5 Facts about Marc Andre Leclerc and the First Solo Ascent of the Emperor’s Face (Mount Robson)

 

Heads up - The following contains spoilers for “The Alpinist”.

 

 

Mt. Robson's Emperor Face at twilight. Berg Lake, Mt. Robson Provincial Park, B.C. [Photo] Jeffrey Pang/Wiki Commons

 

The Man

Marc Andre Leclerc was born in Nanaimo, BC on October 10^th, 1992 and died in Alaska in 2018. During his brief life he gained a reputation as an unassuming yet fearless mountain climber. He was especially known for his free solo (no ropes) ascents of many peaks around the world.  His life is the subject of the 2020 film, “The Alpinist”.

 

The Mountain

Mount Robson rises nearly 10,000 feet above the Yellowhead highway for a total of 12, 972 feet (3,954 M) above sea level. It’s Emperor’s Face stands tall at about 8,000 feet of ice, rock and snow. 

The Emperor’s Face was first ascended by climbers in 1978 but had never been free climbed solo by anyone until Leclerc.  In 2002 Barry Blanchard and 2 other climbers ascended the route known as “Infinite Patience”.  Leclerc would eventually follow this same line up the face.

 

The Reason

“I was being drawn toward the mountain in a search for adventure, by a desire to explore my own limitations and to also be immersed in a world so deeply beautiful that it would forever be etched into my memory.” Marc Andre Leclerc

After getting to know the Canadian Rockies by climbing in Alberta for a time, Leclerc felt he was ready for Mount Robson and it’s Emperor’s Face. In April of 2016, he hopped on a bus out of Jasper back towards his native British Columbia.

He later commented: “When the bus dropped me off on the side of the highway, I saw Mt. Robson for the first time. It towered above the road like no other mountain I'd ever seen. The summit felt incredibly distant, as if it were located on another planet.”

 

No Limelight

Leclerc had never liked the spotlight. He simply didn’t care if anyone knew what amazing things he was accomplishing.  In fact, he had actually been filming The Alpinist with directors Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen, when he abruptly “disappeared” from the filmmakers and went off on his own.  

It was during this hiatus that Leclerc climbed the Emperor’s Face.  He later explained to the directors that it just didn’t feel like a solo attempt if other people were there – even if they were just filming. He eventually agreed to do the climb again in order for them to capture it.

 

The Summit

Leclerc used the Infinite Patience route to summit the mountain. On his first climb of the face he made it to the top and later wrote - “I stumbled onto the top of Mt. Robson at sunset, and was rewarded with a breathtaking view: snow and ice extended as far I could see in all directions. Robson seemed to be so much taller than any of the surrounding peaks— it was like a platform in the sky that looked down on the rest of the world.”

Leclerc had to sleep on top of the summit due to weather conditions where he endured a miserable night of freezing cold winds and little sustenance but eventually made it down safely to ensure the first ever free solo climb of Mount Robson’s Emperor’s Face.

For a description of the ascent in Marc Andre’s own words see this Alpinist article.

“I'm happy to say that my visit with the Emperor was a truly special experience. At first I was intimidated by his strong aura, but in the end we became friends and the King generously shared his wealth, leaving me a much richer person.” Marc Andre Leclerc