Cathedral Rock, Northeast Buttress. On September 16, Paul Bellamy and I made what we believe is the first ascent of Cathedral Rock from the vertical east side. We climbed the 900-foot northeast buttress. From the meadows southeast of the peak we traversed north over loose talus to the base of the east face, 100 feet south of the northeast buttress. We climbed the apron below the east face to a steep ledge where a right traverse brought us to a small tree on the buttress. We ascended the buttress on the left generally toward a prominent gendarme on the upper east face. We traversed right on a ledge at the base of the gendarme to a dead tree. From there we followed a short, not obvious ledge to a notch formed by a large, loose block which provided access to a vertical crack that led to a steep gully system. We climbed the gully system for a pitch and then headed left to the summit. The eight pitches took 5½ hours. Except for the first class-4 pitch, all leads were class 5. Because of some loose rock, helmets are recommended. (III, 5.7.)

Gary Speer