Find Nearby Peaks

There is limited climbing and access information for this formation and its neighbors (Thimble Tower and Steeple Tower) on Page 176 of the book. Brian Westphal has carefully evaluated the LiDAR data, researched the historical record, and pinned down the exact location, elevation, and prominence of all three towers. He has significantly updated the information found in the book. I have included Brian’s report for all three towers on this page and in the website’s Climbing History section. Published April 2026

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Splinter Tower is the highest point of a group of three towers collectively known as the Splinter Towers. These three towers (Splinter, Thimble, and Steeple) are located on the Heyburn Divide just southwest of the West Pinnacle. The minimal available route information is at the bottom of this page. USGS Mount Cramer

Splinter Towers History

There were three writeups for the Splinters from 1948: 1) Ralph Widrig in The Mountaineer (Seattle) [Vol. 39, No. 14 (1948)], 2) W.V. Graham Mathews in Appalachia [Vol. 47 (1948)], and 3) Fred Beckey’s American Alpine Journal [Vol. 7, No. 2 (1949)].

Between the three writeups, the following can be derived; a) the Splinter Towers “guard one of the ridges from Mount Heyburn which runs west and south toward Alpine Lake”, b) Thimble was the “first” or lowest if coming from Heyburn area, c) Thimble had 200 feet of “high angle slab” requiring at least two pitons for last 40 feet, d) started on north side of Steeple then moved to the west ridge on a friction slab with no pitons needed and a very small summit, and e) Splinter Tower was the highest at “10,200” and was climbed via a Class 4 route on the south face over six or seven leads.

From these descriptions, the map and poor photo (see below) from Mathews, and a photo (also below) from Derek: I am fairly certain of the location of the Splinters now. Its interesting to note that similar features appear on both Mathews’ photo and Derek’s albeit slightly off due to location.

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South Face, Class 4

This route covers eight (8) Class Four pitches up the formation’s south face.