North Pillar Left

Begin in a prominent gully that splits the left side of the north face. Scramble up the gully until it turns to 5th class. Step right on to a grassy ledge with a nice crack for an anchor.

Pitch 1: (5.7, 140 feet) zig-zag up the face above, trending slightly to the right. Traverse right under a roof, then head straight up a left facing corner to find another nice belay ledge with a splitter hand crack for an anchor.

Pitch 2: (5.7 R, 140 feet) jam the nice hand crack straight off the belay for 40 feet...you are now on the North Pillar. Continue up the pillar with occasional protection while passing a few bulges. Belay on the left side of the pillar beneath a steep, left facing dihedral system.

Pitch 3: (5.8, 80 feet) climb up into the dihedral system and pass through two roofs (crux) with good protection. Climb a blank slab and belay at the base of a large step in the ridge on the left.

Pitch 4: (5.7, 100 feet) Ascend the step with nice face holds and a crack, then continue on easier terrain to the false summit. 4th class scrambling finds the true summit.

Descent - to return to the base of the route, head west along the west ridge passing 2-3 towers on the right until it is possible to drop down a steep gully to the right (north). The further west you go along the ridge, the easier the descent will be. Once you exit the descent gully, veer right (east) and meander back to the base.

Standard alpine rack to 3 inches. Doubles of 1-3 inches can be useful for the hand crack belay.