California · Rock climbing · Yosemite National Park

The Widow's Tears Area

The Widow's Tears Area is a California climbing crag with 5 routes spanning 4 difficulty grades.

Photo: Richard Wood, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

5 routes

5.10c – 5.12c/d

Trad

Is The Widow's Tears Area open right now?

No closures listed

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

As of Oct 24, 10:00 pm PDT · Source: NPS · Yosemite National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit The Widow's Tears Area

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.

Jan
45° / 27°
9 wet
Feb
46° / 27°
9 wet
Mar
50° / 28°
10 wet
Apr
55° / 31°
7 wet
May
63° / 37°
5 wet
Jun
73° / 44°
2 wet
Jul
80° / 51°
1 wet
Aug
80° / 49°
1 wet
Sep
75° / 45°
2 wet
Oct
64° / 37°
4 wet
Nov
53° / 30°
6 wet
Dec
44° / 26°
9 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at So Entrance Yosemite Np, CA, 13.7 mi away at 5,047 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

The Widow's Tears Area is a climbing area in Yosemite National Park, California, within the Yosemite Wilderness. The National Park Service manages the land, and the area sits inside the park's wilderness boundaries. The climbing here is all trad, with five routes ranging from 5.10c to 5.12c/d. Windjammer is the easiest at 5.10c, and The Lurch is the hardest at 5.12c/d. Windchill and Windfall are both 5.11a, and Riding on the Wind is 5.11+. Summer is the most comfortable time to climb. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show July and August highs around 80°F with lows near 50°F and only about one wet day a month. Winter is much colder, with highs in the mid-40s and lows in the upper 20s. The Valley Loop Trail is about half a mile away, and the Leaning Tower Area and Aw. Wawona Road (highway 41) are each about 0.8 miles off. Bridalveil Creek Campground is about 4 miles away.