Topnotch

It's hard to justify giving 3 stars to a route when only one pitch is 3 stars.... Topnotch, the name, is dedicated only to the crux pitch which is 3 stars...I thought this pitch was somewhat reminiscent of

Butterballs

in the Valley, just not as splitter. When standing under the right side of the east face, it's hard to mistake the 80 foot plaque of stellar rock.... You only need to climb funky alpine rock on pitches before and after. The 5.9 pitch just after the crux is actually OK (exciting). After 4 or so pitches, arrive on the large ledge of the East Meadows. A couple hundred feet of the

Spiral Route

puts you in the notch where you have two descent options...4th class weaving down the northwest ridge or 3 double rope raps down the west face (2 bolt stations).

To find the first rap: From the notch, 3rd class move over the chimney/gully toward the west, look for a large boulder leaning against the wall.

Alpine rack + 0.4"-1.5" cams for the crux pitch.