Climb in Yosemite

The climbing community - by experience and reputation - knows this very well... climbing in Yosemite is a blast! This location is considered a mecca for the best rock climbers from around the world, and it is an admirable challenge for many to decide to include the walls of this Californian national park in their repertoire. And with good reason!

Those who practice this adventure sport already identify Yosemite as a must-see stop. However, there is no doubt that it requires immense courage, and optimal physical condition and mental preparation to carry out this sporting discipline in conditions as vertical as those found on many of the walls of this valley.

If you are a die-hard lover of heights and rock climbing is your thing, nothing will fill you with more pride than putting your drive and skills to the test like the walls in Yosemite National Park will.

Even if you are initially visiting as a tourist or are a beginner to check out the terrain or lose any fear, visiting this incredible location will be an amazing experience that will take your breath away in the best possible way.

Thinking about taking on the challenge on your next adventure trip? Start your journey right here, and learn more about the climbing experience in Yosemite!

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is best known for its steep waterfalls and massive granite rock faces. It is a site of over 3,029 square kilometres and ranges in elevation from 600 to 4,000 metres and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. It normally attracts around four million visitors a year, although only a few thousand are climbers. Yosemite itself is a valley in California, USA, integrated into Yosemite National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada in the same state.

Its privileged fauna and flora, as well as its panoramic views, waterfalls, cascades, lakes of glacial origin, granite rock formations and its iconic giant sequoias make it an impressive tourist attraction, especially for lovers of adventure and climbing large rocks (Big Wall Climbing).

It was once an area inhabited by various Aboriginal tribes until the mid-19th century. Although it was preserved and protected by former US President Abraham Lincoln in 1864, it was finally established as a National Park in 1890, thus becoming one of the top ten in the world.

When planning a visit to Yosemite, it is important to take into account that the national park is huge, with many conservation regulations, and that it extends across 4 counties in the state of California. The vast majority of visitors concentrate in Yosemite Valley, which is about 20 square kilometers, where we find the main tourist locations, hotels, campsites, restaurants and shops.

In addition to taking into account that it is a hot state and that the weather in the park will require appropriate clothing and footwear, sunscreen, repellents and so on, it must be taken into consideration that it attracts many tourists, so making reservations for accommodation (hotels or campsites) in advance will be important, especially during the summer. None of this takes away from the fun of the experience, but it never hurts to prepare well and in advance so that you always enjoy it to the fullest.

CLIMBING ON BIG WALLS

Do you already have experience with big wall climbing or Big Wall Climbing? This is a very particular and demanding type of climbing that requires one key element: a big wall, like those you'll find in Yosemite. But don't forget that it also requires a lot of expertise in the subject, optimal physical and mental condition, and also a lot of information about the nomenclature of the surfaces and technical knowledge of the material and equipment. You must prepare yourself very well for this type of climbing, and leave no room for improvisation.

Big wall climbing is a type of rock climbing that involves a route of various pitches using ropes and equipment to attach to the surface of a rock face. It takes more than a single day to climb, and requires the use of specialized equipment that you must carry with you and install as you climb, including a specialized hammock because you will have to live and sleep there hanging during your climb.

That's right, courage must fit in that backpack you carry on your back, along with the desire for adventure and adrenaline.

To progress on the walls you will need to wear safety tape, a helmet, climbing shoes (climbing shoes), fill your chalk bag for better grip, use a harness attached with carabiners and quickdraws, and support your ropes on hooks, nails, and stirrups, as well as use anchors, Friends, nails and/or fissures, depending on the case.

However, what will really define the right equipment you will need for your trip (besides the most basic items) is the degree of difficulty of the wall you are going to climb or of each specific section on that wall.

Remember that you must be an expert if you plan to climb on the most difficult and challenging surfaces, and if you are not yet, start at the lowest level, and climb your ticket to the top with a lot of effort, dedication and desire to master the sport.

When moving around the walls of this Valley, you must place your protective material on the wall - with temporary anchors as we have mentioned before - in the cracks in the wall, but if you cannot do this, you insert the so-called parabolts (anchoring tool) or screws.

