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(28 votes) Published: Jun 11, 2000 12:00 a.m. Viewed 418 times
When you hear someone mention the Fisher Towers
you either have no idea what they are talking about or
you think of a bizarre moonscape of towers and walls
This area of Southern Utah draws people from all over
to hike,photograph, and climb the towers. Location
The Fisher Towers are located about 23 miles north of
Moab on U.S.Highway 128, a few miles past the
Castle Valley turnoff. The area is on public land that
is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
There is a small camping area with picnic tabl es, that
have overhead sun/rain shelters and outhouses. The
nearest drinking water is in Moab. History The Fisher
Towers are composed of Cutler sandstone and were
named from a prospector who lived there in the late
1800’s.
All of the towers in the group were named by climbers during first ascents. The
Cutler Formation can be found in Canyonlands all the way to Cutler Creek,
Colorado. The towers are the best example of the Cutler group. The rock is from
the Permian Period, 230-290 million years ago. The towers are characterized by
fluted runnels with grotesquely carved summit gargoyles and curtains of mud that
add to the appearance. All of the towers have a Moenkopi cap rock near the
summit that slows the erosion of the towers.There are five main towers in the
group. The tallest is the Titan, named from the first ascent party in 1962, Layton
Kor,Huntley Ingalls, and George Hurley and stands 900 feet tall. They named their
route the Finger of Fate. The first ascent is told in a November 1962, National
Geographic article. From the campground there is a trail that wanders throughout
the towers and ends a short distance beyond the Titan to a scenic overlook. From
here one can see the LaSal Mountains rising to 13,000 feet to the east, the
Colorado River to the west and the eerie formations all around. Onion Creek is a
short distance to the south and is an excellent mountain bike ride that descends
from the LaSal’s. When you talk about the Fisher Towers to a climber images of
fear, bad anchors and rock with no protection could enter their minds. And trying
to convince someone to go climbing there can be futile. Sure there are routes like
that but there are also some moderate free and somewhat clean routes also. I have
read articles on climbing in the Fisher’s were the climbers wore golf shoes and
used ice axes to claw their way up the faces, save those items for the links and
ice routes. As a reasonable route for the virgin Fishers’ climber I would suggest
Ancient Art. This route is four pitches in length and is predominantly free with a
few fixed pins for aid. Basically you climb up a chimney system to a ridge and up
the final corkscrew summit. Four rappels brings you back down. The gear required
is a standard desert rack. There are other small hoodoos to mantle up onto also but
get down there quickly as some do not look like they will be standing for long. If
you are the type of climber that likes to carry heavy piton racks and a hammer this
is also a mecca for you. Most of the longer routes require all the tricks of aid
climbing and the gear to perform them. Most parties bring several ropes with them
and fix pitches to the ground until high enough to complete the route in a day. If
you decide to fix it is recommended to use static rope due to the coarse nature of
the rock. Basically jumaring in the Fishers with a dynamic rope, no matter how
rounded the edge will surely saw through your rope. This last spring I fixed pitches
on the route Death of American Democracy, on the Kingfisher Tower and put a
neat hole in the lead line while jugging up to the high point. This is a route put up
by Jim Beyer, solo, in 1986. Beyer has pioneered a hard aid route up each of the
five main towers almost ten years ago. His routes are finally seeing successive
ascents. The climbing in the Fisher Towers is considered remote and scary by
todays standards and to think about Beyer doing first ascents, solo, is incredible.
The rock quality is actually really good, it is the huge curtains of mud that can be
scary. Some routes require a lot of cleaning to get to the good rock, once there the
rock is as solid as Navajo sandstone, Zion type rock. I was able to bend several
birdbeaks by trying to pound them directly into a seam that was not really there.
The first pitch on the route, was the crux and required my full attention. I placed
several beaks, used hooks and even alumi-heads, over a five and a half hour lead
to get to the top of the pitch. During this time some other climbers summited on
the Colorado NE Ridge route and rapped back down. After this pitch I came down
with a heavy case of ’snail-eye’ and bailed on my efforts to solo the route. I left a
rope fixed and headed home to find a partner. I convinced a friend to join me. The
weather was not cooperating and it took two trips to complete the route. The
fourth pitch was entertaining. When we jumared the fix ropes that had been
hanging th! ere for about a weeks worth of storms they were creaking and coated
in mud. This is when the lead rope developed a gobi. About twenty feet up the
fourth pitch I had some trouble getting anything to hold body weight. I tried beaks,
and aluminum heads yet the slightest bounce test would rip the placement out.
This can get the blood flowing, especially when the sheath of the rope is held
together with climbing tape. Finally I found the right placement and moved on,
relief. The next piece looked like an A1 pin placement, so I wailed away trying to
bury the pin to the eye when,on a back swing the end of the hammer flew off
nearly taking Scott out at the belay. He sent up his hammer and eventually I
finished the pitch. Now just fifty easy feet from the summit the climbing was
actually fun. On the summit we adjusted our attitudes and got ready for the easy
rappel to the ground. The Fisher Towers are an incredible place to hike and climb.
They are more than loose rock and bad anchors and dirt in the eyes. Everyone that
hikes around the towers will be in awe by the wind sculpted forms and the
contrast in colors from rock to vegetation. Enjoy.
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