Remnant Tower aka "the Defecating Monk" via Squeezebox (5.9)
July 6, 2011
Having a few minutes to spare, Jen and I decided to scope out an obscure tower on the Colorado National Monument. Remnant Tower sits just off the west entrance to the Monument and was first ascended by Layton Kor, Harvey Carter and John Auld in 1960. The climbing proved to be interesting and different on each pitch (I don't necessarily mean quality). Pitch 1 started with a short bouldering move into a flared chimney, followed by a 30-40 foot grovel to a single piton "belay" in a pile of packrat poop. Pitch 2 lead through a strange tunnel and ascended a short squeeze chimney to the upper shelf. Pitch 3 was even shorter and ascended a short step then up rotting sandstone shingles to the summit. The summit views looked straight up Monument Canyon at several other towers and were much better than most of the climbing. The register contained an eclectic few items and it looked like it had been several months since the tower had been scaled. After watching a herd of desert bighorn sheep, two awkward rappels lead back to the ground. Overall a fun climb and it felt good to sneak a desert tower in the summer heat.
Having a few minutes to spare, Jen and I decided to scope out an obscure tower on the Colorado National Monument. Remnant Tower sits just off the west entrance to the Monument and was first ascended by Layton Kor, Harvey Carter and John Auld in 1960. The climbing proved to be interesting and different on each pitch (I don't necessarily mean quality). Pitch 1 started with a short bouldering move into a flared chimney, followed by a 30-40 foot grovel to a single piton "belay" in a pile of packrat poop. Pitch 2 lead through a strange tunnel and ascended a short squeeze chimney to the upper shelf. Pitch 3 was even shorter and ascended a short step then up rotting sandstone shingles to the summit. The summit views looked straight up Monument Canyon at several other towers and were much better than most of the climbing. The register contained an eclectic few items and it looked like it had been several months since the tower had been scaled. After watching a herd of desert bighorn sheep, two awkward rappels lead back to the ground. Overall a fun climb and it felt good to sneak a desert tower in the summer heat.
