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Zowie Tower, South Face w/ variations (One For the Red Team + South Face P3-4 + Magic in the Middle P5 + Magic in the Middle P6 or South Face P6) (5.9, 6p)

Zowie Tower

Route:

South Face w/ variations

(One For the Red Team + South Face P3-4 + Magic in the Middle P5 + Magic in the Middle P6 or South Face P6)
5.9, 6p

Fun.

Region: Colorado
Elev: 11,540 ft
Rock type: Gneiss & Biotite Schist
Type: 
Trip Report 1:
Date(s): July 16, 2018 (Mon)
Partner(s): Annie Hines
Trip Report 2:
Date(s): June 30, 2024 (Sun)
Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

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Trip Reports for Zowie South Face

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Intro

Zowie is the left-hand of two prominent towers on the south side of Otis Peak. Viewed from the south, Zowie looks a lot like the Petit Grepon (apparently some parties have climbed Zowie thinking they were climbing the Petit Grepon). Zowie has several moderate routes up its south face. We climbed to the narrow summit in 6 pitches, creating a direct line to the top by linking a combination of routes as follows: for Pitches 1 & 2, we climbed One For the Red Team, a 2-pitch direct start to the South Face up a striking dihedral; for Pitches 3 & 4, we climbed the South Face, which was rather unremarkable climbing; and for Pitches 5 & 6, we climbed to the summit via the final two pitches of Magic in the Middle, which was some of the best climbing on the route. The "Red Face Magic" link-up!

Due to a forecast of thundershowers by 2pm, we started early, leaving the Glacier Gorge trailhead at 3:50am. We were climbing shortly after 6am, and were on the summit of Zowie just before 10am under clear skies. After a straightforward yet painful (I opted to not bring up approach shoes) descent back to the base of the route, we basked in the sun enjoying an early lunch. By the time we finished lunch, telltale cumulus clouds were starting to form above. We hiked out, stopping briefly at the Loch so Annie could jump in, and just as we arrived back at the trailhead, large droplets of rain started to spot the pavement. An hour later I was sitting in a Starbucks while rain pounded down outside. A typical summer day in Colorado!

This climb wasn't all that challenging, but the rock was mostly solid, the climbing was engaging with a couple of short really good sections, and the tiny summit was awesome. Another fun day climbing with Annie!

The following page gives some photos from the climb.

Time Stats

Glacier Gorge Trailhead to Base of Zowie: 1 hour 52 minutes
Climb Route: 3 hours 30 minutes
Descent to Base: 55 min
Hike from Base to Trailhead (includes jumping in The Loch): 1 hour 44 minutes
Total car-to-car time (includes breaks): 9.5 hours

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Photos:
Photo descriptions:
Approach
Start at Glacier Gorge Trailhead, hike past The Loch for ~1 mi, take trail to Andrews Glacier, tower on right after ~4 miles of hiking. Look for the shortcut around the north side of East Glacier Knob (shown on some maps and not others).
1.    
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
1. Look for the shortcut around the north side of East Glacier Knob, which starts in the location shown in the photo. This shortcut is shown on some maps and not on others. It is not as well-travelled as the main trail so it is easy to miss. But once you are on it it is easy to follow, even in the dark.
Pitch 
1
ONE FOR THE RED TEAM. 5.8. Climb the left-facing dihedral up the middle of the "Flatiron" at the lower right side of the south face. 
2.    3.    
4.  
2. The "Flatiron" at the lower right side of the south face. The dihedral is obvious.
3. Looking up from the base of the dihedral.
4. Looking down from the top of the dihedral.
Pitch 
2
ONE FOR THE RED TEAM. 5.easy. Continue up easy but runnout face to the large ledge above.
5.     
5. Easy yet exposed and scenic climbing on Pitch 2. Sharkstooth in the distance.
Pitch 
3
SOUTH FACE. 5.6. Climb dihedral, chimney, and then crack systems for a long pitch. Can be linked with Pitch 4.
6.    7.  
6. Looking up the dihedral that starts of Pitch 3.
7. The last half of Pitch 3 becomes a little less obvious. I headed a bit up and left in this photo. There was an offwidth up and right that I backed off of.
Pitch 
4
SOUTH FACE. 5.easy. Continue on easy climbing up and left to the base of a steep red wall. Can be linked with Pitch 3.
8.  8. Easy climbing.
Pitch 
5
MAGIC IN THE MIDDLE. 5.9. Head up the center of the steep wall, climbing a right-facing dihedral through a roof to a splitter handcrack, ending at a ledge below the final summit block.
9.    
10.    
9. Looking up the right-facing dihedral. This is a good pitch.
10. A splitter hand crack midway up the pitch.
Pitch
6
MAGIC IN THE MIDDLE. 5.8+. Climb the thin crack just right of the final offwidth pitch of the South Face route.
11.    
12.    
13.    
11. A precariously-perched block at the base of the wall. It's hard to avoid using it for a hand/foot-hold if you climb the thin crack option.
12. Annie leading the thin crack. The offwidth of the regular South Face route is to the left.
13. The thin crack. Careful moving around the block in the photo - it vibrates a bit.
Top!
Awesome summit!
14.    
15.     
14. Summit shadow.
15. Annie on the summit, Sharkstooth in the distance. What a bluebird morning. Hard to believe that about 3 hours later it would start to rain....
Descent
Make two raps (single 60) to notch on north side of Zowie, starting at bolted station on NE end of summit. Scramble west down gully for awhile and make a final rap from brown Metolius bolts over a chokstone in a chimney, and scramble back around to the base. 
16.    
17.    
18.    
19.    
20.    
21.    
22.    
23.    
24.    
25.    
26.    
27.     
16. The rap anchor on the summit.
17. Rapping from the narrow summit. 
18. This photo shows the location of the second rap anchor.
19. Scrambling down the gully. I had opted not to bring approach shoes for this, and I think next time I would bring them.
20. Looking up the gully we scrambled down between Raps 2 and 3. The top of Zowie Tower is on the right.
 21. This photo shows the location of the third rap anchor, a pair of Metolius bolts.
22. Rap 3.
23. Some garnet crystals. Nut tool for scale.
24. Late morning light on Zowie after the climb. The clouds were developing...
25. Annie jumped in The Loch. Refreshing!
26. The shortcut location on the way out. Seems that the park service has made an effort to hide the trail with a tree.
27. Pretty purple trail trim.

