Arches National Park. The park, four miles north of Moab, has been the object of many a climber’s attention since the lifting of the ban on climbing named features in 1987. On the Zippy Zebra Wall, good new routes have been added in 1988, including Off the Couch (I, 5.11a) that follows a left-trending crack above and to the left of Portable Trash Unit (Katy Cassidy, Earl Wiggins; February). In March, Wiggins climbed a new aid line, Blind Assumption (I, Al), a thin crack right of Off the Couch. To the right of this, Cassidy, Wiggins and Pete Gallagher made a new direct finish to the Dumpster, The Whole Thing (I, 5.11+). Several hundred feet right and around the comer, three new routes have been added. Wind and Tire (I, 5.10) goes up a short chimney to a hand crack (Bret Ruckman, Gary Olsen; May). A few feet to the right, Wind, Sand and Gears (I, 5.11+) climbs 65 feet to rappel bolts (Ruckman). Blood, Sweat and Cars (I, 5.11+) is an obvious crack a few feet further right (Olsen, Ruckman; May). In the Park Avenue area, several new routes have been done. On the Windmill, left of the Park Avenue south parking area, Tilting (III, 5.10, A2), a new 3-pitch route left of the Cinnamon Rose, was climbed by Tom Bepler and me in December. It starts in a thin crack on a big pillar and follows a hand-and-fist crack in a large dihedral. Gary Seideman and Mike Barnet climbed I Need Friends (I, 5.9), ¼ mile north of Park Avenue, an open-book that starts with a fist-crack and ends with a finger-crack. Skin Deep (I, 5.1lc), one crack left of Many Miles Away, ascends a thin crack with poor protection (Ruckman, Olsen; May). Tim Coats and Ruckman made the first free ascent of the northeast arête of Argon Tower in the fall of 1987 (III, 5.11 —; 4 pitches). Paul Turecki made the second ascent of the north face of Argon Tower (III, 5.11, A2), The first ascent was done by Layton Kor and party in 1964! Be There or Be Talked About (III, 5.11 — , Al) on the west face of the south tower of the Three Gossips was completed by Gallagher and Bego Gerhard in April. The four pitches were mostly free climbing with a short bolt ladder to gain the summit. Turecki made a solo ascent of the ever popular Zenyatta Entrada on the Tower of Babel. On the same tower Jim Beyer soloed Wanker Chop (V, 5.8, A5), the second route right of Zenyatta Entrada. Bill Schmausser soloed a line between these last two, The Secret Way (V, 5.10, A4 + ). In February, Beyer soloed in 18 hours Pele Nubian Sacrifice (IV, 5.9, A4) on the Organ Tower, just left of the northeast-buttress route. Turecki climbed Crosswind (V, 5.9, A4 + ), which shares some pitches with the northeast-buttress route (October). On the Great Wall, to the left of Chinese Eyes, Mark Lemons, Jim Bodenhamer and Rob Slater climbed a left-facing dihedral, Mr. Sombrero (I, 5.11c; January). In the Windows section of the park, George Hurley, Cassidy, Wiggins, Schmausser and Chris Begue climbed Tonka Tower (I,5.8, A0; 2 pitches) via cracks in the left of the west face, south of Turret Arch. Along the Colorado River, on the Arches side, at the 1.5-mile mark of the River Road, in November Layton Kor and I climbed The Fun Ramp (III, 5.9, A2; 6 pitches), up an obvious left-trending ramp system.

Kyle Copeland, Downward Bound