Tombstone and Seraph. In September, my brother Jonathan and I climbed a 350-foot spire known by the locals as “The Tombstone.” This wide spire can be seen, looking south off Highway 70, about 15 miles east of Green River. After a 30-minute drive on dirt roads, we were standing below the narrow north face, admiring an unbroken hand-crack up a steep corner. After bouldering out the first overhanging moves, Jonathan began jamming and belayed me midway up the crack. I grunted up the second pitch as the crack widened (F10). The final pitch (F6) led us to the Tombstone’s virgin summit. NCCS III, F10+. Unreported from several years ago was the ascent of an unclimbed pinnacle just south of Moab on Highway 163. The pinnacle lies just off the road at a rest stop called “Hole in the Rock.” NCCS I, F7, A2.

Brian Smoot, Unaffiliated