Shoshone Spire, Bitterroot Range. About three miles up Blodgett Canyon is this triangular rock of solid granite. The upper face is reached by climbing three pitches to the large ledge system at the base of the face. The following two routes, done by Elliott Dubreuil and me, start from this ledge. South Face. From the ledge climb the right side of the overhang on the left side of the face. Second pitch ends in a hanging belay in a bottomless cave. Climb the roof of the cave on the right and continue straight up. The fourth pitch ends at the top. If done clean, this route has some long runouts. Although it was June 27, it snowed on us while we were climbing the last two pitches. F8. In Memoriam. July 9. This climb goes up the middle of the south face starting from the large ledge. The first pitch goes up a crack where a long lost-arrow is needed for protection. Climb up to a bolt (F9) and up 25 feet to an unprotected mantle (F9), then left to a crack. The next three pitches are all F10. Continue up the crack to a difficult smooth dihedral and a belay on top of a pedestal. Climb up the crescent crack, traverse right on the horizontal dike and climb the overhang. Last pitch ascends crack to the summit with a difficult thin section near the top. F10.

Steven Eddy