California · Rock climbing · Yosemite National Park

First Tier

First Tier in California has 11 climbing routes across 6 grades, offering sport and trad options.

Photo: lamblukas, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

11 routes

5.6 – 5.10c

Trad · Sport

Is First Tier open right now?

No closures listed

The National Park Service lists no closures for Yosemite National Park.

As of Oct 24, 10:30 am PDT · Source: NPS · Yosemite National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit First Tier

Best months: March–June and September–November. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

Jan
48° / 29°
9 wet
Feb
51° / 30°
9 wet
Mar
57° / 33°
10 wet
Apr
63° / 38°
8 wet
May
70° / 45°
6 wet
Jun
80° / 51°
3 wet
Jul
89° / 57°
1 wet
Aug
89° / 57°
1 wet
Sep
83° / 51°
2 wet
Oct
71° / 41°
3 wet
Nov
56° / 32°
6 wet
Dec
46° / 28°
8 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Yosemite Park Hq, CA, 0.5 mi away at 4,018 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

First Tier is a climbing area in the Yosemite Wilderness, inside Yosemite National Park in California, which the National Park Service manages. It sits among several named climbing spots in the park, with Five Open Books and Swan Slab each about 0.2 miles away. The Yosemite Falls Trail lies about 0.4 miles off. The area is built around a cluster of climbing routes. OpenBeta lists 11 routes here, nine of them trad and two sport. The grades run from 5.6 to 5.10c. Among the standouts are Munginella at 5.6, the 5.8 Fire Fly (a sport route), and The Surprise at 5.10a. Work Around the Skirt, also a sport route, is the hardest at 5.10c. For timing, late spring and early fall tend to be the most comfortable. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 70°F and October highs near 71°F. July and August average highs of about 89°F, while winter brings highs in the upper 40s and lows around 28 to 30°F. The National Park Service charges a fee to visit. Yosemite Falls Trail and Camp 4 West are both about 0.4 miles away. Lower Pines Campground is about 1.8 miles away, and the Merced River, a paddling route, is about 5.6 miles away.