North America, United States, Utah, Castle Valley

Publication Year: 1989.

Castle Valley. Layton Kor, with his wife Joy, teamed up with Calvin Lee and Jerry Tomasso for the 1147th ascent of Castleton Tower. The stout 400-foot Wingate Sandstone monolith has the distinction of being the most popular tower climb of the desert. Kor’s ascent in the fall of 1988 was his first return to Castleton since his first ascent of the spire in 1961 with Huntley Ingalls. Kor has since returned a number of times to continue reviewing his visionary pioneer ascents of the formidable sandstone walls of the Southwest desert. Paul Turecki and Nancy Pfeiffer made a two-pitch variation to the north-face route (5.1lc). This climbs free the original Dunn-Snively aid-route with free-climbing variations around the old aid placements. Charlie Fowler made the first free solo of Castleton Tower. A new route was put up on the Sister Superior group by James Garrett and Anderson (III, 5.10). It ascends the west face of the widest tower north (left) of Sister Superior’s main summit, well left of the Jah-man route. Perhaps one of the most important climbs in recent years in the northern canyon country is Ascended Yoga Masters by George Hurley, Earl Wiggins and Katy Cassidy (III, 5.10, A0).The route ascends the southwest comer of Parriott Mesa in Castle Valley, about 20 miles east of Moab.

Eric Bjørnstad