james mehigan and i aren’t keen on beach...

H ut Tower, Tower Couloir to Werewolf-Hut Col. James Mehigan and I aren’t keen on beach vaca­tions, so we traveled to Alaska in April, just in tim e for the end o f a tw o-m onth high-pressure spell. O n the day we arrived the w ind swung to the south, which, according to a local climber, brings two types o f clouds: serious and accum ulating.

We gave ourselves just two weeks to pull off the first ascent o f the couloir leading to the col betw een the W erewolf and H ut towers (6,700' and 6,200'), bu t pulled it off in a 23-hour continuous push, battling subzero tem peratures, falling snow, and m arginal ice conditions.

The crux section o f the climb involved a struggle with an overhanging chim ney that was shrouded by a veil o f vertical pow der snow. Running through the pow der snow, though, were four-inch-wide tentacles o f semi-consolidated snow-ice that made the route possible. It included three pitches o f stout Scottish Grade VII, with the second-from -last pitch being m uch like the moves ou t o f the cave on D arth Vader (VII, 8) on Ben Nevis.

Tower Couloir, 500m, ED, Scottish VII, A l.

O l iv e r M e t h e r e l l , U.K.