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August 4-5, 2026
The Devils Crags are a series of twelve dark, photogenic spires sitting proudly near the southern end of the Black Divide in the central Sierra Nevada, nestled between Le Conte Canyon and the Enchanted Gorge. This is one of the most remote parts of the Sierra, and these crags are seldom viewed from any trails in the surrounding areas as they are hidden by the walls of deep canyons and overlapping peaks. As a result, the Devils Crags contained some of the most neglected summits and was one of the last major un-traversed features of the Sierra. 11 of 12 individual spires only had a handful of recorded historical ascents.
I had first laid eyes on the Devils Crags over 10 years earlier from the summit of Mt. Agassiz and noted how symmetrical they looked, hoping to link them up into a traverse one day. The crags looked highly technical and would require a rope and partner, but there were few people willing to go there due to the unknown remote terrain and rumors of loose rock. All the information on climbing them that I could find online was for the Northwest Ridge of Devil's Crags #1, the highest spire of the twelve. RJ Secor had short descriptions for some of the other crags in his book, but they were extremely vague and incomplete, and as I would find out later in person, often incorrect.
In 2026 I figured out that Vitaliy had also been looking at traversing the Devils Crags for quite some time, so we teamed up and planned to attempt it that summer. We initially planned to go for it in mid July but got thwarted by forecasted thunderstorms. In early August, a good sized weather window opened up, but schedule conflicts allowed for only a few overlapping working days between us. Vitaliy suggested attempting the traverse car-to-car as an endurance challenge. I knew that this decreased both our margin of error and chance of success, but agreed to it due to our tight schedules and the amazing weather forecast. I gave our chances of success between 50-60%. I also knew that bailing off the ridge was difficult if we had to resort to it, probably necessitating multiple blind rappels on very bad rock.
To me it was very clear that we should traverse the twelve crags in a south to north direction, starting at DC#12 and ending on DC#1. I had scoured through photos of the crags taken from surrounding peaks such as Rambaud Peak and Mt. Woodworth. The southern side of each crag looked vertical to overhung while the northern sides looked lower angle. This meant that we could climb up on more technical terrain while downclimbing mellower terrain, hopefully performing less rappels than the other way around. In the end, we found surprisingly decent to good quality rock on the ascent sides (southern) and almost always junky rock on the descent (northern) sides. We made zero rappels.
Devils Crags viewed from Mt. Woodworth
Devils Crags Traverse- Crag Stats
| Crag | Elevation | Topographic Prominence | Summit Coordinates (lat/lon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devils Crag #12 | 11,058 ft | 80 ft | 37.02969, -118.60271 |
| Devils Crag #11 | 11,105 ft | 80 ft | 37.03004, -118.60308 |
| Devils Crag #10 | 11,208 ft | 120 ft | 37.03035, -118.60366 |
| Devils Crag #9 | 11,305 ft | 200 ft | 37.03084, -118.60459 |
| Devils Crag #8 | 11,440 ft | 100 ft | 37.03192, -118.60592 |
| Devils Crag #7 | 11,788 ft | 172 ft | 37.03253, -118.60641 |
| Devils Crag #6 | 11,935 ft | 304 ft | 37.03343, -118.60705 |
| Devils Crag #5 | 11,766 ft | 120 ft | 37.03385, -118.60752 |
| Devils Crag #4 | 12,120 ft | 100 ft | 37.03461, -118.60867 |
| Devils Crag #3 | 12,240 ft | 180 ft | 37.03539, -118.60927 |
| Devils Crag #2 | 12,245 ft | 200 ft | 37.03656, -118.61074 |
| Devils Crag #1 | 12,624 ft | 1,067 ft | 37.03833, -118.61253 |
Devils Crags Traverse- Section Breakdown
| Crag | Aspect | Distance | Grade (YDS) | Direction | Rock Quality (subjective 1-10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | N Ridge | ~200 ft | 5.7 | up and down | 2 (lower half), 5 (upper half) |
| #11 | SE Ridge | ~300 ft | low 5th | up | 4 |
| #11 | NW Ridge | ~100 ft | class 3-4 | down | 4 |
