Boom Mountain, North Face. Joe Farrand and I started above the east end of Boom Lake, on easy quartzite just left of a deep gully. After a few hundred feet we took to the gully bed, until it steepened to a wet overhanging corner. A long traverse right took us past this and we then angled left towards an apparent weakness higher up. We were now at the top of the quartzite band, and I led one delicate pitch on rather shaky sandstone. Joe’s next lead was our first limestone pitch—a vertical wall with two small overhangs which required aid (in a severe thunder-and-hail storm). One easy pitch took us to a large ledge below an overhanging wall. We walked left looking for a weakness, and I had to lead a very delicate move on loose rock. At least the weather had dried up. 200 feet of easier climbing brought us to the summit plateau. NCCS III F7 A2.

Dick Lofthouse