Mount Louis, West Face. This face is the shortest, but it had apparently not been climbed before because of its loose nature and a forbidding lower wall of friable rock. John and Illa Rupley made the climb with me on July 31 after I had climbed the first pitch, a rotten chimney, alone on reconnaissance the previous day. Above the chimney a vertical wall barred progress to an exit chimney system. Because of the loose rock, I took some time, a number of pitons and one bolt. Using two stirrups on questionable pitons seemed safer than trusting questionable holds that slanted the wrong way. The angle eased into a little cave, above which I made a short traverse left to a chimney-ramp that had more secure holds. Above this section we scrambled for two leads and then turned sharply right up a 175-foot chimney that led to the top of a great platform on the west face. This chimney was quite loose and therefore uncomfortable near the top. From there, the route kept in grooves and over buttresses in a direct line to the summit, with only several short slab sections providing trouble.

Fred Beckey