On June 4, Michael Telstad and I ventured up the southwest face of Concord Tower in the Liberty Bell group. Our route, which is now perhaps the closest to the Blue Lake trailhead on the west side of Washington Pass, starts in the gully between Concord and Lexington towers, well to climber’s left of the south face route.

Our initial ascent pieced together a line of corners and cracks, including a bit of easy aid to get through a narrow seam in an overhanging corner. Over two subsequent trips, an all-free route was cleaned and three protection bolts were added, along with one bolted anchor. The resulting six-pitch route, Up in Arms (700’, 5.11), has fun, technical movement through a variety of features up a sunny wall, with the hardest climbing on the first pitch.

— Gabe Aeschliman