Rock Climbing on the Iconic Castleton Tower

This is it - these are the desert towers everyone is talking about as the must-do Moab rock climbing routes. Castle Valley is defined by the imposing Castleton Tower and multiple other sandstone towers dominating the skyline and 360-degree views looking towards the La Sal mountains, the Fisher Towers and down the Colorado River. All of the desert tower routes in Castle Valley require previous rock climbing experience, but with routes from 5.9 and upward we’ll help you choose a route appropriate for your climbing abilities, not to mention your perfect sized crack.

Carabiner icon, depicting rock climbing on multipitch desert towers in Moab with a guide.

Multi-pitch rock climbing on desert towers
Routes range from 5.9 to 5.13

Icon of a mountain, depicting the prerequisites required for a hiring a guide to rock climb Castleton Tower.

Intermediate difficulty
Previous multipitch rock climbing experience required

Calendar and clock icon, depicting the schedule for rock climbing with a guide on Castleton Tower.

Full day (8 hours)
Late February - late May & mid September - late November

Waypoint icon, depicting Moab as the location for guided rock climbing.

Moab, Utah
4,990 ft / 1,520 m

Multipitch Desert crack climbing at it’s finest!

  • Castleton Tower

    • North Chimney (5.9-, III)

    • Kor-Ingalls (5.9+, III)

    • North Face (5.11-, III)

    The Rectory

    • Fine Jade (5.11-, III)

    • Ministry (5.11, III)

    The Priest

    • Honeymoon Chimney (5.11-, III)

    Parriot Mesa

    • Super Natural (5.10, III)

  • The rock climbing on Castleton Tower and the other surrounding desert towers demands good crack climbing technique. Skyward Mountaineering guides are also passionate instructors with a breadth of experience coaching climbers to hone their movement skills and peek in their climbing abilities. Castleton Tower’s proximity to world class single pitch crack climbing in Moab, Utah makes it a great place to spend a few days focusing on the nuances of crack climbing. With your specific goals and previous experience in mind, we’ll set up a custom itinerary pairing movement focused instruction with classic multipitch adventures on the desert towers.

Climbing the crux of Fine Jade (5.11-) on the Rectory.
A lead climber starting up pitch two of Terma (5.9-) in Moab.
Sunset over Castle Valley.
A climber following the steep hand crack on pitch one of Castleton Tower's North Chimney.
Following the steep calcite lined crack on the North Face of Castleton Tower.
Following the overhanging stem box on Lighthouse Tower.
Moody weather over Castle Valley.

Frequently asked questions

Below are answers to common questions about climbing Castleton Tower and other Moab desert towers with Skyward Mountaineering:

  • Castleton Tower has several routes of varying difficulty. The North Chimney is the easiest route in Castle Valley, though it’s hardly for beginners. The North Chimney has an original rating from Fred Beckey of 5.8+, though most modern climbers agree the rating is more akin to 5.9 with a few slippery opening moves into a steep corner hand crack system. The second pitch offwidth also is challenging (albeit short) and the climbing is physical so climbers should have a good grasp on crack climbing technique.

    The Kor-Ingalls is a mega-classic route on the south side of Castleton Tower, it’s a great wider crack climb with some offwidth, laybacks, and slippery face climbing on the calcite. This old school route is rated 5.9+ and has physical climbing again demanding that climbers be in good crack climbing shape.

    Other routes such as the North Face of Castleton Tower or Fine Jade on the Rectory step up the difficulty to 5.11 and have challenging crack climbing of a variety of sizes. As the climbing grades get higher, the climbing typically is less wide though the cracks get thinner and steeper, with sections of tricky face climbing too.

    If you want to practice and refine your crack climbing technique, we offer rock climbing prep days at the crags around Moab. Book your crack climbing instructional day to go along with a day of climbing on a desert tower!

  • The approach to Castleton Tower is a 1.25 mile trail with 1,350 ft of elevation gain. The hike follows a steep and sometimes loose trail through the red rock with a few short/easy sections of scrambling but the majority is just steep hiking. The average climbing team with day packs take 1.5 hours to approach the base of Castleton Tower.

  • Yes! Skyward Mountaineering puts a lot of value in working with you to personalize every guided climbing trip, so details like the start time, hiking pace, photos, climbing instruction, bonus pitches afterwards, etc can all be adjusted to meet your specific goals. Your guide will reach out in the days before the climb to discuss these logistics, please let them know if you have any questions or specific requests.

    Additionally, our administrative staff are climbers and guides too and we’re here to support you through the whole process. If you have any questions before booking your guided climb or before the trip starts please reach out to us and we are happy to answer your questions.

  • Welcome to the world of rock climbing, you’re life will likely be different from now on. Moab is an awesome spot for a rock climbing vacation. Castleton Tower would be a challenging place to learn rock climbing so instead we recommend a few days of climbing at the crags around Moab and if you’re up for the challenge by the end of a few days, we’d be psyched to help you climb a desert tower like Castleton! Get in touch to discuss your goals and timeframe and we will create a custom itinerary with recommended training.

  • We guide Castleton Tower and other multipitch desert towers around Moab at a maximum of 2 climbers per guide. If you would like to climb with a group larger than 2 people we can add a guide so everyone is able to climb together. Contact us to discuss a rock climbing trip with groups larger than 4 people.

  • We have a detailed equipment list to help you prepare and pack for your trip. If you have questions about any of the gear please let us know, we’re happy to help make recommendations or clarify.

    Skyward Mountaineering provides all of the technical group climbing equipment, this includes ropes, anchor material, protection, etc. Many of clients are experienced rock climbers and prefer to use their own equipment, as such we only have a small amount of personal equipment for climbers to use. Please let the admin staff or your guide know ASAP if you expect to borrow personal climbing equipment such as backpacks, harness, helmet, belay device, carabiners, personal tether, etc. We do not have a fleet of rock climbing shoes, so this piece of gear is often not included, but again let us know and we can try our best to help.

  • The best weather for rock climbing a desert tower in Moab is spring and fall. Temperatures are moderate and rain events are rare. We recommend March - May and September - November for the best conditions.

  • Rock climbing in Moab is on a soft sandstone that is highly porous. Rain is absorbed into the rock and weakens the bond on hand holds and even bolts. Cams can even have a weaker holding power on the saturated sandstone! In the event of rain within 24 hours of our climbing trip in Moab, we may have to reschedule. This rescheduling will depend on how much rain occurs, whether the sun comes out, and what the wind speed/direction is. Thankfully, it’s rare that we have to cancel or reschedule a climb due to rain.

    Our guides and office staff will work you to coordinate rescheduling, if necessary. For more information on our cancellation policy, please see our terms and conditions and contact us with any other questions.

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Questions?

Our office staff are guides, climbers and skiers - we’re here to help!