UKC

Hi, I'm planning a 2 week trip to California in August, which is mostly touristy but hope to get some cragging in (and yes I already know it will be too hot mostly). We're flying into Vegas and travelling eventually to San Francisco. I'm looking to do single pitch sport only (no climbing partners, but non climbing family members happy to belay) to keep luggage weight down.

I've based the itinerary on some previous helpful posts on UKC (yes really!), but I've got a few additional questions if anybody can help. Climbing F7a/+, V4/5 by the way.

1) I'd like to get in at least one route at Red Rocks. Am I likely to get anything done at The Gallery at any time of day in August?
2) I'm planning to travel via Bishop to Mammoth (should be cooler than ORG?). If I'm lucky I might snatch an hour or 2 in Bishop. Is there any roadside bouldering at Bishop which is worth trying without a mat / spotter?
3) I've bought the Mammoth guide and Clark Canyon looks good. How popular / polished is it and will I need anything more than the usual family saloon hire car to get to the crags.
4) After Mammoth I'm planning to go to Yosemite for a day or so and wondered if there was any single pitch sport or easy low ball bouldering worth a look, or should I just stick to touristy stuff?
5)If there's nothing suitable in Yosemite, should I try Tuolomne instead?

Sorry for the ramble....any help gratefully received.

Chubbs

In reply to chubbs2:

I travelled from San Francisco to Las Vegas and back again in the first three weeks of September.

My advice would be stick to high elevations as anything low is likely to be ridiculous.

Tuolumne meadows is significantly higher than the valley so here would be a good bet and I believe it is where all the locals go in the summer months. Beautiful place, great climbing.

Other than that seeking shade may be an option; The buttermilks were too hot to climb for most of the day in September however the happy boulders were situated in a steep sided valley with boulders close together offering a lot of shade. The UKC article on Bishop was very helpful.

I also climbed at Owens river gorge, not as picturesque as other Sierra areas but some great sport climbs with one wall always in the shade.

Finally if you fancy travelling a little further north Tahoe had some great sport with comfortable temperatures in a beautiful setting that even the non climbers would appreciate.

Have a good trip.

Probably too hot. Maybe look at Black Corridor for some shade.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/black-corridor/105732030


Happies or Sads for sure. Or try out Deadmans Summit or the Bachar Boulders. Both are basically roadside.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/deadman-summit/106159406
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/bachar-boulders/106047133


Clark is good and not really polished. All sport and pretty short. Any car will be able to get in there.


Yosemite Valley will be hot, but go and at least look at the Camp 4 bouldering. Approach is maybe 1 minute from the car. Not sure on the sport stuff, but there are bolted climbs right near the road.

Do both. Tuolumne is on the way to the Valley from Bishop/Mammoth. Roadside bouldering all over, and some good topropes and bolted climbs all near the road.

In reply to Tru: Thanks, looks like I need to get a Tuolomne guide as well.
And good to know there's something worth stopping at Bishop for even for a couple of hours.

In reply to Russ Walling:

Great Russ, really useful. I'd never even heard of the Black Corridor and the bouldering links are really useful. I think we'll stay around Tuolomne and just have a day in Yosemite.

In reply to chubbs2:

Here are a couple vids of boulder problems from the Bachar Boulders:

http://www.fishproducts.com/movies/bachar_boulders_layback.mov

http://www.fishproducts.com/movies/billy_bb_crack480x360.mov

Great area right off the road in June Lake, north of Mammoth a short way.

In reply to chubbs2: I can second all of Russ's responses. In much of the US west there is generally very low humidity, which in practice means that it is reasonable to climb in the shade, especially in the mornings, even when the air temperatures are unreasonably hot in the sun. I have climbed in most of the areas that you mention during summer months (usually June or July but August shouldn't be very different)and, with an early start, always found climbs to do. At Red Rocks, as Russ mentioned, the Black Corridor is a good choice as it is easily accessible, something will always--or almost always, be in the shade, and it has a good spread of grades in a concentrated area.There are a fair number of other shaded outcrops as well, and it is even possible to do some of the longer routes in places such as Black Velvet Canyon as they are in the shade for a good part of the day. Clark Canyon is perfect for your purposes and is a fun and scenic place to climb. The roads aren't great but you can navigate them in generic rental cars. The road network to get in there is confusing though, so get good directions. There are a number of other good climbing areas in the Mammoth/Bishop area that are worth visiting and often in the shade, such as Rock Creek Canyon. I've done plenty of routes in Yosemite in the shade on summer mornings, but none of them were sport routes. I haven't climbed there in recent years, but it is my understanding that there are still very few sport routes as such in the Valley (or Tuolomne either) and most of those are in the upper levels of difficulty. However there are a good number of "traditional-style"(ground-up, run-out) routes that rely totally or largely on bolt protection. I definitely prefer Tuolomne during the summer and I'm sure that you can find routes to suit your needs (and your "traveling rack")up there.

In reply to chubbs2:

Thanks again folks for all the help. Some really useful suggestions, topos and videos etc.

Cheers

Chubbs

another vote for the meadows.
drop the family off at tenaya lake to relax on the beach whilst you have some fun.
i think the top of dog dyke or dome? (or somthing like that) is bolted at the top, pretty quiet and a few mins walk from the view point at far end of the lake. tuolumne is amazing. save the touristy things for the valley.