The Bottle, East Face, Wind River Range. Though cross-country in the northern Wind Rivers is tamer than in the Cascades, it can be reasonably tough. Game trails beyond the Green River Lakes led us to a delightful, almost unknown valley west of Squaretop. After pondering the almost endless wall-climbing potential here, Dave Beckstead and William Nicolai set off for unclimbed spires to the west. At the same time, on July 13, Tom Nephew and I turned to the Bottle. We elected to climb the east face, an elegant problem only slightly less slabby than the north face, which looked like a doubtful one-day project. Our route ascended moderately steep snow couloirs and then about 1000 feet of rock. A number of pitches involved route-finding through endless jam- cracks, slabs and short headwalls. Near the summit came a unique blocky, narrow spine, then a scramble to the highest, apparently previously unvisited point. NCCS III, F7 or F8.

FRED BECKEY