Mount Wake and Surrounding Peaks, Various Ascents. “L’equipe jeunes” of the Fédération Française de la Montagne et Escalade (FFME) enjoyed an expedition to Alaska last spring. Their objective was Mount Wake (2774 m) in the Ruth Gorge. They arrived at base camp on April 29 and started climbing some impressive ice gullies. On the Werewolf Tower, Manu Guy and Manu Pelissier established a fine route, Freezy Nuts (800 meters, IV/4), while Manu Lestienne, Mathieu Desprat and Fred Salles climbed an ice route on Mount Wake itself, naming it Wake Up (900 meters, IV/5). But the team’s main target was a five-kilometer long, still-unclimbed ridge of Mount Wake. The young Frenchmen completed the ascent on May 12 to 13 in a continuous 37-hour effort, climbing without bivy gear and with only a minimum of food. Before the final push they made two attempts, fixing some of the 60 pitches. The descent took 10 hours. The 1500-meter high route involved sections at a standard of 5c, Al, 90° and some intricate route finding. They named the route Pilier de la Tolerance.

JóZEF Nyka, Editor, Taternik, Poland