Somewhere in the craggy hills of the Okanogan lies a wall of smooth granite called the Brain. It is about 80' tall and split by two discontinuous crack systems. This brief story concerns itself with the Left Side of the Brain, the most inviting looking of the duo.

The first time we spotted the Brain, it was damp after recent rain, but the two thin cracklines splitting the blank face were too striking to pass up. Like any other potential route in this remote and seldom visited area, we had no idea of the difficulty or first ascent history. But the

left one looked doable. It turned out to be one of the finest cracks we've done in a long time. The pro is thin but adequate, the moves amazing and hard, but never desperate. It unfolds as a series of creative finger crack problems with tiny, off balance stances to shake out at, while fiddling with small stoppers and TCU's. The rock could use a bit of wire brushing to clean off the lichen, and the occasional placement need a little digging. But so it is out here.

We eventually learned about the name from another local, who also said the two cracks were rated in the mid tens.