Shot Tower, Northwest Face and Other Peaks, Arrigetch. Mike Biarzi, Savvy Saunders, Roman Dial and I were landed at Circle Lake on July 18. We had no airdrop. Base Camp was in the Aiyagomahala valley, south of the Arrigetch valley. We next had to wait out a week of rain. Biarzi and I made the second ascent of Shot Tower by a new route, the northwest face and descended the west ridge. Climbing continuously, we took 36 hours. (NCCS V, F9, A3+.) Saunders and Dial on July 31 climbed the Shot Tower by the west ridge. I made the first ascent of “Scorpio,” one of a series of spires south of Independence Pass and west of the “Pyramid.” It is the third spire counting from south to north. NCCS III, F7. Biarzi and Dial made a new route up Badile, the southwest buttress (NCCS III, F10, A3), following a single 700-foot crack from the base to the summit overhangs. Saunders and I made a variation of the original east face route on Badile. We were picked up at Takahula Lake on August 17. We had 13 days of bad weather out of 30. We found an amazing amount of humans and trash. Trails have already formed in the extremely delicate tundra. Trekking companies are intolerably exploiting this area, bringing in as many as twelve people at a time. We urge those who go to the Arrigetch to go in small groups and be aware of their impact, keeping it to a minimum. Firearms are totally unnecessary if food is properly stored and cooked. The Arrigetch is a wild paradise and it is the duty of every person who ventures into the area to keep it so.

Dieter Klose, Alaskan Alpine Club