North America, United States, Wyoming, Wind River Range, North Tower of Haystack

Publication Year: 1965.

North Tower of Haystack. From the eastern end of Clear Lake the glacially scoured 1500-foot west wall of Haystack’s North Tower rises precipitously. Late on the morning of August 13, Peter Croff, Richard Schori and I probed its lower defenses. The first pitch started on the right side of the tower and terminated at the base of the diagonaling lower band of obviously difficult overhangs. Horizontal traversing just beneath the overhangs to the right brought us to a short vertical crack. An easy layback up this crack coupled with a second lead up a smooth face brought us to the base of a beautiful 120-foot crack which swept nearly vertically upwards and slightly left across the face. There we called a halt to the day’s activities. In order to obtain sufficient sunlight for photographic purposes, we again got a late morning’s start and reassembled at the base of the crack. Pete led this strenuous and difficult crux pitch whose crack system suddenly and without warning completely terminated 60 feet above the belay stance. This left a very steep and exposed ten feet of blank section, before the crack system reappeared. Several leads following crack systems and a traverse to the right brought us to a comfortable bivouac ledge. The following morning we quickly climbed a previously established lead to the base of a large 200-foot dihedral which rose vertically above us and leaned slightly to the right. Two leads beyond it we found ourselves on a comfortable belay ledge 20 feet below the upper band of overhangs. The overhanging pitch was short but strenuous and from there on the angle of the face eased. After several easier leads we saw the end of the roped climbing. A scramble of 150-feet led to the summit of the North Tower. We made 16 roped leads and placed approximately 35 pitons for protection, mostly horizontals, supplemented by an occasional one-inch ring angle or bong-bong. Of the 16 leads, all but three involved sustained climbing in the middle and upper middle fifth-class range. (NCCS III, F8).

Philip M. Fowler, Colorado Alpine Club