Rhino Horn. On August 3, Tony Valdez and I made the first ascent of the Rhino Horn, a 300-foot tower composed of the Slickrock member of the Entrada sandstone. It is located 10.8 miles east of Moab, Utah. (II, 5.10.) Bego Gehardt began the climb with Valdez and me but after a period of inclement weather was unable to return for the final ascent due to boatman obligations in the Grand Canyon. The second ascent was accomplished August 21 by Paul Frank, Steve Frank and Don Seis. The route ascends a west flying buttress beginning at the lowest possible point of approach and continues 300 feet to the tower’s summit. The Rhino Horn is reached by traveling up the Sand Flats road (which begins at the Moab cemetery on Mill Creek Drive, half a mile east of town), past the city dump and on toward the La Sal Mountain Loop Road to mile 10.8. The tower, readily visible from the Sand Flats road, is then reached by hiking south one mile. Because the Sand Flats road becomes badly rutted as the tourist season wears on, a four-wheel drive vehicle may be required by early June. There are alternative routes. Because the Rhino Horn is at an elevation of better than 7000 feet it is an ideal mid-summer desert ascent.

Eric Bjørnstad