Considered one of the last great problems in the North Cascades and probably one of the longest unclimbed pieces of rock left in the Northwest, the East Face of Southeast Mox Peak (a.k.a. Twin Spires) finally met its Match. Michael Layton and Erik Wolfe completed their first Ascent on September 1st after some excellent climbing after a horrendous Approach that involved some serious bushwhacking.

To access the climb, first a boat ferry must be taken from the south shore of Ross Lake to Little Beaver Campground on the central western banks of the lake. From here, the trek begins by going up the Little Beaver Creek Trail, to where it intersects with Perry Creek after about 4.5 miles. It’s from here the story told by Erik and Michael begins its Epic tale of slow progress through thorny devils clubs and overgrown sub-alpine forests. It is this fact alone that explains why this face has only had two other recorded visits; the first by a Portland group in August of 1958 and the other by Fred Beckey in September of 1968.

The first actual day of climbing consisted of 1,000 feet of steep slabs to gain a small Bivy ledge where the pair stayed on the first night on the wall. The next day was a brutal 18-hour suffer-fest up the last 1,500 feet of the upper headwall, through classic Cascade Choss and poor Protection. The new route is called "The Devil’s Club" and is graded a subjective V+ 5.9+ A2-, which is most likely sandbagged. Check out the full trip report on www.cascadeclimbers.com.