Ascent Notes for: Regular Route ***** - 5.10b Average Rating : 4.87/5

What to add from what everyobody else has already mentioned?. Here my two cents:
P0 or Croft variation is worth climbing, specially if there are people already on the Normal start.
On the right variation shown on ST, for For P3, The 10b thin shown on ST followed by the 5.9 OW or lieback was IMHO the crux of the route. The 10b thin was mental and physical, hard to protect for the follower (Glad Tony lead this one). From this point, we broke P4 into two going straight up, (the 10c lb has indeed poor pro and it is committing (I opted for aiding the short section) lead up to just below the RP's and belayed from there.
P5 is indeed a fantastic and memorable exposed pitch at 11.4K of elevation.

Climbed with Joe A. Led the route. The second pitch for me was way out left, up a slightly flaring, but pleasant right facing corner. Someone behind us said it was a 5.10b variation, felt on route to me. Top of this corner fed right into the flake below the short chimney behind the large rock on the third pitch. Very fun pitch from a feature perspective. The fourth and fifth pitches both had ledges under their crux moves, not my idea of an ideal route. The whole route was quite ledgy actually. I used a brassie on the 4th pitch start which I kicked out as I committed. A serious move there. The fifth pitch has options. I took the thin corner below the roof. Fixed nut and cam, we retrieved the cam easily (and found its owner). Tons of gear all over this route and laying on the ledges. The roof pull was the most fun on the route. Kind of a one time lay-back/mantle move. From there, easy finish. The mantle up top is maybe 5th class in comparison. The approach is not a gully, but rather down climbing the next pillar to the north.

Great route!! that last pitch...oh my goodness! SO GOOD!
the 5.10 crux in the middle of the 4th pitch felt pretty sketchy (protected with a #2 stopper) the 5th pitch is absolutely amazing!! the descent kinda sucks, but so worth it! Go do it!

Jugs and jams abound on this one with a scenic view and remote feel. I could see how older guide books put it at 5.9 as there is an option to skip the 10b fingercrack (but who would do that?) and the rest of the 10 cruxes are soft. The only detractor from the route is the vegetated OW on pitch 2, otherwise 5 star all the way. I can only imagine how many times rock/paper/scissors has determined who leads that last pitch.

Spectacular route! Climbed the alternate variation up climbers right of the standard route. P2 (normal start) ended up on a hanging belay (topo called out a ledge?) just below the wild hand traverse out left. P3 was classic with a difficult lie back on very thin wires (ie. scray!). The climb just gets better and better finishing with a very memorial pitch on steep rock.

best pitch in the sierras?

Sweet climb!

If you move at a steady pace, the approach isn't as bad as it sounds. You can get to the top in about an hour an a half. The decent to the start of the climb did take some time, almost an hour with lots of loose rock to maneuver through. Route highly recommended if you dig alpining and lots of exposure. You won't forget this climb.

The decent from Dana Plateau down to the base of the climb can be hard to find and dangerous if you go the wrong way. You start scrambling down a gully very close to the top of the climb, closer than it looks in the supertopo. We were too far to the (climber's) right of the pillar and were lucky we didn't bury ourselves in a rockslide.

The climb is fantastic and most of the hike is very scenic and enjoyable. I did some sort of variation for pitch 1 up an exciting 5.10 dihedral and into a squeeze chimney. Pitch 2 my partner had to do a lot of traversing to get us back on route. 3, 4, and 5 were all excellent pitches. Overall this is one of the best climbing experiences I've had. Fun climbing up an impressive formation in a very beautiful location, what more could you want?

I'd like to come back to this area and get on some other stuff. It looked like there was a lot of potential for climbs all along these cliffs.

Five rad pitches the last one is amazing!