Citadel, The

The Citadel is one of the Organ's better known climbing spots. It is home to several well established routes in a wonderful secluded setting. Dennis Jackson's guide only highlights the best climbs on this formation. There is still lots of room for exploration.

Coming from the bottom of the Rabbit Ears Canyon, the bottom part of the formation starts as a nearly vertical north-facing wall. The routes on this wall are all clustered near its right end. Murray's Crack is the right one of the two obvious off-widths. Finger Zinger is on a slab to the right of it and starts near a tree growing close to the wall. Arch Rival begins in the well defined arch to the right of that. The Nose is on the nose, as it should be. The West Ridge starts past the end of that face on the west-facing wall and switches back and forth between the north and west faces as it winds its way up.

If you go to the left of this cluster or routes, the wall becomes quite forbidding until it is interrupted by a large gully coming in at an angle from the right. The next section of the north-facing wall is set well back. This wall is shorter and routes start immediately at its east end with Glad We Came on the northeast arete. Next, in a corner, is Wish You Were Here, and then Styx n Stones.

Around the corner past Glad We Came is Clem's Folly. Here the rock faces more east than north.

When the sun is high in the sky, it may tent to shine directly down the face for some of these routes, but there will usually be shady and sunny faces to be found here.