In summer 2014, Katie Bono, Hannah Preston, and I went to explore the Leaning Towers. Following logging roads outside of Kimberly, BC, we set off on our adventure. Burdened with 80lb packs, we traveled along a horse trail for 10km. This was the easy part—soon we were bushwhacking on steep, rough terrain. After several days of being pinned down by rain and fog in the forest we were able to reach the base of Hall Peak. A promising line on the east face caught our attention, and we devoted our weather window to it.

At sunrise we eagerly kicked steps up a snow slope, and then did some acrobatic movements to gain the rock over a moat at the base. The crack systems were delightful, taking excellent gear, though some required cleaning with a nut tool in the more challenging sections. The rock was featured, providing frequent reprieve from jamming. Swapping leads, we free-climbed about 12 pitches to reach the summit ridge and breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks. The descent was fairly straightforward: We scrambled down the northwest ridge, did several rappels, and downclimbed exposed and icy snow slopes.

The next day a storm moved in and we decided to pack out. We later found out that our route consisted of several variations to the original route (5.9 A2, McComb-Myers-Twomey, 1975) up this face. We’ve named our free variation Quarter Life Crisis (IV 5.10). The Leaning Towers is a beautiful place and seems to be a mecca for unexplored lines.

– Michelle Kadatz, Canada