Intro

It was finally summer and time to start climbing in RMNP. Zowie Tower—with its moderate grade, south-facing aspect, and fun climbing—is a good early summer objective. Both of us had climbed it already. I suggested we do the same "Red Face Magic" link-up Annie and I had done in 2018. We decided to finish on the final offwidth pitch of the South Face (a pitch neither of us had climbed, and it ended up being our favorite pitch of the route). Overall, a fun day out in the mountains in our backyard!

Below are some photos from the climb.

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

2nd
Start at Glacier Gorge Trailhead, hike past The Loch for ~1 mi, take trail to Andrews Glacier, tower on right after ~4 miles of hiking. Look for the shortcut around the north side of East Glacier Knob (shown on some maps and not others).
To bypas timed entry, you have to enter the park gates before 5am. But you don't need to get started this early for Zowie. So Nate took a nap in the back of his van while I worked on Python tutorials for a coding bootcamp I was taking.
Working on Python tutorials in the Glacier Gorge Parking lot from 5-7am.
Sign at the Glacier Gorge trailhead. Mountain climbing is dangerous. I might disagree with the verb 'ensure'.
Filling up on water in Andrews Creek on the approach. I am on a mission to discover giardia in RMNP, so I don't treat my water.
Zowie has the obvious spire summit.
Alpine columbine on approach.
Zowie.

Pitch 1

5.8
One for the Red Team
Climb the left-facing dihedral up the middle of the "Flatiron" at the lower right side of the south face. 
At the base of the first pitch.
Looking up the first pitch.
Higher up on Pitch 1.
A natural handle in the rock.

Pitch 2

5.easy
One for the Red Team
Continue up easy but runnout face to the large ledge above.
No photos of Pitch 2. See photos of Pitch 2 from 2018 trip report.

Pitch 3

5.6
South Face
Climb dihedral, chimney, and then crack systems for a long pitch. Can be linked with Pitch 4.
Pitch 3 climbs the dihedral.
There was another party on the South Face climbing the dihedral, so we decided to climb to the right and pass them.
Our Pitch 3, to the right of the actual Pitch 3 of the South Face route.
An old piton on our Pitch 3 variation. Someone had been this way before.

Pitch 4

5.easy
South Face
Continue on easy climbing up and left to the base of a steep red wall. Can be linked with Pitch 3.
No photos of Pitch 4. See photos of Pitch 2 from 2018 trip report.

Pitch 5

5.9
Magic in the Middle
Head up the center of the steep wall, climbing a right-facing dihedral through a roof to a splitter handcrack, ending at a ledge below the final summit block.
Looking up the pitch. This is a good pitch of climbing.
Splitter!

Pitch 6

5.8+
South Face
In 2018, Annie and I had climbed the last pitch of Magic in the Middle, which climbs a thin crack just right (5.8+) just right of the final offwidth pitch of the South Face route. In 2024, Nate and I decided to climb the final offwidth pitch of the South Face route. This is a unique pitch with a committing move about halfway up.
Pitch 6.
Chimney/offwidth. There are lots of face holds.
An old piton on the pitch.

Top

11,540'
Awesome summit!
No photos of summit. See photos from 2018 trip report.

Descent

Rappel + Scramble
Make two raps (single 60) to notch on north side of Zowie, starting at bolted station on NE end of summit. Scramble west down gully for awhile and make a final rap from brown Metolius bolts over a chokstone in a chimney, and scramble back around to the base. 
Nate on the rappel from the summit.
The second rappel to the notch behind the tower.
Looking down the descent gully. Sharkstooth and Taylor Peak above.
Metolius rap bolts at the third rapppel.
The third rappel goes over a giant chockstone.
A view back up at Zowie's spire summit. Wham (which I have not yet climbed) is on the right.

Previous and Next Adventures

Trip Report 1

Mt. Meeker (Flying Buttress), RMNP, CO
Rock of Ages (Days of Heaven), RMNP, CO

Trip Report 2

Rock of Ages (various routes), RMNP, CO
Hallett Peak (Culp-Bossier), RMNP, CO

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Useful beta. Updated route information. Corrections. Historical notes. Interesting facts. No fluff please.
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