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12-Jan-2005

Totem Pole gets second onsight ascent by visiting American
American Mark Anderson has claimed the second onsight ascent of the Totem Pole in Tasmania. He climbed the route in late December with his partner Kate Zimmerman. He chose to climb the 70m spire by the original free route which features two pitches of grade 25. Mark said “…the Totem Pole is the sickest, most amazing tower I've ever seen, let alone climbed. I've climbed more than 30 desert towers in Utah, and I've never seen anything that compares to the Totem Pole. The height of the thing, and the perspective from the Cape give the illusion that it actually gets wider/thicker as it gets taller, which is a stunning illusion! And that doesn't even consider the setting of the Totem Pole, which is simply surreal. So often a climbing objective looks really cool, but isn't particularly fun to climb. This is not the case with the Totem Pole. Not only does it look sweet, but the climbing is absolutely awesome. The rock is excellent, the moves are enjoyable, and the setting is completely unmatched. In terms of pure enjoyment and satisfaction, it was one of the best climbing days I've ever had! It sounds cliche, but a route like that is the reason you learn to climb.” The first onsight ascent of the spire in 2003 was by Monique Forestier via the Deep Play variant on pitch 1.