| #10 | SE Ridge | ~200 ft | class 3-4 | up | 4 |
| #10 | NW Face | ~250 ft | class 4 | down | 3 |
| #9 | SE Face | ~400 ft | 5.6 | up | 4 |
| #9 | NW Face | ~400 ft | class 3 | down | 3 |
| #8 | SE Ridge | ~1,200 ft | 5.10b | up | 6 |
| #8 | NW Ridge | ~200 ft | class 3 | down | 3 |
| #7 | SE Face | ~600 ft | 5.7 | up | 6 |
| #7 | NW Face | ~300 ft | class 3 | down | 3 |
| #6 | SE Face | ~500 ft | low 5th | up | 5 |
| #6 | NW Face | ~500 ft | class 3 | down | 3 |
| #5 | SE Ridge | ~400 ft | class 4 | up | 5 |
| #5 | NW Face/Ridge | ~500 ft | low 5th | down | 2 |
| #4 | SE Face | ~600 ft | 5.9 | up | 6 |
| #4 | NW Face | ~300 ft | class 2-3 | down | 3 |
| #3 | SE Face | ~500 ft | 5.6 | up | 5 |
| #3 | NW Ridge | ~1,000 ft | 5.0 | down | 3 |
| #2 | SE Ridge | ~700 ft | 5.7 | up | 6 |
| #2 | NW Ridge | ~1,300 ft | low 5th | down | 3 |
| #1 | SE Face | ~1,300 ft | 5.9 with V2 move | up | 5 |
| #1 | NW ridge | ~2,000 ft | class 4 | down | 4 |
Gear
- 30m 8.5mm rope
- 30m tagline (didn't use)
- cams: singles .1-2
- set of small-med nuts
- 13 alpine draws (including 2 long draws)
- 3 extra locking biners
Total Stats
40 miles
17,500 ft gain/loss
Overall grade: V 5.10b with single V2 move
It was just after 1:00am as we set off from South Lake Trailhead. Very predictably, I had to stop 5 minutes later and pack away my jacket as I got warm from walking. The jacket would be off my body for the next 24 hours.
Our approach took us over Bishop Pass, down into Le Conte Canyon, and further south along the John Muir Trail to the eastern end of the Rambaud Creek drainage. From there we left the JMT and grinded up several thousand feet of elevation on dirt and talus to the south side of the crags. Our last water source was a small tarn just east of the crags at an elevation of 11,000 ft.
crossing the Kings River in Le Conte Canyon
first full view of the crags
At last, we were standing below DC#12 about 8 hours after leaving South Lake. We scrambled up a class 3 gully to a notch between DC#12 and DC#11 to start the traverse.
We left our packs at the notch, heading south for a quick out-and-back up DC#12's North Ridge. This started with some delicate class 4 moves up a very loose 30 ft chimney on the west side of the ridge, then a crossover to the east side where some exposed ledges brought us up to a very exposed 5.7 move with high consequence. We both did this move in our running shoes but wished that we had brought the rope and maybe climbing shoes with us. Both of these items were meanwhile sitting in our packs back at the notch. After the 5.7 move we were back on the ridge, and a short easy romp brought us to the summit. We gingerly reversed our route back down to the notch.
Feeling a little shaken from what we had just done, we got out the rope and began simuling. I dug into my pack and realized that a container of honey had exploded and gotten onto several of the cams. The 0.3 cam got the brunt of it, making its lobes a goopy mess that were difficult to trigger.
Vitaliy started up on lead up DC#11's SE ridge. The first 40-60 ft of this was broken low 5th class face climbing followed by a couple hundred feet of class 3-4 blocks.
We went right up over the summit of DC#11 and continued down it's NW ridge. The short class 3-4 ridge connecting #11 to #10 was straightforward. We mainly remained directly on the ridge, moving briefly to its east side just after leaving #11.
Descending #10's NW Face was chossy class 4 terrain. Since it was short, we remained roped up, although the rope didn't do much except knock over some rocks.
We swapped leads at the #10-#9 saddle and I continued up the SE Face of #9, initially remaining on the connecting ridge to a small impasse on the left. A 5.6 move and step-around brought me into a class 4 gully which I followed straight up, back onto the ridge, and left to the summit.
looking back after the step-around
summit of #9 at 11am
The descent of #9's NW face was junky class 3 ledges with copious chunks of dinner plate talus waiting to be knocked over. Again we remained roped up, but the rope did nothing except get stuck a few times and knock over rocks. I would recommend unroping for this descent.
