Howse Peak - North Face

There might be no face scrutinized so closely for the optimal conditions than that of Howse Peak. Its location, right above the beginning of the Icefield Parkway, probably accounts for some of it, but its spectacular icefalls, devious terrain and multiple complex rock bands explains the rest. Two routes in the early 2000, M-16 (line 3) and Howse of Cards (line 4) helped redefine what cutting-edge, lightweight alpine climbing could look like. The most recent line (line 2), a proud first ascent once judged impossible, ended in tragedy in the descent with the death in an avalanche of three of the best climbers of their generation, Hansjörg Auer, David Lama and Jess Roskelley.

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Route List

1: Life by the Drop, WI5+ R, D. Edgar, D. Marra, Apr. 1999
2: Auer-Lama-Roskelley, H. Auer, D. Lama, J. Roskelley, Apr. 2019
3: M-16, ED+ WI7+ A2, S. Backes, B. Blanchard, S. House, Mar. 1999
4: Howse of Cards, ED+ WI6+ M7- X, W. Gadd, K. Mahoney, S. Semple, Dec. 2002
5: Glidden-Lowe, TD+ 5.8 A1, J. Glidden, G. Lowe, Jun. 1970
6: The Black Band, TD+ 5.10-, F. McGuiness, W. Meinen, B. Pullan, Jul. 2010
7: Northeast Ridge, TD+ 5.8 A0, K. Baker, L. MacKay, D. Vockeroth, Aug. 1967
8: North Face, ED+ 5.9 A3, B. Blanchard, W. Robinson, Mar. 1988