Chip and Dale Towers

Chip and Dale Towers are two 300-foot (91-meter) tall sandstone towers located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in San Juan County, Utah. Dale Tower rises to an elevation of 5,620 feet (1,710 meters), whereas the lower Chip Tower is 5,420-feet. Airport Tower is set 2.5 mi (4.0 km) to the southwest, and Dead Horse Point State Park overlook is situated 4.5 mi (7.2 km) to the north-northeast. Chip and Dale Towers are an eroded fin composed of hard, fine-grained Wingate Sandstone, which is the remains of wind-borne sand dunes deposited approximately 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic. This Wingate Sandstone overlays a softer layer of the Chinle Formation. Access to the towers is via the four-wheel drive White Rim Road, and a scramble to reach the base.[3] The top of the towers rise over 1,000 feet above the road in approximately one-half mile. Precipitation runoff from Chip and Dale Towers drains east to the nearby Colorado River.

Chip and Dale Towers
Chip and Dale Towers, east aspect
Highest point
Elevation5,620 ft (1,710 m) [1]
Prominence120 ft (37 m) [1]
Isolation0.83 mi (1.34 km) [1]
Coordinates38°24′59″N 109°46′40″W [1]
Geography
Chip and Dale Towers
Location in Utah
Chip and Dale Towers
Chip and Dale Towers (the United States)
LocationCanyonlands National Park
San Juan County, Utah, U.S.
Parent rangeColorado Plateau
Topo mapUSGS Musselman Arch
Geology
Age of rockLate Triassic
Type of rockWingate Sandstone
Climbing
First ascent1993, 1994
Easiest routeclass 5.9 climbing[1][2]

Climbing

The first ascent of 240-foot Chip Tower was made in October 1993 by Jeff Widen and Jeff Singer via Stuffin Nuts, (III, class 5.9, A2) on the south face.[4] The first ascent of 330-foot Dale Tower was made October 2, 1994, by Jeff Widen, Cameron Burns, and Jeff Singer, via Boy's Night Out, (III, 5.9, Al, 3 pitches).[5] [6] The National Park Service temporarily closes access to these climbing routes to protect wildlife habitat for lambing desert bighorn sheep and nesting raptors season (March through August).[7]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, the towers are located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below −0 °C (32 °F) and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than 10 inches (250 millimeters) of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.

Point 5931 with Chip and Dale Towers to right

See also

References
  1. ""Dale Tower" - 5,620' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  2. ""Chip Tower" - 5,420' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  3. Cameron M. Burns, Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah, The Mountaineers Books, 1999, page 96.
  4. Cameron Burns, The American Alpine Journal, 1994, page 142.
  5. "First Ascent Timeline". DesertTowersBook.
  6. "AAC Publications - North America, United States, Utah, Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky District". publications.americanalpineclub.org.
  7. Moab, Mailing Address: 2282 Resource Blvd; Us, UT 84532 Phone: 435-719-2313 Contact. "Climbing - Canyonlands National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
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