Climbing and drilling at the same time will not be easy, and it also requires a lot of care and concentration because in the case of Yosemite the granite walls are very smooth. You can consider hanging yourself artificially and placing screws in the wall and continuing after finding a resting spot in the climb.

But these are circumstances that vary greatly depending on the climb, whether you are going alone or with someone, the wall you choose and the style you use. With this will come decisions that you will have to make in order to reach the top of the wall in the safest way.

CLIMBING IN YOSEMITE

Climbers of all stripes will find their place in Yosemite, from the most beginner to the most experienced. So don't worry, there is something for everyone!

You can take lessons by enrolling at the Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service, which offers practical classes for beginners, intermediates, and advanced climbers who have not tried climbing in Yosemite before. There you can rent all the necessary equipment and also attend informative seminars.

For the more advanced adventurers, there are the more advanced rocks. The large granite rock formations you find in Yosemite are truly massive walls, and typically take several days to climb.The preparation is arduous and the summit is enchanting in all its peaks, but the most challenging vertical rocks to climb are El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point.

The experience of climbing in Yosemite

Climbing in Yosemite is truly a vertical adventure, no matter how you look at it. When you arrive at the national park, you will breathe pure air that you have never felt before. It is so well preserved and cared for that you will find few “mistakes.”

The place is beautiful in every sense, although it is true that if it gets very crowded you might find it overwhelming to find a place to stay and so on. But the truth is that it gets crowded precisely because it is truly unique, both at its base and at the top.

Also, it's an experience that you live with yourself and with the rest of your companions or family. Just like climbing, you can go alone, but if you go with companions it becomes an event that revolves around trust, in yourself and in the person you climb with. So, when you go to Yosemite, you will put the issue of trust to the test a lot, and if you pass that test you will be more than happy.

Nature has done wonders over the years, and man has always tried to conquer it. The experience of climbing in Yosemite is all about conquering the rocks, of course, but also conquering personal limits.

In Yosemite, everyone finds their own summit, because although there are some super-talented climbers who go all out, alone and with no equipment, everyone knows their limits and knows how far they want to go. Step by step, climbers are achieving their goals here, because it is also great for practicing on less difficult rocks and then increasing their difficulty.

The routes and paths are dream challenges. The waterfalls, the panoramas, the sporting atmosphere, everything is really charming. Bravery is in the air, and so is camaraderie. Everyone who goes there finds an atmosphere of camaraderie. Everyone goes there for the same thing, to a greater or lesser degree. There are plenty of adventurous people who really want to have a good time and leave there proud of themselves, for achieving their goal or for having the courage to try.

Reaching the top is like floating. You feel like you have stepped on top of the world. And what's more, the pride you feel in yourself is impressive. You have tamed the "untamable." Feeling the waterfalls up close is amazing, and also challenging. The water is such that it polishes the rocks, leaving them smooth. Imagine it's like a video game, which increases the difficulty along the way, but in real life. It's extremely exciting, you never get bored, and you can't! Your best friend will be concentration and perseverance as you place each hand, foot and material between the cracks.

Getting used to the area and adapting to this type of rock will be essential. Practice the sticking routes, and also the way you fit between the cracks. This rock is special. When you come into contact with it, you realise that it is not just any rock. You will have to get used to putting on and taking off the protective equipment on this type of wall. Practice makes perfect. Think about preparing yourself on the spot with short and medium-long routes, before you tame the bigger walls.

There are many that are great for that:

• Short routes at the base of El Capitan
• Nutcracker in the Eagle Creek Area
• Ribbon Fallas Area
• Reed's Pinnacle Area
• The Cookie Cliff
• Arches Terrace
• Washington Column

These are just a few examples, but the truth is that there are many good ones to strengthen yourself and prepare you according to your goals.Remember that these are some tips that you can take into consideration, but they do not replace professional guidance or qualified training.

Difficulty levels in Yosemite

The Yosemite difficulty system, and the one applied in the United States in general, is very specific compared to other European grading systems and criteria. When you visit Yosemite, these are the ones you should pre-consider before starting your climb.

