California · Rock climbing · Mammoth Lakes

Ugly Duckling Area

Ugly Duckling Area in California has 9 bouldering routes across 8 grades.

Ugly Duckling AreaPhoto: Jane S. Richardson (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
9 routes
V0 – V9
Bouldering

Is Ugly Duckling Area 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 Ugly Duckling Area

Best months: June–September. 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

    41° / 13°

  2. Feb

    38° / 12°

  3. Mar

    42° / 15°

  4. Apr

    45° / 22°

  5. May

    54° / 27°

  6. Jun

    65° / 33°

  7. Jul

    71° / 38°

  8. Aug

    70° / 36°

  9. Sep

    65° / 32°

  10. Oct

    57° / 26°

  11. Nov

    47° / 20°

  12. Dec

    40° / 12°

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Tuolumne Meadows Rs, CA, 28 mi away at 8,694 ft. The station sits about 1,000 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 Ugly Duckling Area is a bouldering area in the John Muir Wilderness, within the Mammoth Ranger District of Inyo National Forest in California. The Forest Service manages the land, and the area sits inside designated wilderness. The climbing here is all bouldering, with nine routes spread across the V0 to V9 range. The Ugly Duckling route, the hardest at V9, and Spinnaker, the easiest at V0, are among the named ones. The Seam Area and Huggy Bear Area both lie about 0.1 mile away, so the Ugly Duckling Area pairs easily with those. Summer is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Tuolumne Meadows, which sits about 1,000 feet lower, show July highs around 71°F and lows near 38°F. That station's figures are only a guide, and temperatures in the wilderness run cooler. For a longer outing, the Emerald Lake-Skelton Lake hike is about 0.3 mile away, and Coldwater Campground is about 1.3 miles off.

Routes (9)

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