Tiki Tower is a thin 300-foot (91-meter) tall sandstone pinnacle located in the Airport Tower/Monster Tower/Washer Woman area of the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, in San Juan County, Utah.[2] It is situated one-half mile northwest of Airport Tower, and is composed of Wingate Sandstone, which is the remains of wind-borne sand dunes deposited approximately 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic. Access to this tower is via the four-wheel-drive White Rim Road. The top of this spire rises 1,100 feet above the road in a little more than one mile. Precipitation runoff from Tiki Tower drains southeast into the nearby Colorado River via Buck and Lathrop Canyons. The first ascent of Tiki Tower was made in November 1991 by Jeff Widen and Mitch Allen, via Brave Little Toaster (5.11, 3 pitches), with Fred Lifton and Paul Frank working the first pitch.[3][4]
| Tiki Tower | |
|---|---|
 Tiki Tower to right, north aspect | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,500 ft (1,700 m)[1] |
| Prominence | 160 ft (49 m)[1] |
| Parent peak | Point 5601[1] |
| Isolation | 0.09 mi (0.14 km)[1] |
| Coordinates | 38°23′54″N 109°48′54″W / 38.3984°N 109.8149°W[1] |
| Geography | |
  Tiki Tower Location of Tiki Tower in Utah  Tiki Tower Tiki Tower (the United States) | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | San Juan |
| Protected area | Canyonlands National Park |
| Parent range | Colorado Plateau |
| Topo map | USGS Musselman Arch |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Late Triassic |
| Rock type | Wingate Sandstone |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1991 |
| Easiest route | class 5.9 A1 Climbing[1] |
Climate
editSpring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Tiki Tower. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is 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.[5] This desert climate receives less than 10 inches (250 millimeters) of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Tiki Tower - 5,500' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
- ^ Cameron Burns, Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah, 1999, Mountaineers Books, ISBN 9780898866575, page 96.
- ^ "First Ascent Timeline". DesertTowersBook.
- ^ Cameron Burns, Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah, 1999, Mountaineers Books, ISBN 9780898866575, page 106.
- ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.
External links
edit- Canyonlands National Park National Park Service
- Tiki Tower weather forecast: National Weather Service
- Tiki Tower rock climbing: Mountainproject.com