Rock Climbing at Owen's River Gorge -This past Friday I found myself traveling down to Owen's River Gorge outside of Bishop, California to do a little bit of sport climbing. The weather turned out to be perfect. Sunny skies with cool morning, warm daytime temps, and cool evenings. We opted to camp at the free campground up the road. This trip was the first significant outdoor climbing trip of the season for me.
We arrived after about a four hour drive from Reno in time to catch a few 5.9s on the left side of the Great Wall of China. After the sun caught up with us we switched over to the Warm Up Wall to finish the day. The following day we caught some great climbing on a climb named Paradise (5.9) followed by a nearby 10c arete and a 5.7. We moved over to the more crowded Pub Wall and did several climbs there before moving on to the Negress Wall and back to the Warm Up Wall. Our final day finished with a 10a, 10b, and three 9s all on the left hand side of the Great Wall of China. In total 21 climbs ranging from 5.6 to 5.10c, all excellent quality.
Owen's River Gorge is reputed to be the best sport climbing in California. With over 700 routes to choose from, winter climbing a possibility, and shade or sun available depending upon where you choose to climb, I can see why it is so appealing. In fact, we met several people from Colorado and Utah who had come just to climb the gorge. Newton and I were impressed that the place was not overbolted or grid bolted, and that the crowds seemed very reasonable. We'll certainly be returning!
3 comments:
beautiful! I remember climbing there about 15 years ago. I loved it. Do you have any idea what kind of rock that is? I remember it being fairly dark. Basalt? Cheers,
Debra
Bugsnchita@gmail.com
I think that it is volcanic tuff, similar to what they have at Smith Rocks in Oregon. Owens Valley had a lot of volcanic activity in earlier times and that resulted in lots of lava flows. Whatever the rock is it makes for great climbing. Hopefully, I can make a trip down there this fall. It isn't too far from Reno and is in its prime during the fall and spring.
Hey Tom,
Any chance that Newton is a TCU grad? If so would you mind passing on an email? Lee.Winters@sailingforsos.com. Thanks!
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