California · Rock climbing · Swall Meadows

Sanitarium

Sanitarium in California has 6 sport climbing routes across 4 grades.

SanitariumPhoto: Ben Chun, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
6 routes
5.11a – 5.13c
Sport

Is Sanitarium open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 4 alerts for Inyo National Forest.

As of · Source: USFS · Inyo National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Sanitarium

Best months: April–May and 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

    56° / 24°

    4 wet

  2. Feb

    59° / 26°

    4 wet

  3. Mar

    67° / 31°

    3 wet

  4. Apr

    74° / 37°

    2 wet

  5. May

    83° / 44°

    2 wet

  6. Jun

    94° / 51°

    1 wet

  7. Jul

    100° / 57°

    1 wet

  8. Aug

    98° / 54°

    1 wet

  9. Sep

    90° / 47°

    1 wet

  10. Oct

    78° / 37°

    1 wet

  11. Nov

    64° / 27°

    2 wet

  12. Dec

    55° / 22°

    3 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Bishop Ap, CA, 16 mi away at 4,102 ft. The station sits about 1,600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Sanitarium is a climbing area in the White Mountain Ranger District of Inyo National Forest in California, about 16 miles from Bishop. The land is managed as city land. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from the nearby Bishop airport weather station show April highs around 74°F and October highs around 78°F. That station sits well below the climbing area, so temperatures up here run cooler. The Upper Elbow Room and Failsafe Wall climbing areas are both about a tenth of a mile away. The Lower Rock Creek Trail and Lower Rock Creek paddling section are roughly 2.6 and 2.8 miles off.

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive