California · Rock climbing · Nevada City

Upper Wall

Upper Wall is a sport climbing crag in California with 12 routes on 11 difficulty grades.

12 routes
5.10+ – 5.12d
Sport

Is Upper Wall open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 2 alerts for Tahoe National Forest.

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

Best time to visit Upper Wall

Best months: May–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

    44° / 25°

  2. Feb

    46° / 26°

  3. Mar

    51° / 27°

  4. Apr

    56° / 30°

  5. May

    64° / 37°

  6. Jun

    75° / 43°

  7. Jul

    82° / 48°

  8. Aug

    82° / 47°

  9. Sep

    76° / 44°

  10. Oct

    65° / 37°

  11. Nov

    51° / 30°

  12. Dec

    43° / 25°

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Lake Spaulding, CA, 0.8 mi away at 5,156 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Upper Wall is a sport climbing area in the Yuba River Ranger District of Tahoe National Forest in California, about a mile from the town of Spaulding. It sits among a cluster of climbing spots, with Upper Gorge and The Gorge both about 0.1 mile away. The area has 12 sport routes, with grades ranging from 5.10a to 5.12d. The median grade is 5.11b. High and Dry is the easiest at 5.10a, and Repo Man is the hardest at 5.12d. The routes were first climbed between 1989 and 1990 by climbers including Mike Carville, Jori Richnak and Brian Mason. Summer is the most comfortable time to climb. Typical averages from the nearby Lake Spaulding weather station, at about 5,150 feet, show July and August highs around 82°F with lows in the upper 40s, while winter highs sit in the low 40s. Spaulding Lake Trail is about 0.9 mile away, and the Sierra Discovery Trail is about 2 miles off. Rucker Lake campground is about 2 miles away, and Fall Creek, a canoeing spot, is about 3.2 miles away.