Mt. Sholes and Mt. Tassles, First Ascents. In May, Geoff Hornby and Mike Smith made the first climbing visit to the Fake Peak Glacier since the August, 1906, visit and photographic session by Frederick Cook and Edward Barrill as part of their claimed first ascent of Denali. Hornby and Smith made the first ascent of Mt. Sholes (5,900'; Talkeetna D-2 Quad, near the bottom of vertical border squares #25 and #26) on May 13. This route consisted of simple snow slopes and will make for easy ski ascents. Next, they attempted the unclimbed Mt. Tassles (6,860'; roughly one mile east-southeast of Sholes, in the upper left of square 31, Talkeetna D-3) by its southwest ridge, but were stopped by granite gendarmes covered with whipped cream rolls of soft snow. Then, on May 17, they climbed Mt. Tassles by the central couloir on the west face, which led directly to the summit (WI3+, 1,600'). While scouting around the bases of the various ridges, Hornby discovered relics of wooden boxes that may date from the original Fake Peak expedition.

Geoff Hornby, Alpine Climbing Group