The crux first pitch gives this route its name. The climb starts a short distance to the right of The Trough. Go around a corner, across a low angle face, and into the prominent wide crack. Sustained jamming and offwidth leads to the crux overhang, and then to a belay ledge with bolts. For pitch 2 (5.6) , traverse right to a left-facing corner, which leads to some delicate face climbing. Pitch 3 (5.6) is less obvious, and the Vogel guidebook describes a different pitch than did earlier guides. The original route (5.7) involved an undercling/lieback up and right, then face climbing up to Pine Tree Ledge.