North America, United States, Idaho, Sawtooth Range, Seven Pinnacles on Verita Ridge

Publication Year: 1963.

Seven Pinnacles on Verita Ridge. On September 19 Fred Beckey, Steve and Bill Marts, Eric Bjornstad and I climbed six previously unclimbed pinnacles on Verita Ridge. Bjornstad and I climbed the south face of flat-topped Breakfast Tower, which is on the crest near its southeastern end. The first lead, to the top of the south rib, was class 5; the second required 4 or 5 pitons for aid in poor crack. We two also ascended pointed Lunch Tower, below the crest and southeast of Breakfast Tower, by a chimney on its northwest face (class 5). The main difficulty was a traverse into the chimney near the beginning. Dinnertime Tower, the second pinnacle from the southeast end of the ridge, was climbed by Beckey, S. Marts, Bjornstad and me by a crack system on its southeast face (easy class 5). The writer climbed Desert Tower, the last pinnacle, by cracks with rounded corners and crumbly rock on the southeast face. Damocles, which is on the ridge crest just northwest of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, was climbed circuitously by Beckey and S. Marts. From the northeast base the route diagonaled right on a ledge system about two-thirds of the circumference around the tower to a belay spot and then diagonaled back to the left on a finger traverse to a roomy ledge, from which a short chimney was climbed to the top. Another pinnacle, just to the southwest of Damocles and below the crest, was climbed by Beckey and both Martses. From a notch on the northwest side the route swung around to the northeast and climbed a crack and then a slab to the summit. The next day Beckey, S. Marts and I took all day to make the first ascent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The route ascends to a belay ledge up a direct-aid crack, which starts just to the left of the northwest notch. From the ledge we climbed up and around the north corner and continued up a fairly wide piton crack on the northeast face to the summit. The climb was almost continuously class 6 and required four bolts.

Dan Davis