The SE ridge of #8 contained the first real climbing of the traverse, and it was on fairly good enjoyable rock. We began just east of the #8-#9 saddle. I led up NW on a series of ribs and shallow gullies (5.8-ish). After reaching the ridge, I turned right (north) and continued up along a knife edge (5.6), passing just left of a small tower. Past the tower, I hopped back onto the main ridge which kicked up in angle to slightly overhanging. The next 50 ft consisted of a series of fun flakes and steep handcracks and a scrunchy step-up move into a little alcove (5.10b) to a series of ledges further left. The angle instantly kicked back starting at the ledges and it looked easy higher up. I shouted down to Vitaly that there was some 5.10 climbing and he asked me to set up a belay, which I did with my last remaining cam and a slung horn. After belaying him up, we swapped leads and he led the remaining scramble (class 3-4) to the summit.
Since #8's NW ridge descent looked easy, we packed up the rope and scrambled class 3 terrain down to the #8-#7 notch. This took less than 10 minutes.
#7's SE face was another fun romp on decent rock. Vitaliy took the lead and remained just right of the arete for the first few hundred feet before turning further right, then cut left to the summit where the terrain eased off. There were a few 5.7 moves here and there, but most of this one was low 5th.
We once again unroped for the descent of #7's NW Face, finding it class 3.
As we approached #6's SE face, we saw that it was of significantly lower angle than the SE sides of last two crags. We decided to keep the rope packed for now and see how far we could go without it. After passing just below the west side of the #6-#7 notch, we located a chimney system just left of the main arete of #6. We scrambled up this (low 5th) until it spilled us out into the middle of the SE face. We basically headed straight up, taking the path of least resistance (class 4 with a few low 5th moves) directly to the summit. This one had taken comparatively little time compared to the last two crags, and it certainly lifted our spirits with regard to timing. It was an hour past noon now with several large crags still left to climb, and both of us were running low on and rationing water. Energy-wise, we both still felt great. 
We continued unroped down the NW Face of #6 (class 3), then tiptoed around the west side of the connecting arete just before the #6-#5 notch. Our route up #5 remained just left of the true arete (class 4) up to a small notch between the east and west summits of #5. The eastern one was slightly higher and we clambered up east on class 3 terrain.
We descended the short distance back to the notch between the two summits of #5 and descended north down the other side. This descent was more complicated than the others, initially staying on an arete but eventually descending west down a junky low 5th class gully when the arete cliffed out. We took turns here to avoid knocking rocks on eachother. As the gully mellowed out, we were able to resume traversing north to the #5-#4 notch.
Secor had provided a scant description of #4, with only a short sentence: "The southeast face of Devils Crags No. 4 is quite precipitous." It's was my turn to lead again. Some initial easy terrain straight up from the notch quickly steepened, and I ended up aiming for a small chimney/offwidth to the left on the arete, about 200 ft above the notch. This went at 5.7 and protected well. Past the offwidth, I worked my way onto the left side of the arete onto a series of sporty ledges with OK protection with smaller gear. I went straight up these (5.9) for about 50 ft to easier ground and then romped up a lot of class 3-4 to the summit of #4.
Both of us were fairly parched by now. The sun was beating down hard and we had less than a liter of water each. On the upside, we had been moving more efficiently over the last few crags, and spirits were high. Onward!
The rope once again got stashed away as we descended the NW Face of #4. This was one of the easiest descents at class 2-3. A cool giant low-angle slab was could be found near the lowpoint.
We unpacked the rope again for the SE face of #3. Vitaliy took the lead, staying on or just left of the main arete on generally good rock. Besides some fun 5.6 movement, this section was not extremely memorable as it began blending in with memories of all the other terrain we had moved through earlier.
Looking at the NW ridge descent from #3, we decided to continue simuling since there were a few precipitous-looking drops. They ended up not being too bad (maybe 5.0 or 4th class) and we placed minimal gear. From the summit of #3, we continued on the main arete for about 150 ft and then descended west to bypass a few pinnacles before climbing back onto the ridge. Soon after, we dropped down the other side on a loose face (class 3-4) to the #2-#3 notch.
#2's SE Ridge was similar to #3's SE Ridge, albeit a little longer and with a few harder moves. Vitaliy surged ahead, initially staying just right of the ridge for the first 300 ft (5.7). As the ridge flattened out briefly just below the summit headwall, he veered directly onto the ridge, then climbed a right angling crack/ledge system (5.6) up the middle of the summit headwall.
