Central Tower of Rapa Nui: The Northern Belle

Alaska, Coast Mountains
Author: Tyler Botzon. Climb Year: 2016. Publication Year: 2017.

On June 18, Chris Moore, Cooper Varney, Will Wacker, and I completed the first ascent of the Central Tower of Rapa Nui (7,015’). This formation is the centerpiece of a collection of granite towers two miles east of Klukwah Mountain (7,000’), to the north of Haines.

The Central Tower caught my eye while scouting for rock around Haines by air and ground over the past three years. I began this search after reading Will Wacker’s report that exposed the area he called Rapa Nui (AAJ 2013). I‘ve since become fully obsessed with the broad exploration of climbing in this part of Alaska.

All the rock towers in this region are truly remote, and ski-plane access is what makes this whole dream possible. Drake Olson, the owner and operator of Fly Drake, has been with us every step of the way. In the same spirit that alpinists hear the calling toward unclimbed terrain, Drake enjoys the challenge of finding new landing zones in these unexplored areas. He’s a pure adventurer and is the best and only option for climbing access in this emerging area.

After flying in on June 9 and establishing our base camp on an unnamed glacier below our objective, we got right to work, utilizing the endless light of the Alaskan summer. Over several days we worked through mostly marginal weather, pushing our high point up through immaculate steep, white granite. We deployed a capsule-style tactic for the first two thirds of the route. We’d work the pitches free during the warm hours of the day, establish a high point by evening, then rappel down to our skis and ride back to base camp at night.

A few nights before the mythical full-moon solstice of 2016, we set up our portaledges high on the tower and enjoyed incredible views of the Fairweather Range. The following day we established two more pitches to the top, completing the Northern Belle (1,500’ of climbing, V 5.11+ A2 50˚). The route features a 300’ approach pitch of snow, followed by seven long pitches of pure rock. It was our intention to establish a pure free line to the top, but we were forced to aid a steep headwall section at A2. I’m positive that under the right conditions a variation could be established around this section, which could turn this climb into one of the wildest, steepest, and cleanest free routes in Alaska. Right now, the free climbing crux is the steep 220’ third pitch—made up of sustained, sport-like climbing on gear and bolts through highly featured terrain (5.11+). All the belays are bolted and equipped for rappelling.

This was one of the best trips any of us had ever been on, and each team member had to draw upon all of his past experiences to make our goal a reality. Seeing our strategies, teamwork, and climbing skills prove effective has left us even more inspired than before. This is certainly just one of many more expeditions to come in this powerfully beautiful area of Alaska.

– Tyler Botzon



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