Macabre Tower, South Pillar, Cascade Range, British Columbia. In July, Steve Must, Jai Condon and I climbed the south pillar of Macabre Tower in Cathedral Provincial Park. I had tried the route in 1991 with Rob Harris but we were halted by lack of time and the necessity of bolting through overhangs. This year, Must and I reached the high point of the first attempt beneath an intimidating, overhanging headwall but were thwarted by bad weather. We returned with added support and more equipment and completed what could become a classic route on mostly good granite. The route involves moderate pitches, a key off-width problem and a thin 5.10 layback. The second roof is the crux with a left-arching crack that moves under the lip until the roof can be pulled (hard free and one aid piton). We placed a few bolts on the upper roof sections. Two more pitches of crack-and-face climbing on a whaleback led to the summit ridge. A final 5.10 crack out of a notch gained the true summit.

Fred Beckey