Developed by the Sierra Club in the 1930s, the Yosemite Decimal System (YSD) was designed to grade climbs and hikes in the Sierra Nevada, California, where Yosemite National Park is located.

For those who don't know, this system is made up of three parts that you should consider: grade, class, and protection. Class is the most important because it directly refers to technical difficulty.

We show you a little bit of the table of equivalences that are valid when you go climbing in Yosemite, with respect to the French system, which is one of the best known:

The other two factors we mentioned are measured by their degree of exposure and their degree of commitment.

Remember that in traditional climbing it is typical to have several shared gradings, but also depending on the different routes to be taken. For example, El Capitan in Yosemite, which interests us, has many routes, and each route has sections in which the difficulty changes, and becomes more or less difficult. You will see it in the specifications of each section of a rock, there are some that are “easier” and others that are more “difficult”. The important thing is to know that you can achieve it successfully. If you see the term in the quotes "obliged" This means that this route must contain a section of at least that grade and you must have the skills to overcome it or you will be left halfway. So if you do not master this circumstance, then you do not meet the requirements to climb it.

A bit of history: a chronology of climbing in Yosemite, divided into three periods:

Increasingly, we have seen professional climbers raise their level of competence. They are no longer concerned only with exploration, as they were at the beginning of climbing in this valley, but with taking classic wall climbing in Yosemite to the extreme, in less and less time and in more risky conditions without harnesses or traditional equipment.

However, traditional big wall rock climbing is the most popular type of climbing in Yosemite Valley. If you are thinking of being one of the bravest to climb it, the first and most important recommendation is that you go very well prepared and have practiced the less difficult walls very well. Once you have mastered the easier ones, you will be able to venture onto the more vertical and demanding walls like those found in Yosemite, especially the most famous and sought-after: El Capitan.

THE CAPTAIN

This legendary wall needs little introduction. With its 914 m prominence and a total elevation of 2,308 m, El Capitan is the great symbol of Yosemite. This impressive granite rock is one of the world's most coveted climbing meccas.

At the end of the day, no matter which way you choose to climb, El Capitan will leave you in awe, and reaching the summit will leave you even more so.Although The Nose is the most famous and the most difficult of all, it has many routes to climb, including the following:

• The Salathé Wall
• Freerider (on The Salathé Wall)
• The Nose
• The Dawn Wall
• The Dyno Pitch (in The Dawn Wall)
• Pacific Ocean Wall
• North American Wall
• The Child
• Gulf Stream
• Native Son
• Tangerine Trip
• Chaos
• Zodiac
• General Surgeon
• The Prophet

Remember: to really enjoy the rock climbing experience, it is essential to have solid knowledge and level 6a rock climbing skills, as well as having done aid climbing and being in excellent physical condition.

ACCOMMODATION IN YOSEMITE

If you travel to Yosemite you have two options: stay inside the park or stay in nearby cities. As we have mentioned, the national park is huge, so the best option is to stay inside it: you will save travel time, which is 2 hours (or more if there is traffic) and you will also avoid traveling too far inside it, since you will have to enter and leave daily if you are visiting for several days.

If you decide to stay outside the park, although it is not ideal, you will find many accommodation options in the surrounding area close to the main entrances of the park: Big Oak Flat Entrance, Arch Rock Entrance and Fish Camp and Oakhurst.

You will find towns near these entries where you can make a reservation, for example, The Portal, Midpines, and Mariposa, Buck Meadows, Groveland, Sonora. There are options for all styles, you will find something great that fits your budget.

If you stay inside the park you have many more advantages, of course, but it is true that you must do it in advance so as not to run out of space, especially if you want to experience camping there, which many travelers prefer.

Inside the park, the advantage is that you can find many types of accommodation, from hotels of all kinds, to private cabins, apartments, and spaces for tents and recreational vehicles. It is important to know that you can find each type of accommodation in different locations throughout the park. So you should locate on a map the exact location that best suits your travel needs.

