Weird Science in the Fisher Towers

October 23, 2009 Dougald MacDonald

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The south face of King Fisher, with Weird Science in red and Death of American Democracy in blue. The classic Colorado Ridge climbs near the right… — The south face of King Fisher, with Weird Science in red and Death of American Democracy in blue. The classic Colorado Ridge climbs near the right skyline. Photo by Jeremy Aslaksen.

Jeremy Aslaksen heads into no man’s land on the long beaking section of Weird Science’s first pitch. Photo by Paul Gagner.

News Link: Jeremy Aslaksen and Paul Gagner have climbed a very hard new aid route on the south face of King Fisher in the Fisher Towers of southeastern Utah. Weird Science (V 5.7 A4 R) is a 500-foot route with four long pitches and a short exit pitch, left of Jim Beyer’s Death of American Democracy (5.10 A4 R). The climbers drilled only 14 holes for protection on the route, finding the crux on the first pitch. After a few moves to get off the ground, Aslaksen placed two bolts and then launched into a no-falls-allowed string of 24 beaks in a row.

The two climbers warmed up with the third ascent of The Big Nasty (V 5.8R A4, Raleigh-Shipley, 1997) on Doric Column in the Mystery Towers, adding a variation start. On their second day of climbing, they topped out near sunset and had to endure a forced bivy at the base of the tower before walking out the next morning.

Aslaksen has posted a fun, well-illustrated trip report at Supertopo.com.