This picture is a view of the southwest aspect of Boxtop. The smaller structure to the left is known as “Little Boxtop.”

For the climb of Boxtop, I was with Sid and Kathy (both former students). The route begins by climbing part way up the west side of Little Boxtop, then traversing a ledge to the east. The ledge ends in a convenient platform where one can belay the most difficult portion of the climb. (The route and belay platform are shown in red.) Upon reaching the platform, it was Kathy's turn to belay and I took the lead for the difficult pitch.

Stepping off the platform, one is immediately climbing with over 100 feet of exposure down a wide chimney. I placed a piton for protection and continued up the chimney to a fixed piton apparently left on the first ascent. I was getting a bit far above my last piton but figured I would soon clip into the fixed piton and use it for aid as described in the guide. I reached the piton, grabbed it – and it came right out! I was so surprised I dropped it and then had to listen to it “ping, ping, ping” down the chimney as a reminder of the exposure. When the piton came out, I lost one of my foot holds and pivoted out, held only by the fingers of one hand jammed into a crack and one foot on a tiny flake. I re-established hand and foot holds and regained my sang-froid, but now was in too awkward and tenuous a position to replace the piton with one of my own.

In these situations it is easier to go up than try to climb down. It was about 10 feet straight down to my last protection, so a fall would mean 20 feet of air before the rope came tight. I outweighed Kathy by at least 40 pounds; there would be a lot of kinetic energy for her to absorb. I yelled to Kathy to be ready for a big fall and for Sid to help her break the fall. I managed to work my way up the rock a little way, reached up and found a place to stick my left hand into a crack and wedge it in by making a fist. I started working my feet and other hand up the rock using the fist jam to hold most of my weight. As I moved up my left arm moved up as well, causing my fist to rotate and slip down the crack. I was finally pushing down with my left arm and about to push my fist out of the crack when I reached a good hold with my right hand. (This all took place where the red line goes behind a protruding block.) From there it was an easy scramble to a comfortable belay spot where I could settle down and be glad I had done an aid move free. A later edition of Beckey's guide classifies the move as a “hard Class 5 move or aid.” One must keep in mind that “hard Class 5” takes on special meaning in the Enchantments, where rescue and medical care is at least a day away.

Kathy was unnerved by the difficulty of the section I had just done and decided to remain at her belay spot to wait for Sid and I to complete the climb. Sid had the benefit of an upper belay to get past the difficult portion and made it with some effort. He then continued on to lead the easier portions beyond. An interesting aspect of this route is that it proceeds through a “tunnel” onto the north side of the structure and continues to the summit from there. (The tunnel is where the red line ends.)