Climbing Trip August

So, I will have about a week off in August to plan a pretty solid climbing trip. I'm looking into a bunch of the crags out west (I'm currently in the south east). What are summer conditions for J-Tree? Indian Creek? Yosemite?

I'm pretty much interested in single pitch trad 5.10-11 or multi pitch 5.9 or less (the more pitches the better!).

Anyone have any advice?

While this has been dissected at great lengths in other threads, here's my $0.02.
Kinda hot in Yosemite Valley in August, but if you haven't been there yet don't necessarily let it stop you. Tuolumne will have more enjoyable weather, and lots of long moderate trad routes. Good luck finding camping, though.
Lovers Leap always good if you're coming to NorCal to climb. Lots of good routes up to 5 pitches. Then go north to Smith Rock.

TWK wrote:Tuolumne will have more enjoyable weather, and lots of long moderate trad routes. Good luck finding camping, though.

Tuolumne in the summer is amazing. Time your arrival at the Tuolumne campground ranger hut for 5AM Monday - Thursday (hut opens at 8AM) and you are almost guaranteed to get a spot for up to two weeks. Plan on excellent meals at the Mobil station (Whoa Nellie Deli) in Lee Vining and Tioga Pass Resort.

Thank's for the input. I've climbed in some brutal humidity here in the Alabama summers, so anything less than that would be great haha.

Dave, how are the flat irons in the summer?

Flatirons are great, and distinctive climbing. Boulder is cool (micro-breweries), and you would have to climb at Eldorado Springs, Boulder Canyon, and Lumpy Ridge if you visited for a week. Camping in Boulder is not impossible but requires more planning/research into National Forest lands camping.

The summers are warm but bearable for climbing. The Flatirons all face east so they are shaded in the afternoons. Oh, and the humidity is pretty low.

Are you dead set on cragging or open to some alpine climbing? Cause august is prime season for that. Think bugaboos, high sierra, elephant's perch, RMNP, etc.

Tuolumne would be prime. Lumpy ridge outside of Estes Park would be sweet, paired with an alpine route or two in the Park.

J-tree, Indian Creek and Yosemite Valley would all be really hot in August.

Andrew Mayer wrote:Lumpy ridge outside of Estes Park would be sweet, paired with an alpine route or two in the Park.

Heck yeah, alpine! Look at pictures of Petit Grepon, Sharkstooth, Spearhead, and Keyhole Ridge and you will be convinced. Nice and cool too. :-)

I'm partial to TM

Tuolumne Meadows area and Tenaya Lake, from Olmstead Point, Yosemite NP

Its effing awesome and beautiful with or without the climbing.

Agreed on TM. Wow, that picture is full of great climbing with Tenaya Peak on the right, Pywiack and Dozier domes centered, and Stately Pleasure dome on the left. Cathedral Peak is just out of frame in the right background. It would take you weeks to begin to do justice to the rock in that picture.

Is that Conness Peak in the center background? Back to fun alpine climbing there!

Southeast Buttress of Cathedral Peak. Easy but World Class with unbeatable views. Easy approach through gorgeous territory. Would be a great intro to Tuolumne and the high Sierra.

Charlotte Dome, Bear Creek Spire, Fairview Dome.

A week's not long enough. You may never be happy in Alabama again. You may not ever go home.

I paid my debt to society--I spent 4 years of my life in Alabama. Auburn's not as bad as the rest of the state. I did zero climbing those 4 years, though.

All I can say is Wow. I'm afraid I really wouldn't come back.... Since the time that picture got posted, I started looking for jobs out west. Hopefully the trip I take there this summer will be as I'm moving. Thanks for all the awesome feedback.

squamish ...

the sbucks is a 5 min WALK away from the bluffs, and a 15 min walk away from the grand wall

:)

+1 for Tuolumne and the High Sierra

The weather is more stable than the Front Range and the camping situation is way friendlier. The Leap is not going to feel very challenging if you climb at that grade. There are some shady things that are reasonable to do that time of year in the Valley (e.g. Steck-Salathé).

I made this plot for myself in my ongoing internal debate about where to live/climb (yes, I realize it is super nerdy).

rain

enjoy!

No, no, we were just kidding.

It's way too crowded, hot, rainy, and humid way out west. You really don't want to move from Alabama--you'll hate it here. You'll miss all the, um, something ...I'm sure there's something you'd miss.

Okra?
Rebel flags?
Fat chix raised in mobile homes?
Tornadoes?
Greasy sandstone chose heaps?

fossana wrote:The Leap is not going to feel very challenging if you climb at that grade. There are some shady things that are reasonable to do that time of year in the Valley (e.g. Steck-Salathé)!

He said he leads multiple-pitch at 5.9. He'd love the Leap!

TWK wrote:Okra? Rebel flags? Fat chix raised in mobile homes? Tornadoes? Greasy sandstone chose heaps?

Didn't get out of Auburn much, I take it?

BirminghamBen wrote: Didn't get out of Auburn much, I take it?

Sure did. And I got the f**k out of your redneck $hithole of a sorry excuse for a state as soon as I could.

And if we want to turn this into an exchange about how fukt up Alabama is, start a new thread:

"How come nobody ever posts 'Suggestions for vacation in Alabama', why is it always "Coming to California--Climbing Suggestions?"?

Go to Tahquitz. I was there for two weeks last summer. The moderately long but incredible steep approaches keep the crowds at bay. The high number of quality multi-pitch is astounding. Good camping. Amazing town. For my entire time there, I only waited for one climb, the Open Book.

Open Book...worth the wait

John Marsella wrote: well, that escalated quickly

Yeah, sorry. But spend any length of time in that culturally regressive region and you'll understand my angst.

And seriously, there are a lot of climbers who used to live in Alabama and there are a lot of people that live in Alabama who used to be climbers.

That's why this thread was about another Dixie refugee headed West.

TWK wrote: Yeah, sorry. But spend any length of time in that culturally regressive region and you'll understand my angst. And seriously, there are a lot of climbers who used to live in Alabama and there are a lot of people that live in Alabama who used to be climbers. That's why this thread was about another Dixie refugee headed West.

By the same token...I've lived in CA for a good while and climbed there pretty extensively, but it'd be hard to convince me to move back. I love to come back for climbing vacations, but I'm not sure I'd live there again without some really big incentives. Course...I don't live in Alabama and I've never been there.