The history of desert tower climbing has always been punctuated with eccentric characters like hockey is punctuated with fights. Just like the first ever indoor hockey game ended with a bench-clearing brawl (seriously, look it up), the first desert tower ever climbed saw an FA from one of the most out-there dudes to ever tie into a rope.
John Otto was crazy. Like, he spent time in mental hospitals crazy. Like, he was once arrested for attacking the governor of Colorado crazy. But he was also a visionary. He pushed for the formation of National Parks and the 8-hour work day long before either was trendy. While living in a tent outside Fruita, he campaigned to create the Colorado National Monument, and then was appointed to run the place.
Then, he decided that someone should probably stand on top of the most obvious formation there—Independence Monument. Because climbing gear and techniques in 1911 were not what they are today, no one had even considered trying to climb a 550 foot sandstone tower. Otto’s solution was to drill holes and drive steel pipes into the holes so he could stand on one and drill the next. It wasn’t until 1956 that someone was crazy enough to follow in his footsteps and make the second ascent.
By today’s standards, Otto’s Route on Independence Monument is super mellow, but it’s amazing. Every pitch is like climbing through a museum, and you can’t help but respect the man who drilled his way to the top more than 100 years ago.
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