Marc-André Leclerc was a Canadian rock climber and alpinist. Known for his solo ascents of numerous mountains in various parts of the world, he completed the first winter solo ascents of the Torre Egger in Patagonia, and the Emperor Face of Mount Robson.
Early life
Marc-André Leclerc was born on October 10, 1992 in Nanaimo to his mother Michelle Kuipers and his father Serge Leclerc. He was introduced to climbing at the age of eight when his grandfather bought him Chris Bonington's book, Quest for Adventure. At age nine, Marc had his first climbing experience in Coquitlam, on an indoor climbing wall inside a shopping mall. Later that year he joined a gym in Abbotsford called Project Climbing. In 2005 his family moved to Agassiz, near the Cascade Range peaks, and Leclerc began teaching himself how to mountain climb. Leclerc would ride his bike out to Harrison Bluffs, a rock climbing area in British Columbia, to climb and spend the night there alone. When he was 15 years old, his mother bought him a copy of. The book inspired him to join the British Columbia Mountaineering Club, through which he quickly made a name for himself in the mountaineering community. He started competing and quickly began winning age-group competitions, and later went on to win the Canadian Nationals in 2005.
Personal life
Leclerc has one older sister, Bridgid-Anne Dunning and younger brother, Elijah Leclerc. He resided in the Frazer River Valley of British Columbia, Canada, with his girlfriend Brette Harrington, an accomplished rock climber and alpinist. The pair met in Squamish in 2012 and in 2016 they established Hidden Dragon on the Chinese Puzzle Wall across from Mount Slesse. In his personal blog, Leclerc recounted his ascent of the Emperor Face of Mount Robson stating, "As a young climber it is undeniable that I have been manipulated by the media and popular culture and that some of my own climbs have been subconsciously shaped through what the world perceives to be important in terms of sport. Through time spent in the mountains, away from the crowds, away from the stopwatch and the grades and all the lists of records I've been slowly able to pick apart what is important to me and discard things that are not." Leclerc placed more value on the spirituality, self-discovery and philosophy of his lifestyle as an explorer, and less value on media coverage and the competitiveness of the sport.
Climbing accomplishments
In 2015 Leclerc spent a great deal of time in southern Argentine Patagonia. On February 21, he completed his first solo ascent of The Corkscrew on Cerro Torre. Leclerc wrote on his blog that soloing The Corkscrew "felt like a brief 'step into the future' so to speak…" in his efforts to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an explorer. Argentinian climber and mountain guide, Rolando Garibotti, wrote that Leclerc's ascent of The Corkscrew was one of "earth-shifting proportions, by far the hardest route ever soloed on Cerro Torre and only the seventh solo overall." Later that year, Leclerc completed the second known free solo ascent of the Tomahawk / Exocet Link Up on Aguja Standhardt in Patagonia and then proceeded to conquer the Torre Egger, completing his Torres solo trifecta. In 2016, Leclerc completed the first solo ascent of the Infinite Patience route on Mt. Robson's Emperor Face. After completing this climb, he wrote on his blog that he "was intimidated by strong aura but in the end we became friends and the King generously shared his wealth leaving me a much richer person indeed."
Death
On March 5th, 2018, Marc-André Leclerc and his climbing partner, Ryan Johnson, successfully completed a new route on the North face of the Mendenhall Towers, just north of Juneau, Alaska. The duo was expected to make it back to base camp by March 7th but never arrived, prompting Juneau Mountain Rescue to begin searching for the missing climbers. The search was interrupted for a few days due to poor weather conditions and, when the storm had finally passed, the search team discovered ropes at the bottom of the climbers' descent route. This suggests that the climbers were struck by an avalanche, falling rock, or cornice from above. Their bodies were never recovered. Following Marc's death, a memorial service was held in Agassiz, BC and another in Squamish, BC with Leclerc's family, friends, and fellow climbers to celebrate his incredible life.
Selected notable climbs
2018 - North face of the Main Tower, Mendenhall Towers. First Ascent 2018 - Jupiter Shift on Station-D in the Slesse Cirque 2018 - The Theft, British Columbia, Canada. Second Ascent 2017 - Echo Canyon, Canadian Rockies - Tall Storey First Free Solo Ascent 2017 - Rim Wall, Canadian Rockies - Pinko. First Free Solo Ascent 2017 - Ha Ling Peak, Mount Lawrence Grassi - Cheesmond Express, Premature Ejaculation, Northeast Face Free Solos 2016 - Mount Robson, Canadian Rockies – Infinite Patience. First Solo Ascent 2016 - Mount Tuzo, Canadian Rockies – Northeast Face. First Ascent of the face 2015 - Mount Slesse, Cascade Range – Triple Link-up of East Pillar Direct, Navigator Wall, Northeast Buttress, Free Solo in 12 hours, 4 minutes 2015 - Mount Slesse, Cascade Range – Northeast Buttress, Free Solo in winter, 2nd Winter Ascent, First Winter Free Ascent 2015 - Tomahawk/Exocet Link Up – Aguja Standhardt, Patagonia, – Onsight Free Solo 2015 - Directa de la Mentira – Cerro Torre North Face, Patagonia, First Ascent 2015 - Reverse Torre Traverse, Patagonia – First Ascent 2015 - East Pillar – Torre Egger, Patagonia, First Solo Winter Ascent 2015 - The Corkscrew – Cerro Torre, Patagonia, First Solo Ascent 2015 - Free Ascent of the Muir wall on El Capitan 2013 - The Temptation of St Anthony, Squamish, First Free Ascent
