Neither Natalie nor I had been to Colorado National Monument before, so we were eager to check it out and willing to make the 4.5 hour drive from Boulder just for one day of climbing (two days would have been better, but I have to split my weekends between climbing and math these days). Climbing in a cool area is always worth the drive though, and even more so if we could squeeze in two tower routes in a day. Our primary objective was Medicine Man on Sentinel Spire. This route ascends a crack system up the center of the east face of Sentinel Spire. This route is one of the best in the area, featuring exposed and steep desert crack climbing climbing, one of the best splitters in the desert, and a cool summit. We were on the top before noon, with plenty of time to rap down and hike across the valley floor to Independence Monument to climb Otto's Route....

Gear beta: This is the type of route where a standard double rack is not going to suffice. Our rack was 1 #0.2, 2 #0.3, 2 #0.4, 2 #0.5, 5 #0.75, 6 #1, 2 #2, 1 #3, and 1 #4. This seemed like the perfect rack for us, but it would have been fine to have just 1 big cam (I'd probably opt for the #4, since it was nice to have at a cruxy bulge near the top of Pitch 2, whereas the #3 seemed pretty optional at the one place we used it). Also, 6 draws and 4 shoulder-length slings seemed plenty sufficient as a lot of the gear-heavy sections are fairly straight up and splitter and we clipped cams directly. All belays are bolted on tis route. A single 70 m rope gets you down in 2 rappels. Because you rap the opposite side of the formation, you'll probably want to leave extra stuff at the base of Fast Draw and then scramble over to base of route from there. The scramble is far enough to warrant approach shoes.

Natalie and I climbed this as the second of a two-tower link-up. We had climbed Medicine Man on Sentinel Spire that morning, and finished with plenty of time to hike across the valley floor and climb the popular Otto's Route on Independence Monument. The route is climbed in four short pitches that finishes with the last steep and exposed prow to the awesome summit. This is a historic climb, first climbed in 1911. The FA, Otto, drilled and chopped many holds in the soft sandstone to aid up this route with pipes in the holes, but now just the holes remain, making the route quite unique, fun, and moderate. The climb is also on the north side of the tower, so is in the shade.

Gear beta: I set one cam the entire climb: the #4, on the wide crack on the second pitch. This was partly due to the fact that there was a party of 10 (!) that arrived at the base just before us, so I was in the mode of passing them quickly, and placing gear just took time and tangled ropes. But it was mostly due to the fact that the climb has drilled holes and chopped steps at all of the cruxes, so it was quite moderate climbing. Plus the upper pitches had several bolts for protection, since there's not an abundance of gear opportunities up there. I would recommend just bringing a few cams (the #4 was nice to have) and about 10 draws/slings. Fast and light is the way to go! We were ground to summit in just over an hour. A single 70 m rope got us back to the base of the route in three raps, so you can even leave your approach shoes at the base. A 60m rope would be a bit short for a couple of the raps.

Terra Tower is a significant natural feature within Colorado National Monument, a towering sandstone pillar located on the Redlands escarpment. As of May 2025, I know of two routes to the top: A short sandy two pitch route from the saddle or a four-pitch up the tallest, proudest face of the tower. We climbed the latter, known as the Tom Stubbs Memorial Route (5.11, 4p).

A bit of route history (from the mountainproject post for this route): Sometime in the '80s, Tom Stubbs and Joe Calin attempted a wicked looking line on the front side of Terra Tower. Three pitches up they were shut down by the need for thin, direct aid to bypass a section of rock that lead into a humongous wide roof. The route faded into obscurity, only getting a small mention about the need for large-sized units & offwidths and overhangs in Desert Rock III. Fast forward to 2008. Having Eyeballed it for years, James Stover and Doug Mckee started cleaning up this modern day classic. The webbing at the Pitch 2 anchors was so old it simply tore away from its knife blade home with a gentle tug. They added a bolt to the thin section on Pitch 4 making it a sane lead. They brought the Pitch 2 and Pitch 3 anchors up to safe standards. In the Fall of 2012, James and Doug added the final piece to this gem, finishing a free line all the way to the top. Pitches 1, 2, & 3 involve all types and variations of fantastic hand jamming, & Pitch 4 is just plain wild! James and Doug believe they rediscovered one of the best climbs in The Monument. A full on desert adventure a stones throw from town.

Earlier in the week Skyeler and I had climbed the North Face (5.11, 3p) of Castleton Tower. We had a blast. So when Skyeler proposed we climb the Tom Stubbs Memorial Route (5.11, 4p)—a route he had had on his to-climb list for years—I was easily convinced to join. We climbed the route in fix-and-follow method, with me leading and Skyeler following. I admit to pulling on a cam in the burly slot at the start of Pitch 2 and on the 5.11 traverse at the start of Pitch 4, but other than that the route went free for me. And Skyeler got the tronsight! I have not climbed enough routes in The Monument to conclude whether or not this route is one of the best there, but it is certainly worthy and deserves more traffic. It is a fun tower adventure route.

The following page gives pitch-by-pitch photos for the route. Thanks Skyeler for proposing this adventure!

After climbing the route, here would be the rack I would bring if I climbed the route again:

#7-1,
#6-1,
#5-1 (optional),
#4-1 (I had 2, but 1 should be fine),
#3-2 (I had 3, but I at most placed 2 per pitch),
#2-3,
#1-3
#.75-2,
#.5-1,
#.4-1,
#.3-1,
#.2-1,
#.1-1,
6 24" Slings
6 lightweight draws

Notes: I had a #5, and I did place it a couple of times, but always felt that another piece could have been placed nearby. The #6 and #7 were more useful overall. I did not bring nor need any nuts.