Mount Tyndall, Direct East Face. In September Steve Brewer, David Wil son and I made the first ascent of this 1500-foot granite wall. Two earlier routes follow gully systems on either side of the sheer wall that begins in overhangs above a permanent snowfield in the basin between Tyndall and Williamson. Like earlier parties, we were surprised by the extreme difficulty of the lower face, but since the two “escape routes” had been done, we opted for the main wall. We fixed the first 300 feet one afternoon, and returned at dawn to complete the climb. Even with considerable 5.10 climbing, we couldn’t avoid several points of aid on the first two pitches. The haul line sometimes hung out 35 feet from the face. Easier climbing in the middle of the route soon brought us onto a vertical headwall with 5.8 to 5.10 cracks that put us directly on the 14,018-foot summit. V, F10, A2.

Galen A. Rowell