California · Rock climbing · Yosemite National Park

The Slack to West Buttress

14 traditional climbing routes in California spanning 8 difficulty grades.

The Slack to West ButtressPhoto: lewinb, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
14 routes
5.5 – 5.11b
Trad

Is Slack to West Buttress, The open right now?

No closures listed

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

As of · Source: NPS · Yosemite National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit The Slack to West Buttress

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.

  1. Jan

    48° / 29°

    9 wet

  2. Feb

    51° / 30°

    9 wet

  3. Mar

    57° / 33°

    10 wet

  4. Apr

    63° / 38°

    8 wet

  5. May

    70° / 45°

    6 wet

  6. Jun

    80° / 51°

    3 wet

  7. Jul

    89° / 57°

    1 wet

  8. Aug

    89° / 57°

    1 wet

  9. Sep

    83° / 51°

    2 wet

  10. Oct

    71° / 41°

    3 wet

  11. Nov

    56° / 32°

    6 wet

  12. Dec

    46° / 28°

    8 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Yosemite Park Hq, CA, 3 mi away at 4,018 ft. The station sits about 900 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.

The Slack to West Buttress is a climbing area in the Yosemite Wilderness, inside Yosemite National Park in California, on land managed by the National Park Service. Fall and late spring tend to be the most comfortable times to climb here. Typical averages from the Yosemite Park Hq weather station, 3 miles away, run around 71°F highs and 41°F lows in October and about 70°F highs in May. That station sits roughly 900 feet lower, so expect it to be somewhat cooler at the crag. The National Park Service lists a fee for activities in the park. Close by, Southwest Face and Little John and La Cosita are both about 0.1 mile away, and the Rockslides hike is about half a mile off. For an overnight base, Lower Pines Campground is about 4 miles away.

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive

Southwest FacePhoto: Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Southwest Face

~0 min drive

Southwest Face in California offers 24 climbing routes across 12 grades with bouldering pads, mixed, and trad.

Little John and La CositaPhoto: Koshy Koshy from Faridabad, Haryana, India, CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Little John and La Cosita

~0 min drive

Little John and La Cosita in California has 7 climbing routes with mixed and traditional styles.

Moby Dick and Pterodactyl TerracePhoto: Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Moby Dick and Pterodactyl Terrace

~0 min drive

16-route climbing area in California with mixed, sport, and trad options.

Southeast BasePhoto: Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Southeast Base

~0 min drive

Southeast Base in California has 9 climbing routes across 7 difficulty grades.

Southeast FacePhoto: Koshy Koshy from Faridabad, Haryana, India, CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Southeast Face

~0 min drive

Southeast Face in California has 17 mixed and trad routes across 8 grades.

* Yosemite Valley BoulderingPhoto: Bala from Seattle, USA, CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

* Yosemite Valley Bouldering

~0 min drive

Yosemite Valley Bouldering in California has 29 routes.

Little Wing AreaPhoto: Lahti213, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Little Wing Area

~1 min drive

Little Wing Area in California has 9 traditional climbing routes across 6 grades.

MSG BoulderPhoto: Meburian, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

MSG Boulder

~1 min drive

MSG Boulder in California offers 5 bouldering routes across 4 grades.

Ribbon Falls AmphitheaterPhoto: fran-42, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Ribbon Falls Amphitheater

~1 min drive

Ribbon Falls Amphitheater in California has 9 routes across 6 grades, offering mixed and traditional climbing.

El CapitanPhoto: dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

El Capitan

~1 min drive

El Capitan is a California climbing crag with 1 route and trad climbing.