New Game of Thrones on Monarch Mountain in B.C.

Simon Richardson and Michael Rinn made the first ascent of Game of Thrones up the southwest face of Monarch Mountain in the Coast Mountains between Aug. 4 and 6.

The 1,250-metre route was climbed in 42 pitches with difficulty up to 5.10a and involved some simul-climbing.

The alpine wall was one of the biggest unclimbed features in the range. The 3,572-metre mountain was first climbed by Henry Hall and Hans Furer in 1936.

The face had been attempted a number of times of the years, but the weather is typically bad. The 2017 summer has been a prime one for alpine climbing, as the west has gone weeks without rain.

Richardson and Rinn used a helicopter to approach the mountain, which is located about 70 km from the nearest road. For more on their new route, read Richardson’s trip report on Planetmountain.com here.