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The King’s Pawn

5.8 C1, Trad, Aid, 175 ft (53 m), 2 pitches,  Avg: 3 from 1 vote
FA: Mike Tea and Tyler Phillips, Spring 2008
Utah > S Central Utah > San Rafael Swell > San Rafael Swel… > Mexican Mtn Rd… > Castle in the Sky Amp…

Description

This route was not established by me. This tower is visible from Mexican Mtn Road and the tower casts a shadow on the wall behind.

We climbed this tower in two pitches and approached from the right (east) side of the tower. There is a ramp up the side of the tower that leads to an easy chimney. We solo'd up this chimney to a ledge to rope up.

Pitch 1: Climb up the easy chimney box with the hand crack on the left side and larger crack on the right. There is an engaging step around to the left that led to the larger crack and the ledge for the belay. There is a reachy 2-bolt belay on the ledge.

Pitch 2: Lead up the bolt ladder. The first move requires a micro cam (we used a BD Red #1 C3). There was then a bolt, fixed nut and 13 bolts. This pitch ends up being ~15 bolts, the small cam and fixed nut.

The bolted anchor on the summit is fine, but could use more webbing to set up the rappel in a desirable manner.

Rap: We used a quad length runner to rappel to the east. If longer material is brought it could be ideal to rap down the south face of the tower. We brought 2 70m ropes and reached the ground easily. It may be possible to use a single rope and rap back to the anchor at the top of pitch 1. That anchor had 2 rap rings on it, but the next rap would be to the west and we didn't want to risk any stuck ropes.

Location

This tower is located down the east fork of this amphitheater. Check the approach info from the area page. 

Protection

A single rack with micro cams and 16 alpine/quickdraws (or less if you back clean any bolts).

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Harrison leads up the bolt ladder. These were some of the most reachy bolts we've encountered. Way worse than Thin Man Pinnacle, The Light Bulb, Trilobite Tower.
[Hide Photo] Harrison leads up the bolt ladder. These were some of the most reachy bolts we've encountered. Way worse than Thin Man Pinnacle, The Light Bulb, Trilobite Tower.
It's good to be the King". Tyler Phillips on the FA
[Hide Photo] It's good to be the King". Tyler Phillips on the FA
A photo from the base of the ledge where you can rope up.
[Hide Photo] A photo from the base of the ledge where you can rope up.
This is part of the approach on the east side of the tower. The chimney is easily climbed and we solo'd this up and down in approach shoes.
[Hide Photo] This is part of the approach on the east side of the tower. The chimney is easily climbed and we solo'd this up and down in approach shoes.
Crappy angle, but this was the quad length runner I used to rap down the east side of the tower. There is a cord that equalized a few bolts together. A couple bolts seemed to be in fine condition and some others were questionable.
[Hide Photo] Crappy angle, but this was the quad length runner I used to rap down the east side of the tower. There is a cord that equalized a few bolts together. A couple bolts seemed to be in fine condition a…

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Tea
[Hide Comment] This tower was dubbed "The King's Pawn" and can be hard to spot when the light isn't right as it blends into the wall. Climbed by Mike Tea and Tyler Phillips spring 2008. We started on the opposite side than the description above, and belayed at the tater tot chockstone...then up the tall guy bolt ladder. Fun summit with great views. Bring your crown. Sep 23, 2021
James Klaers
Boulder and Leadville, CO.…
  5.8 C1
[Hide Comment] Thanks for the info Mike. I assume you two bolted the upper pitch on lead?
Nice work! Sep 23, 2021
Tyler Phillips
Cottonwood Heights, UT
[Hide Comment] The upper pitch was mine and it was bolted on lead. So did you guys climb the 5.8 wide start? Or go in from the other side? Sep 30, 2021
James Klaers
Boulder and Leadville, CO.…
  5.8 C1
[Hide Comment] We climbed from the east side approach. It seemed 5.8 as well. Sounds like you two did the start that’s on its west side. We looked at both sides and they looked somewhat similar. Oct 9, 2021