It has 13 campsites or campgrounds divided into three zones of the park (Yosemite Valley, Yosemite Valley South Zone, and Yosemite Valley North Zone) where you can pitch tents or enter with your RV/camper, depending on its size. It will take you a second to look at the Yosemite National Park website where you can get more information on the subject at this link.

The Yosemite Valley area is where most tourists stay, so it will be more crowded. The southern area is closer to the giant sequoia forest. And the northern area also has nearby points of interest closer to the entrance to Big Oak Flat.

You can reserve camping spots online on the park's website, but you must do so several months in advance. You can choose the camping area you want as long as it is available, because not all of them are open all year round. And then there are others that do not require reservations, but are handled on a first-come, first-served basis depending on availability, which they call "First-come, first-served."

Canvas tent camping (already set up in the park) is a very cheap accommodation option if you are on a tight budget and also if you are a camping enthusiast and like all that campfire stuff. They usually have bunk beds to save space, and although some may have heating, there are many that get freezing cold during the winter, so you should prepare well for them if you visit these tents during this time of year.

The sites are also managed by the park and there are several areas to choose from. You will find 4 campsites specifically for this accommodation, and an additional one that functions as a lodge during the winter at Glacier Point.

The two most famous ones are in the Yosemite Valley area: Half Dome Village, which is the largest of all with a pool area and large tents, some equipped with their own bathrooms; and the Housekeeping Camp. On the access road to Tioga Pass you will find the other two: the White Wolf Lodge and the Tuolumne Meadows, which, although they close during the winter, also allow this type of accommodation the rest of the year.

There are also areas of the park where you will find wooden houses and apartments that are very nice and picturesque in their style, as well as having all the luxuries and comforts. You will find them in three areas of the park: Yosemite West, Wawona, and Foresta.

And then there are some beautiful hotels inside the park, but there are only three and they fill up very quickly, so booking in advance is essential. This option is more luxurious, and therefore more expensive: The Majestic Yosemite Hotel (about €500 per night), Yosemite Valley Lodge (about €250 per night) and Big Tress Lodge (about €150-200 per night).

About the mythical Camp 4

Let's talk a little about the legendary Camp 4 and why it is so famous among climbers.

It was the meeting place for the most outlaw climbers of the 60's, who didn't have a penny, but were lovers of climbing and didn't mind staying outdoors and camping as long as they were close to the biggest and most challenging rocks. During this time, Yosemite Valley became THE PLACE to climb, and little by little they shaped the future of the sport.

This course is still very sought after and also very special in a nostalgic sense. But today it is subject to new maintenance rules, like the rest of the park, especially for its care and preservation. So the traditional atmosphere has increasingly dissipated.

In addition, the reservation system for this location has also been recently modified. The traditional system that worked by signing up on a list is no longer applicable. Right now you must register on the park's website and make a payment of $10 that gives you access to the weekly drawing for a spot, and with a bit of luck you can stay there.

Although there are legendary things that remain. The smell of firewood from the campfires and pine sap enchants you as you walk through this field, listening in the distance to an atmosphere of camaraderie and laughter among colleagues. Nowadays it is not difficult to find all kinds of people, from businessmen to hippies, and also from all over the world. Walking through this field you can hear Chinese, Italian, Russian... each one doing their own thing, coming back from a climb or getting ready to go up, between picnics, laughter, tears and even guitar or harmonica chords in the distance, a community of completely different people meet, but with a common passion: big wall climbing.

Without a doubt, the most impressive granite mecca is found among these great walls of California. Whether you climb El Capitan or another wall in the park alone or with your friends, you will feel an almost liberating feeling of adrenaline. This place has become a benchmark for rock climbing and also a perfect place to break new records and see new climbers grow.

And no matter their ability, every climber who travels to Yosemite arrives with the dream of completing the climbing route they long for. For many, it has become a rite of passage and for others, an annual tradition. If you are in a position to fulfill your dream of climbing big walls, you can make it a reality in Yosemite, California. Research and practice a lot will be the key to your success, but so will commitment and the desire to improve.