Vermonter Matt McCormick and French-Canadian Jean-Pierre Oullet established a new line, The Wandering Direct (V 5.11R), on the northwest face of South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos of British Columbia earlier this month.
Typified by the classic Beckey-Chouinard (IV 5.10, 20-22 pitches)–one of Roper and Steck’s Fifty Classic Climbs in North America–the South Tower and its neighboring spires are home to some of the hardest Bugaboo rock climbs, including All Along the Watch Tower (5.12) and Young Men on Fire (5.11 A4).
Together, McCormick and Oullet have an impressive alpine resume: McCormick has spent the last two years establishing new routes in the Karakoram, while Oullet has put up multiple hard lines in his native Quebec, including the first free ascent of Les Grands-Galets (IV 5.13 9 pitches) on Cap Trinite (1349m).