Weekend Whipper: 60-Footer on Castleton Tower (Trad Fall)
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Nicholas Neeley takes a 60-foot fall off North Chimney (5.8) of Castleton Tower, outside of Moab, Utah.
“I was pulling the last few moves over a bulge [near the top of the first pitch],” he tells Rock and Ice. “On the underside of the bulge
the crack is lined with rather slippery calcite. If you watch closely, you can see my foot slip once and I catch it. But upon moving up the bulge
a bit, I had a little trouble seeing an finding a good foot placement.
“When my foot slips a second time I’m unable to catch it. In the fuss of trying to get my foot into the crack I managed to get the rope behind my leg
which inverted me as I fell.”
Neeley’s upper two pieces, size 0.3 (blue) and 2 (yellow) Camalots, both ripped out before an abandoned and welded 0.75 (green) that he had clipped
caught the 60-foot fall.
“Ultimately, I was pretty shaken, but I bumped back up the route and finished the pitch,” he says. “I consider myself extremely lucky to have walked away
from that with a mere abrasion on my shin, some torn jeans, and a hefty rope burn on my thigh.”
Happy Friday and climb safe this weekend!
