Tad McCrea and I made the notorious approach up rugged George Creek late on the afternoon of July 21, bivouacking near the confluence of the north and main forks of the creek around 10,000’. We cast off for the long northeast ridge of Trojan Peak (13,947’) the following morning. This massive feature can be seen easily from Highway 395 near Lone Pine, with two large towers making up the lower two-thirds of the ridge. Fifteen long pitches on clean granite led up and over the two towers, including a 30m rappel off the second, until we reached easy terrain and could unrope on the summit slopes.

Magnum Opus (1,600’, IV 5.8) is a long and enjoyable route, with the majority of the climbing checking in at 5.5 to 5.8 on good granite. We descended the class-2 south face, picking up our camp and completing the long hike down to the car that same day with headlamps. Tad proved yet again that with endless Internet sleuthing, classic moderate rock climbs can still be found in not-so-hidden corners of the Sierra.

– Richard Shore