Climbing Forecast › Castle Valley › Castleton Tower

CASTLE VALLEY · DESERT SANDSTONE

Castleton Tower weather & climbing conditions

Poor — wet, too windy or closed

Right now

Temp44°F
Wind3 mph
Gusts4 mph
Humidity96.5%
Rain 48hdry
Last rain64h ago

Assessment

1.8mm rain forecast
Do not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Sunday 25 October
Poor
Temp54°F
Rain0.07 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts4 mph
Humidity64%
1.8mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 44° 0.04 in 2 — 88.9%
07:00 43° 0.00 in 3 — 90.3%
08:00 44° dry 3 — 87.2%
09:00 47° dry 5 — 84.8%
10:00 49° dry 3 — 80.9%
11:00 52° 0.01 in 4 — 72.7%
12:00 52° 0.01 in 3 — 70.7%
13:00 54° 0.01 in 3 — 65.3%
14:00 57° 0.00 in 6 — 55.3%
15:00 57° dry 7 — 53%
16:00 57° dry 6 — 53.5%
17:00 56° dry 4 — 56.8%
18:00 53° dry 2 — 71.2%
19:00 51° dry 3 — 73.2%
20:00 49° dry 2 — 75.1%
21:00 48° dry 2 — 74.7%
Mon Monday 26 October
Poor
Temp54°F
Raindry
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity61%
Should be dryOnly 24h since rain — desert sandstone 48h minimum wait
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 42° dry 2 — 92.7%
07:00 41° dry 2 — 94.8%
08:00 40° dry 2 — 95.6%
09:00 44° dry 4 — 84.8%
10:00 48° dry 3 — 74.6%
11:00 52° dry 4 — 67.9%
12:00 54° dry 4 — 60.3%
13:00 55° dry 4 — 58%
14:00 56° dry 5 — 56.8%
15:00 57° dry 4 — 55.5%
16:00 58° dry 3 — 53.3%
17:00 58° dry 3 — 53.5%
18:00 55° dry 2 — 67.7%
19:00 52° dry 2 — 71.9%
20:00 49° dry 3 — 77.1%
21:00 48° dry 2 — 75.5%
Tue Tuesday 27 October
Caution
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind6 mph
Gusts—
Humidity53%
Should be dryDesert sandstone — check base sand is powder-dry before climbing
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 41° dry 6 — 89.4%
07:00 41° dry 5 — 88.5%
08:00 41° dry 5 — 86.6%
09:00 46° dry 6 — 75.7%
10:00 50° dry 6 — 66.5%
11:00 54° dry 4 — 58.7%
12:00 56° dry 5 — 54.6%
13:00 59° dry 5 — 52.6%
14:00 61° dry 7 — 47.2%
15:00 62° dry 8 — 44.5%
16:00 63° dry 9 — 44.1%
17:00 62° dry 7 — 45.2%
18:00 58° dry 4 — 57.9%
Wed Wednesday 28 October
Caution
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind3 mph
Gusts—
Humidity51%
Should be dryDesert sandstone — check base sand is powder-dry before climbing
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 42° dry 2 — 75.9%
12:00 58° dry 3 — 50.5%
18:00 59° dry 1 — 59.3%
Thu Thursday 29 October
Good
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity47%
Should be dry
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 43° dry 2 — 66.1%
12:00 58° dry 4 — 46.8%
18:00 58° dry 1 — 65.8%
Fri Friday 30 October
Good
Temp55°F
Rain0.00 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity58%
Should be dry
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 46° dry 2 — 73.2%
12:00 55° dry 4 — 58.1%
18:00 55° dry 9 — 69.9%
Sat Saturday 31 October
Poor
Temp54°F
Rain0.03 in
Wind2 mph
Gusts—
Humidity75%
0.7mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 47° 0.01 in 1 — 80%
12:00 54° 0.01 in 2 — 75.3%
18:00 56° 0.01 in 4 — 65.2%
Sun Sunday 1 November
Poor
Temp50°F
Rain0.1 in
Wind5 mph
Gusts—
Humidity82%
3.2mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
11:00 51° 0.05 in 5 — 81.9%
17:00 45° 0.01 in 0 — 86%

About Castleton Tower

Castleton Tower is the anchor of Castle Valley and one of the most iconic freestanding desert towers in North America — a 400ft Wingate sandstone tower on a 1000ft Moenkopi-Chinle base, standing above the desert like a rook. Standard 48h wet-Wingate rule applies (BLM guidance) — a rare thunderstorm or winter storm shuts the tower down for two full days minimum. The approach trail crosses Moenkopi mud that becomes unnavigable when wet, so check both the tower AND the approach for dryness. No fixed anchors on some routes — bring a full trad rack.

Region
Castle Valley
Rock type
Desert sandstone
Aspect
mixed-facing
Altitude
6355 ft
Exposure
high
Seepage
very-low

Other crags in this region

Parriot MesaSister SuperiorThe PriestThe Rectory