Moab, UT
On Friday we drove north on UT-128 along the Colorado River to visit an area known as Fisher Towers. Fisher Towers are a series of towers made of sandstone named for a miner who lived near them in the 1880s. You may have seen the towers and not even know it if you’ve seen the Citibank commercial on TV where a girl climbs to the top of a narrow tower known as Ancient Arts. Click here to view it.
Citibank Commercial
Ancient Arts in the circle
You can’t tell from the picture above but there are at least ten hikers at various spots below Ancient Arts. We decided to sit for a while and watch their progress.
The most comfortable position to watch rock climbers
Below you can see two climbers on the right making their way up the cliff, while the hiker on the right is rappelling back down. It takes hours to get to the top, but only minutes to get back down.
We sat for a while to watch one climber make the final climb to the top.
The final climb to the top took him about half an hour, he stood on top for a few seconds, then back down he came.
Some climbers show incredible stupidity bravery at the top.
At one point Pam became so focused on watching the climbers that she failed to notice John was missing. When she realized he was gone she frantically searched for him, to no avail. She asked two nearby hikers if they had seen him and they just pointed up to the top of the tower. She could barely see someone up there, so she used the camera to zoom in for a closer look. Guess who was up there!
The final ascent
After John quickly rappelled back down, we sat back and enjoyed lunch while watching others climb up the tower.
After lunch we continued hiking up the trail into the towers.
The views were outstanding as we slowly climbed up the trail.
The tallest of the towers is the Titan. While no climbers where on it during our visit, the Titan is listed as one of the climbing guidebook Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.
Huge boulders lined the path in some parts
Looking north at the Colorado River
After two and a half miles we came to a large rock plateau with a sign that said “Trail End.” We decided to turn around at that point (rather than go over the cliff) and begin the return hike.
At one point the trail crossed a narrow rock passage. The Bureau of Land Management was kind enough to place a ladder there to help with the crossing.
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The trail at Fisher Towers is a very nice hike. The views are great and the rock climbers provide some entertainment along the way. The views from the top of the trail alone make the hike worthwhile.
Oh, the Places They Go! 
You two are hiking animals.
I agree with Allison! Just awesome as always! Can’t believe those rock climbers. I have seen the commercial…thought it was some kind of trick photography…I guess not!
Have a great Sunday!
This was John’s reaction to the commercial. But our daughter researched and found the location and the video of the making of the commercial. Lots of crazy people out there!
Thanks! It should be a great Sunday…it is sunny. Looks like our last sunny day for a while.
Every time I see that commercial I get attitude sickness. No amount of money in the world could get me up there. I’ll send Paul.
I mean it…something is seriously wrong with people who think rock climbing is a joy. John included!
Love the photo of your feet suspended in air. What a hoot.
Awesome photos my friends. You capture the hikers super!
What a cool place! Can’t wait to see it in person some day!
I can’t even fathom rock-climbing like that done to film the Citibank commercial, but to be there where it took place would be spectacular. What a grand adventure you two are having! 🙂
Even though we were watching, it was still hard to imagine standing up there…crazy!
Hey, why didn’t John pose at the top? 🙂
You two are now our hiker’s models, if you can do it we can do it. For now we will just hike through you, and one day we will. Thank you for all your great photos and hikes.
-MonaLiza
Haha! That’s what I said. John said it was way to small!
I was hoping for a photo of the nimble hiker posing at the top….piece a cake for you guys 🙂 I wondered where that Citibank commercial was filmed. Thanks for enlightening us.
The nimble hiker isn’t totally crazy!! Haha!
I think when we do this hike, we’ll just sit and watch others do the climbing 😉 There’s no amount of money that would get me to the top of that pinnacle.
That’s exactly what we did! The struggle climbing up didn’t look like fun at all. But for climbers this isn’t considered a difficult hike.
Oh the places you go!!!
Haha! Very good, Leigh!
Two days ago, my wife and I saw two climbers go to the top of the Ancient Arts tower in the space of a half hour – exactly like the photos you took. We’d never seen the commercial or knew of the climb, so when the first climber stood up it was a hair-raising moment. He put out his arms for a few moments, and then crouched back down. Lots of hooting and cheering from the climbers lower down. It was windy enough down where we were, on top there was probably a good stiff breeze.
I got some pics but nowhere near as good as yours –
Thanks, Joe! Hope you got a chance to watch the video on the making of the commercial. Very interesting!