California · Rock climbing · Swall Meadows

Upper Gorge

Upper Gorge in California has 11 climbing routes across 10 difficulty grades, featuring sport and trad styles.

Upper GorgePhoto: Ben Chun, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
11 routes
5.9+ – 5.13a
Sport · Trad

Is Upper Gorge 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 Upper Gorge

Best months: April–May and September–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

    47° / 18°

    3 wet

  2. Feb

    52° / 22°

    4 wet

  3. Mar

    60° / 28°

    3 wet

  4. Apr

    67° / 33°

    2 wet

  5. May

    76° / 42°

    3 wet

  6. Jun

    87° / 50°

    2 wet

  7. Jul

    94° / 56°

    2 wet

  8. Aug

    91° / 53°

    2 wet

  9. Sep

    84° / 45°

    2 wet

  10. Oct

    71° / 33°

    2 wet

  11. Nov

    57° / 23°

    2 wet

  12. Dec

    46° / 16°

    2 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Dyer 5s, NV, 32 mi away at 4,900 ft. The station sits about 1,100 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.

Upper Gorge is a climbing area in the White Mountain Ranger District of Inyo National Forest in California, on city-managed land. It sits among a cluster of climbing spots, with Warm Out Wall and Trestle Wall each about 0.1 mile away. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 76°F and October highs around 71°F, while July averages about 94°F and winter lows dip to the teens. Lower Rock Creek Trail, Section 3, is about 2.5 miles away, and Lower Rock Creek offers canoeing about 2.8 miles off. Sand Canyon, a mountain biking area, is about 3.7 miles away, and Tuff Campground is about 5.6 miles away.

Routes (11)

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