Beckey Route (II 5.9 R),
West Bell Tower,
Bells Canyon

There seems to be a Beckey Route everywhere, so why should the Wasatch be any different? Thankfully, it isn’t. In the 1960s, Mr. Beckey strolled up Bells Canyon and picked one of his many plums, the grandest line on the granite dome of West Bell Tower. Repeating this climb takes you back to the time of legends. The first pitch’s crack
diagonals out of the shrubs and rounds out to a groove above a roof; here, crafty climbers slap a Screamer on the 40-year-old buttonhead protecting the crux. This is the spice of climbing, the fodder for campfire stories of heinous runouts. Wide and small, straightforward or tucked in a corner — cracks of all flavors define this seminal Wasatch route. Beware of the final pitch, however, as constant weathering is turning the granite into kitty litter.