UKC

Planning a trip to El Cap next year.

After advice on when to go (September maybe?). Expected prices of flights, car hire, unexpected costs that a first timer probably won't think of.

Basically any hints and tips, and what your last trip cost you roughly. So we can start budgeting and planning

Cheers in advance.

In reply to CharlieMack:
I'm off in Sept/Oct this year, but I'll probably just spend October in Yosemite, off to Tahoe first.

Flights cost me £680 to San Francisco from Manchester (via Philadelphia), hire car for 7 weeks cost me £730. BMC insurance was £230.

If you just plan on being in the valley, you can save a lot of money by getting the bus there (via Merced I think). You can use the valley buses to get around a lot of the crags, but it won't run all the way down to El Cap, so you might have to hitch for some areas.

Camp 4 is $5 a night (or at least it was in 2011).

EDIT: You can apply for an ESTA online (US visa waiver) up to 2 years in advance and the cost is minimal (can't remember exactly). It will give you 3 months in the US, but you'll have to book your flights first (they need your flight details). Likely you will be accepted immediately (unless you declare yourself to be a terrorist).

EDIT: There are no showers at Camp 4. You can get a shower at Housekeeping (get the bus towards Curry Village), take your own towel and sneak in (or pay $5 and borrow a towel), or get the code for the showers in Curry Village (they're for the campers at Curry Village but it got passed around by word of mouth, not sure if this is usual). Or don't shower.

EDIT: The Camp 4 toilets can get a bit messy. If you fancy a bit of morning luxury, wander down the road towards the village and use the tourist toilet, a lot nicer. Or even better, go over the road and sneak into the Yosemite Lodge toilets.

In reply to CharlieMack:

When I flew in 2011 I went Virgin Atlantic direct from heathrow to SF. It cost me about 600 quid.
I just looked and you can do the same from 29th Sept to Oct 20th for 900 quid.

The same dates with American airlines are 885 quid which includes a change at LA which sounds extortionate beacuse AA are like the long haul easyjet.

E

In reply to CharlieMack:

If you're going to stay in the valley and don't want to pay for a car that's just standing idle. You can get to Yosemite in three hops from the airport pretty easily. Last time I took BART (San Francisco underground) straight from the airport to the end of the line at Richmond where you can pick up the Amtrak train to Merced. The YART (Yosemite Area Rapid Transport) bus connects at the train station and will take you straight to the Yosemite Lodge car park just across the road from Camp 4.

You should be able to find all the timetables online easily enough.

In reply to CharlieMack:

Make sure you download the Mountain Project app, it's available for Android, not sure about iPhone.

In reply to Ewan_B:


On the other hand, if it's super hot (quite possible in Sept) a car lets you nip up to Tuolomne or even the East Side which is a great place to visit, super climbing and a much more open feel than the Valley.

In reply to seankenny:

And there's some amazing looking alpine routes in the Sierra Nevada.

In reply to CharlieMack:

Flights that give free baggage allowance for sports equipment can save money even if the ticket price is a bit more expensive (if you need a second bag as your kit is over 22kg) If you book far enough in advance you can get OK deals... we just got Virgin to LA for under £500 for our biennial redrocks / joshua, tree trip. They had closed the pizza place in the village in Sept 2013, where in the past those on really tight budgets could hoover endless food for free... just.curry village or the big breakfast place in the lodge now where its harder (cheakiest I saw was someone pretending to clear the trays). Coffee often gets free refills, so keep that cup pristine Sept is a great time to go as Facelift is on with great evening talks similar to kendal but with more real climbers in the audience and all for free (except beer which is cheaper than normal)... be a hero and help them out clearing litter for a while at the crags you visit. Ignore the 'not before dawn' queue advice for camp 4 you will never get a place...

In reply to Offwidth:

Although myself and a friend both got pitches with no queueing by rolling up at lunchtime, on different days. I don't know if this is a good strategy, but I might try it again.

In reply to Offwidth:

>Ignore the 'not before dawn' queue advice for camp 4 you will never get a place...

Unless you just call in at lunchtime and get the pitch from the people who decided to check out that morning. Like I have done the last two times.

E

In reply to CharlieMack:
I went late September in 2013. Flights to/from Manchester £600. Could have been cheaper but I left it a bit late for booking.
Book a basic but cheap camper van on line, $350 for 2 weeks, with all the gear for camping that you will need. Pick up in the San Fran area. They even threw in a tent and sleeping bag and mat for free so we could accommodate extra friends. Gas is for nothing compared to over here. Forget Camp 4, too much hassle. Over the road stay at one of the Pines camps. No showers but, toilets, wash basins and fresh water. A walk across the road to Curry Camp and we had free showers with free towels, no sneaking around. It was all legit as the signs said. Free Wi Fi on site there as well with a store, guides office and pizza place.
Use the valley bus service to get around and yo can get dropped off at the base of El Cap as we did. Book your campsite in advance, plenty of room but it should be cheaper.
Weather was warm and sunny during the day but mornings are dark and cold and come 7pm it is dark, really dark. Always carry a head torch even on the valley floor. The stores shut down at 5pm. Best to buy food outside the park, perhaps in Oakdale, but even so the store in the valley is as cheap as home and less. We had superb steaks to cook on the B B Q on our pitch.
Didn't need a waterproof all the time we were there.
Have a great time.

In reply to CharlieMack:
Thanks for all the replies. Lots of really helpful advice. Going to hire a car, as there is going to be 3 of us going for climbing, and my girlfriend is coming over and will be using the car while we're on the wall. (hopefully she can bring us stuff to the bottom the first few days too to make life a little easier).
Getting really excited now, just wish i was going this year not next.

In reply to Enty: Good info on American airlines being like Easyjet. May have booked with them otherwise!

In reply to Offwidth: Will keep an eye out for free sports baggage, super handy tip, cheers.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS: What's the app for?

In reply to CharlieMack:




I just looked and AA are code sharing with BA so you could be lucky and get on a BA plane but going from my 2010 experience I'll never go with them again. My knees were touching the seat in front - not good for 8 hours and drinks were 4$. on Virgin we got free choc ices halfway through the flight

With Virgin I got masses of luggage.
You get 23 kilos free
23 kilos sports allownace free (haul bag)
extra 23 kilos £32 each way
8 kilos cabin bag free

I was loaded right up, on the way back I had 75 kilos, not much fun getting from heathrow to St Pancras on the Tube

E

In reply to CharlieMack:

Mountain Project is part online guidebook, part logbook, part lifts and partner finder: very useful.

In reply to Co1in H Most shops shut early but the main village store is open until 8pm. The other campsites are better if you are in a group but at $20 a pitch its expensive for a pair and you have to book way in advance. One other reason I dont like booking is in our 8 or so september trips, twice we completely shuffled our plans around based on forest fires. They used to do walk in spaces at other sites but Camp 4 is currently the only place in or close to the valley (the next nearest is now Tamarack Flat, about 40 mins on the roads if at all busy). Tuolumne still has 1st come places and it is worth checking for cancellations. White Wolf is good if you want to climb at Tuolumne and the valley and Tuloumne is full.. Another tip is to formally sign up for Facelift, you will have to help out a bit more but you then have free camping during the 5 days and a booked space and campfire banter with people who know and love the climbing there (we met those working on the new guide).