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| Determination Towers |
The "Free Window Route" on Echo Pinnacle was another desert tower that's been on my list ever since I moved to Moab a year ago when I first scoped it out west of the M&M mountain bike trail. The pinnacle itself emerges directly off the ground, with a minimal talus cone to surmount. The pinnacle lies within a group of towers known as the Determination Towers, or Airport Towers, which is a much lamer name. Aeolian Tower is the other major tower just south of Echo, but requires a more serious aid route to reach its summit.
Annie and I were lucky enough to break away for a few hours when my parents came to visit and watch the kids. Annie hadn't summited a tower in over 5 years, the last time being in Colorado National Monument 5 months pregnant with Timbre. The approach is a bit unique in that with a 4x4 vehicle you can drive within 20 seconds of the start of the route via the Tushar Canyon roads. However, without such a vehicle its an easy 2.7 mile approach on foot or bike via the M&M bike trail up Mill Canyon that then leads into the 4x4 route of the same name.
We set out around 12:30 pm from the Dinosaur Tracks parking lot at the normal finish of the Monitor and Merrimac mountain bike trail. It was a quick and familiar journey on the bikes to the base of the climb.
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| Annie biking out to our destination, located just over her right shoulder |
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| Follow the signs |
Pitch 1 was an easy, fun and well protected 5.8 pitch. A small roof guards the top but has some good jams and gear. The rock is a bit flaky and loose in spots, more noticeable to the belayer than the climber. The pitch ends on a massive ledge with many large blocks and a view through the "window" to the other side of the tower and the motorized tourists below.
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| Looking up Pitch 1 |
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| Annie pulling over the small roof near the top |
Pitch 2 starts off standing on a large boulder into a great hands corner and then tightens down to red camalots, followed by a few pods that lead to the official finish of pitch 2. The 2nd and 3rd pitches can be combined or done separately, depending on your tolerance for a hanging belay off two drilled pitons and a old piece of webbing. This sounded horrible, and considering my rope management skills with 2 ropes, I proceeded on.
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| Really good hands for awhile |
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| Nice belay lounge chair |
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| Just past the hanging belay |
From here to the top it was some of the most bizarre and wild climbing I've done in the desert. Describing the movement and position is difficult. You can't practice this stuff in the gym. The tower is split in two, and the space between the towers is just wide enough for some chimney and squeeze techniques, but also so narrow at times that requires fist and OW jamming. This might not sound overly unique, but the gap is so narrow, that for the majority of the pitch, you have half of your body on one side of the tower and half on the other. At one point, you have to campus off a fist jam to get your feet high enough as your feet are dangling in space. All this is protected by many old bolts that were intended for aid climbing, and come in very useful for C0 ascents like ours. There are actually bolts on the opposite side of the tower as well, which is odd but in hindsight may be useful for a free ascent if the normal side is giving you fits, which it certainly was for me.
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| Old bolts and wild chimney/squeeze |
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| Groin shot. Looking down the two sides with me wedged in between |
Eventually the chimney, if you can call it that, reaches a roof, that can be surmounted on either side, left or right. The right path leads past more aid bolts, which if attempting a free ascent, may be difficult, though at this point you probably don't care and just want to get up the thing. (my view) The left side offers a very strenuous and standard OW experience for about 15 feet. I had brought my #5 camalot for the left side variation, though I was quite disappointed when the OW appeared quite threatening, and not a casual one move wonder I had somehow expected. The next 15 feet were by far the hardest and most scary of the 250' tower. I walked my #5 for a bit, but eventually had to leave the comfort of my protection and thrutch up using gastly OW technique involving fervent prayer and lots of grunting. Always an adventure.
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| A good look at Annie chimneying between the two towers |
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| Chicken wing! |
Finally I belly flopped onto the summit and thanked heaven I hadn't whipped on that section. Annie had an equally valued experience, falling off the hands section twice since she couldn't reach it standing off the boulder, landing squarely on her back due to rope stretch. Luckily she was fine. Then my #3 camalot got stuck and required some TLC to retrieve it. The bolts were pretty spaced for her on the chimney and the final OW did her in. But she made it up still in good spirits.
Two raps, a double and then a single, got us back to our bikes and the fun bike ride out. Overall this is as wild a position as you can get on a tower. It was a far cry from a free ascent, but we got our money's worth for sure. This counts as my 25th desert tower ascent! Still so many more to go.
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| Echo on the left, Aeolian on the right |
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| Biking out Mill Canyon |