Getting off #2 was a bit involved. We remained roped up. We swapped leads and I continued north along the arete (class 4) forming an arc to a lower northern sub-summit. Just north of the northern sub-summit was a low angle slab descending further north. I gingerly continued to the edge of this slab, finding dropoffs on all sides. I slowly downclimbed a series of chimneys and cracks on the north side (low 5th) to a ledge just above the #1-#2 notch, separated from the other side by a 20 ft dropoff. I set up an anchor at the top of the dropoff and belayed Vitaliy down to me.
on the northern sub-summit
After Vitaliy arrived, I continued down the dropoff (low 5th), placing no gear. My plan was to simply climb up enough distance on the other side so that Vitaliy would be on toprope once he started downclimbing into the dropoff. I made it to the end of the rope and decided to set up a belay, since it would be hard to feed out the required slack while simuling.
About 100 ft of easy climbing (class 4) up from the #1-#2 notch brought me to a series of impasses. I scrambled back and forth on a large ledge, finding nothing easily passable on the far left or right sides of it. Around the center of the ledge were a series of disjoint and poorly protected dihedrals which headed straight up. I took the rightmost one since it looked to at least had a few protectable cracks in it. About 20 ft up, I encountered a V2 (5.11a) boulder problem with a sloping rail. I pasted my right foot onto this rail and made a dynamic move out left, sticking my left hand into a hand jam further up and left. As the dihedral ended, I continued straight up on easier but loose terrain for 40 more feet before setting up an anchor. It would be a good idea to not have Vitaliy simul that move as the follower.
looking back across #1-#2 notch
looking back at the descent from #2's sub-summit
V2 move ahead
We were on a decent sized ledge with overhung terrain above us. After checking the left side of this and finding nothing that I liked, I reversed back right to find a short overhanging corner (5.9) which I clambered up, placing a laughable cam in a horizontal that would definitely not prevent me from smashing back onto the ledge. After the corner, the terrain eased off again and I made my way up and slightly left into an alcove (5.6) and onto the main arete. I followed this arete (class 3) for another few hundred feet to the summit of #1.
final push to #1
The sun set as we crested the summit of #1, feeling just as elated as we were thirsty. After signing the register and finishing our last few drops of water, we made haste in starting our descent of #1's NW ridge (class 4). We remained roped up for this, but it probably just made things more annoying as the rope got caught a thousand times as we moved across the low-angled ridge. It quickly got dark, and our forward progress became a jumble of loose rocks and stuck ropes. Eventually I said to hell with the rope and we packed it away. Besides a couple class 4 downclimbs, the NW ridge was relatively straightforward. We remained pretty much on the ridge, save for a few class 4 downclimbs where we angled slightly left.
Eventually we reached the SE Face of White Top, a small formation which marked the base of the NW ridge. We sidehilled across the south side of White Top to a notch, then proceeded to descend about 1,000 ft of loose garbage scree and finally to a tarn where we could finally get some water. I was so parched that my dry throat hurt from breathing the even drier air. We hung out for a bit here, gratefully chugging mouthfuls of clear cold water as well as being able to eat again.
Even though we were done with the meat of the route, a long night awaited us. We veered east and continued down the Rambaud Creek drainage, hopping on rocks and sliding down scree, occasionally squelching through a boggy section. As the adrenaline from the traverse wore off, I finally began feeling a bit tired. As we hit treeline and bushwhacked down through manzanita and chinquapin, I suddenly began feeling very sleepy. Sometime around 12am we finally reached Le Conte Canyon. Both our headlamps were now dying, and I was extremely sleepy. I suggested to Vitaliy that we try to nap for little bit, which he agreed to.
We got some water from the creek, ate a little, and both tried to get some sleep for maybe an hour. I don't know if I actually fell asleep, but remembered suddenly feeling cold and unable to drift off anymore. Vitaliy felt the same, so we decided to keep moving. We crossed the Kings River at some sketchy loose logs, got back on the trail, and began the long march out. The attempted sleep, although pitiful, had actually recharged my energy a decent amount, and we were able to walk and have relatively normal conversation as we began the several thousand feet of gain to Bishop Pass. As we ascended to Dusy Basin, it was strange watching the sun come up the second time since we started. The last 30 hours had felt so long yet so compressed.
We finally crested Bishop Pass around 9am and took a short water break before proceeding down the other side with noticeably sore feet. Closer to South Lake, we passed by several groups of hikers with backpacks and finishing poles, with their days just getting started. I felt surprisingly alright as we lumbered into the South Lake parking lot just before 11am. We both tidied up a bit and headed our separate ways, with me going into Bishop to find food before passing out for 12 hours. Vitaliy immediately began driving back to Salt Lake City to take care of some time-sensitive obligations. Overall, pretty good for 34 hours with little to no sleep.
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