The Juggernaut. After Jack Roberts, Dave Black, and I climbed a simply gorgeous face, really a prow, southwest of Crown Lake, we could not focus on a name other than an uninspired “Crown Lake Buttress” . Greg Donaldson, who had earlier climbed most of two pitches up the prow, suggested “The Juggernaut” for the formation, which tops out on the boundary of Yosemite National Park. Its beauty would be legendary in the Valley, but in the high country east of Sawtooth Ridge, it is mainly a backdrop for the fisherman. The route ascends the obvious crack system near the center of the prow, closely right of two gigantic overhanging arches. The climb worked out to five long, hard pitches, with classic moves at regular intervals. A few tricky pins of aid on the second pitch got us by a debatable jam-crack struggle. The rock is superb—it seemed there was not a loose stone anywhere. We began the climb September 14, left two ropes, then completed the route the next day in time for the hike out to Twin Lakes. NCCS IV, F9, A2.

Fred Beckey