Barbican Peak, East Face. The farthest right in the grand lineup of majestic peaks in the Ramparts, Barbican Peak presents a great challenge of walls on the east and north. On August 25 Jerry Fuller and I climbed the steep snow and ice couloir between Geike and Barbican’s northeast flanks, then turned right and ascended the left side of the great face to the summit of Barbican. While an even longer wall lies farther north, this climb was as much as we wanted for one day. One pitch was very difficult, where melting fresh snow added to the treachery of the holds. Several times we were almost stopped by vertical bands but managed to locate thin traversing ledges to bypass the steepest portions. We had to climb a number of chimneys dripping with water, which added to the discomfort of a long wall climb. The final few hundred feet ascended a pleasant buttress with a mixture of snow patches and fine, broken rock. We managed to get off the peak before dark but had to bivouac in the timber after hours of stumbling across meadows by starlight.

Fred Beckey