California · Rock climbing · Paicines

The Vigilante

The hardest route catalogued at The Back Door.

5.12c
grade
Sport Bolted
style

Is The Vigilante open right now?

Alert in the area

The National Park Service lists an alert for Pinnacles National Park.

  • Fire Danger HIGH

    Park alert covering Pinnacles National Park · NPS · Pinnacles National Park

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

Best time to visit The Vigilante

Best months: October–May. 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

    63° / 34°

    12 wet

  2. Feb

    64° / 36°

    11 wet

  3. Mar

    68° / 38°

    10 wet

  4. Apr

    72° / 39°

    6 wet

  5. May

    80° / 43°

    3 wet

  6. Jun

    89° / 47°

    1 wet

  7. Jul

    96° / 50°

    0 wet

  8. Aug

    96° / 50°

    0 wet

  9. Sep

    92° / 48°

    1 wet

  10. Oct

    82° / 43°

    3 wet

  11. Nov

    70° / 37°

    7 wet

  12. Dec

    62° / 33°

    11 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Pinnacles Nm, CA, 0.2 mi away at 1,307 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

The Back Door has seven routes catalogued across a 5.8 to 5.12c range, with this climb at the upper end of that span.

Photo of the crag

The Back Door — the crag this route is on
The Back Door, California — this photo shows the crag, not this individual route.Photo: chaircrusher, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive