Caliban, Xanadu, The Maidens and Shot Tower, Arrigetch Peaks ...

Caliban, X anadu, The M aidens a n d S hot Tower, A rrigetch Peaks, B rooks Range. In Late June and early July, Bob M cG regor, Yan M arrand, G ary Brill and I flew to Circle Lake from Betties and then hiked to an airdrop site near the head o f A rrigetch C reek. We all pioneered a fine route on excellent granite (5.8) on the south buttress o f C aliban Peak. We then m ade a foray into the deep cirque walls to the west. Poor snow -and-ice conditions and m assive and exfoliated flakes made routes im practical. M cG regor and M arrand did a new route on the east rib of the south peak o f X anadu. D uring unsettled w eather, M cG regor, M arrand and Brill m ade the second ascent o f the im pressive north buttress o f the central peak o f the M aidens (V, 5 .9 ). This clim b, perhaps the m ost im pressive ever done in the A rrigetch, was first clim bed by John M arkel and Bob D uggan in 1982, but it was never reported in the clim bing literature. M arrand and Brill m ade a m arathon hike to Shot Tower, ju st m anaging to m ake the ascent and get back to the lake for the float plane. In a tragic afterm ath to the expedition, several weeks later Bob M cG regor died from injuries suffered w hen a snow bridge in the Tantalus Range o f British C olum bia collapsed on him. F red B eckey