, in our varied styles, we climbed the crumbling knife-edge.

Louis Stur