North America, United States, Montana, Lone Mountain

Publication Year: 1970.

Lone Mountain. On December 12, Jerry Kanzler, Ray Martin, Clare Pogreba, Peter Lev and I climbed the north face of Lone Mountain, a graceful peak near Bozeman, which stands aloof like an Oregon volcano. The main weakness in the 1100-foot face of steep rotten rock is a dog-leg couloir which leads to a point 300 feet below the summit on the northwest ridge. At the knee a smaller couloir continues directly toward the summit but ends in a rotten headwall. Luckily the couloir had avalanched since the last snowstorm. We first attempted the direct route, but slim protection on the mud-like rock turned us to the northwest ridge via the main couloir. This fine winter climb on a beautiful mountain was probably the first ascent in any season.

Patrik Callis