Kor-Ingalls (III 5.9) - Castleton Tower, Castle Valley, Utah

The Beta:

Guidebooks: Rock Climbing Utah, by Stewart M. Green (Falcon Publishing; 1998); Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, by Steve Roper and Allen Steck (Sierra Club Books; 1979, 1996)

Guide Services: Jackson Hole Mountain Guides (jhmg.com); San Juan Mountain Guides (ourayclimbing.com); Southwest Adventure Guides (mtnguide.net)

Equipment Shops: Pagan Mountaineering, Moab — paganmountaineering.com, (435) 259-1117, 59 South Main St. #2

Rack: Double cams from 0.5” to 3”, medium and large nuts, long slings, 60m rope, 60m tagline

Season: Autumn through spring

More fun in Castle Valley:

By Luke Laeser

Climbers visiting the Moab area shouldn't find a shortage of things to climb with stacks of cliffs and towers at areas like: Indian Creek, Mill Canyon, River Road, the Big Bend Boulders, the Fisher Towers, Potash Road, Canyonlands, Arches...

Castle Valley, or specifically the ridge and formations between Castleton and the Priest, has enough beautiful lines to keep most climbers busy for months. Castleton has long been a part (and usually the start) of many popular "climb-as-many-towers-as-you-can-in-a-day" link-ups with the most popular consisting of something like this:

• Any route on Castleton Tower (see below for a few more suggestions)
  
• The Rectory, usually Fine Jade (III 5.11)
• The Priest, usually Honeymoon Chimney (III 5.11- or 5.9 A0)
• Sister Superior, usually Jah Man (III 5.10c)
• with possible additions of Ancient Art (III 5.11 or 5.9 A0) which is just across the way in the Fisher Towers
• and even Otto's Route (II 5.9) on Independence Monument in Colorado National Monument, over in Grand Junction, Colorado

Any mixture of those routes packed into one long day (and of course spread over a few days too) will surely cure your tower fever and make you a desert lover forever.

If you're looking for more classics near the Kor-Ingalls be sure to try:

Black Sun (III 5.10)
This is a great climb that is started after the first pitch of the Kor-Ingalls, so it's a good escape should the traffic get too heavy on busy weekends. A well protected 5.11 direct finish brings you on to the summit without having to rejoin the Kor-Ingalls.

Little White Lieback (5.11)
The first pitch climbs an excellent thin hands crack and is well worth doing. After that most parties bail because the route eventually joins up with a bolt ladder on Stardust Cowboy, on the amazingly blank south facing plaque of calcified rock.

North Face (III 5.11a)
Most climbers regard this route as the finest three pitches of free climbing on Castleton Tower. Super-splitter pitches of hands and wide-hands. Also an excellent rappel route.

North Chimney (III 5.9)
Super fun climbing and considered to be the easiest and quickest way up Castelton.