Castleton Tower, North Face. Newsworthy is the first ascent of a new route on the north face of Castleton Tower, The Sun, The Moon, The Stars (IV, 5.11, A3+), climbed by Jim Beyer and Pat Mclnerny. Started in October, the five- pitch climb was completed in November. It has only four bolts, two of them for a belay. The first pitch followed a 5.11 finger crack right of the original aid-crack start on the regular north-face route; that is right of the start used today. This pitch had been climbed previously. A short second lead joined the regular north-face route above the top of its first pitch. Then the third launched right into completely virgin land, following a vertical seam, jaunting right on a horizontal seam, then continuing up another vertical seam. Beyer reports that he used mostly A5 Bird Beaks for the A3+ lead. Atop the third, the route followed a 5.11b finger crack, which met the corner of the north and west faces. Then a 5.10d offwidth brought them to a roof on the corner. Above the roof, the route was 5.8 to the top.

Cameron Burns