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Volunteer Park Water Tower 
Volunteer Park Water Tower (traverse) 

Volunteer Park Water Tower 

5.9+

   
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Type: TR, 1 pitch, 75 feet
Consensus: 5.9- [details]
FA: Alex Martinez 6/8/09
Submitted By: Eliza Penick on Aug 13, 2009

You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (3)
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Heading up the tower

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Description 

Three fun expanses of brick wall, separated by cement ledges. Brick is uneven with lots of little holds and pockets. Route will depend on which side of the tower you choose to climb. Watch out for the cement ledges, from underneath they look positive, but they are slopers!
You can also spend an enjoyable afternoon traversing around the base of the tower.


Location 

The tower was built as a water reservoir in 1906, but is now empty. It is located in the middle of Volunteer Park in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Address: 1247 15th Ave. E
From the inside of the tower, choose your window & anchor spot & that will decide which side of the tower you'll climb.
We climbed the east facing side, just to the right of a tall, very leafy tree.


Protection 

Climb the inside of the tower and rig an anchor to one of the fixed metal banisters. Feed the rope through the window grating onto the ledge & then use a stick to drop the rope over the edge. Belay from the top, inside the tower. Once the climber reaches the top they will need to be lowered down, as all the windows have grating.



Photos of Volunteer Park Water Tower Slideshow Add Photo
alex, post first ascent

alex, post first ascent

warming up on the traverse

warming up on the traverse

How I setup the belay from inside.

BETA PHOTO: How I setup the belay from inside.

You can see all of the great holds.

You can see all of the great holds.


Comments on Volunteer Park Water Tower Add Comment
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By chrishar
From: Bishop, CA
Apr 15, 2011

Nice FA!

By Panjojo
Oct 10, 2012
rating: 5.8

Really fun climb. For location alone its a classic. Many variations ranging from 5.8 to 5.10+ (imo).

An alternative to belaying from the top is setting up a traditional TR. Most carabiners will fit through the grating at the top, the only concern being rope drag which can be easily nullified with slings.