In August, Jon Jugenheimer, Jared Leader, Bryan Miller, Geoff Ris, and I headed into the Wolverine Cirque in the northeastern Winds. Over the course of 10 days we established a few new routes, bailed off of a few ground up attempts and started freeing an old aid line. The fishing sucked (ask Jon) but the weather was great. [See AAJ 2019 for more info on this area.] 

Bombs Away (1,500', IV 5.9) begins in a weakness on the right side of the Flying Buttress that protrudes from the north face of Saddle Mountain. Bryan and Jon followed the weakness trending up and right at 5.9 (loose rock) until they cut back left onto the ridge top where it flattens out.  From there they followed the ridge to the top of the buttress, well below the true summit of the mountain.

A-Minor (1,500', III 5.7) begins one buttress right of Ride the Lighting on Lighting Rod Spire. Bryan and Jon climbed lower-angle slabs to the saddle between the spire and Wolverine Mountain. From the saddle, we followed a left-facing dihedral to the summit of the spire at 5.7. 

Geoff, Jared, and I completed Thunder Struck (1,100', 6 pitches, 5.9)on the northeast face of Thunderbolt Spire, which consists of mostly good rock that protected well enough. We were rewarded with a micro-summit that was just too small to want to stand on. We descended to the west and encountered very loose rock—I would recommend rapping the route.

– Heath Rowland