Though goofing off with the cat is fun, we had work to do, a summit to conquer. On the list for the day was the mighty Lizard Rock. Lizard Rock is a short tower, but fun nonetheless. And it was close to the car and the wind couldn't cause stuck ropes on the rappel since it is only one pitch.
Dave cruised up it. I did too. Only later did I look at the back side of this formation and wonder how the hell it was still standing!
We packed up camp and headed to Castle Valley. Our destination was Castleton - a beautiful desert tower. The weather was looking a bit iffy, but it was steadily improving. We finally made the decision to go for it. From the looks of Castleton, I believe the crux is the approach - 1400 to 1500' vertical gain. It felt that way too. In the photo, Castleton is to the right. The tower itself is about 400' high.
We did the North Chimney climb. It was quite physical - and the sandstone was SOFT! As we progressed, the wind got worse, and the temperature really dropped. And then it started raining. Then hailing. Then later snowing. We were really cold and wet by the time we got to the top and needed to hurry down. More than one person has gotten struck by lightning here.
I signed the summit register and we started rapping. I believe it was a series of four raps, and some "fun" wet sandstone down-climbing and we could begin the hike back to the camper. It was nice getting in the Great White (the camper) having some hot tea and warming up.
We were surprised to see all the fresh snow on the surrounding mountains. It's May for goodness sakes!
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