The Priest. Long a landmark near Moab, the 450-foot desert monolith, the Priest had apparently never been attempted by climbers. Waiting for Harvey Carter and me, Layton Kor spent a day in September, 1961 leading the first ascent of difficult Castle Tower of Castleton Rocks. Kor and I set out for the Priest and after a tortuous drive and tedious walk we heard the hammering of pitons above us, but fortunately it was Carter and his wife, who had missed us and were beginning the climb on their own. The first portion ascends on the west face with direct aid and then finishes with an exhausting, exasperatingly tight chimney. At its top, rubble had wedged the gap between the main wall and an open subpinnacle on the south to form a good belay stance. The next lead was an open chimney, all free but very unprotected. We descended, leaving ropes intact, before we spent a full day finishing the climb with two pitches of direct aid on both pitons and bolts. This section included an exciting, free overhang on a very dubious sandstone crack.

Fred Beckey