California · Rock climbing · Big Bear Lake

Fisherman's Buttress - East Face

Fisherman's Buttress - East Face in California has 12 routes across 8 grades, offering sport and trad climbing.

Fisherman's Buttress - East FacePhoto: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
12 routes
5.9 – 5.12c
Sport · Trad

Is Fisherman's Buttress - East Face open right now?

Closure in the area

There's a closure order in Mountaintop Ranger District. It doesn't name Fisherman's Buttress - East Face, so check the source for the area it covers.

As of · Source: USFS · Mountaintop Ranger District. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Fisherman's Buttress - East Face

Best months: May–October. 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.

  1. Jan

    46° / 24°

    6 wet

  2. Feb

    46° / 24°

    6 wet

  3. Mar

    51° / 27°

    6 wet

  4. Apr

    57° / 31°

    4 wet

  5. May

    66° / 37°

    2 wet

  6. Jun

    75° / 43°

    1 wet

  7. Jul

    80° / 50°

    2 wet

  8. Aug

    79° / 49°

    3 wet

  9. Sep

    73° / 44°

    2 wet

  10. Oct

    63° / 35°

    2 wet

  11. Nov

    53° / 28°

    3 wet

  12. Dec

    46° / 24°

    6 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Big Bear Lake, CA, 3 mi away at 6,753 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Fisherman's Buttress - East Face is a climbing area in California's San Bernardino National Forest, within the Mountaintop Ranger District. The Forest Service manages the land, and the East Face sits alongside the West Face and the Upper Toetally Broken Buttress, all within about a tenth of a mile of each other. The area is home to 12 climbing routes, a mix of sport and trad, with grades ranging from 5.9 up to 5.12c. Sport routes dominate, with eight of the 12 falling in that category. Trout Fishing in America, a 5.11b sport route, and Shadowcaster, a 5.12c sport route, are among the more notable ones. Fishbone, a 5.10b sport route, was first climbed by Pete Paredes and Chris Miller in July 2000. Summer is the warmest stretch. Typical averages from the nearby Big Bear Lake weather station, about 3 miles away, show July highs around 80°F with lows near 50°F. Winters there are cold, with January highs around 46°F and lows near 24°F. Nearby, Big Bear Lake, about 0.4 miles away, offers fishing, and Castle Rock is a hike about half a mile off. The Bluff Mesa Loop Trail is about a mile away, and Bluff Mesa Group Camp is roughly 1.2 miles out.

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive

Fisherman’s BouldersPhoto: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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