BETA PHOTO: Looking out at Santa Barbara (mainly UCSB) and the...
Getting There
Santa Barbara is a low-key town an hour north of Los Angeles. Take the 101 north and you go right through town.
Description
Santa Barbara has a large number of short cliffs scattered about the ridgeline behind the city. The rock is dense sandstone of mixed quality and primarily bolted. Like San Luis Obispo, it's not a destination area, but good routes exist.
The rock is soft, and softer when wet, so please respect the one day of drying for each day of rain rule.
Guidebooks currently available in local stores:
Rock Climbing Santa Barbara & Ventura by Steve Edwards (well put together and still quite complete, covers roped routes as well as the major bouldering areas)
Ocean's Eleven - Bouldering around Santa Barbara by Bob Banks (brand spankin' new!)
And a guidebook not currently available in stores, but obtainable on Ebay, Amazon, etc:
"Climbing! Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo" by Steve Tucker and Kevin Steele. A fabulous text that pays ample homage to Santa Barbara's traditional roots. A little outdated in some areas, but a gem of adventurous and off-the-beaten-track routes nonetheless. It's out of print, so happy searching!
Here's some additional climbing related links with a local flair:
www.king-dino.com: catalogue of climbing and assorted adventure from guidebook author Bob Banks.
www.sbbouldering.com: loads of enthusiasm and some local headlines from climber/filmmaker Paul Dusatko.
www.crankenstein.com: let burly sport climber and Owl Tor afficionado Elijah Ball show you what's rad, and what's not. Topics range from climbing to freediving to weightlifting.
Good jams to a angry mantel. Pro is at one's feet for the mantel, making it a spicy lead. Approach from above, nothing to be gained by scrambling around the base. Once on top, walk across the top to the west and then down a few feet to a ledge.Mid way down on the east side is a nice ledge for abusing the climber by throwing stones or taking pictures. ...[more]
Nice to see Santa Barbara make it here. I first climbed here when my brother introduced me to the sport in 1984. Man that was some years back.
By Mike Morley Administrator From: Oakland, CA May 16, 2006
For single-pitch sport climbing, you've got several options in and around SB:
Toxic Waste Wall / Upper Gibraltar - more than a dozen quality lines from 5.9 to 5.11b. Can be quite hot in summer. 20 min from downtown SB.
Wheeler Gorge - on the way to Sespe along Hwy 33 - a good variety from 5.8 to mid 5.11 on 3 distinct rock types. Nice when it's hot, right along creek. About an hour or so from SB.
Little Lebowski - a good half day's worth. Short routes. A 15 min walk, just off W Camino Cielo.
Fire Crags - a good half day's worth. Nice views. Short routes, short approach. Right off 154 at Painted Cave.
Crag Full 'o Dynamite - zero approach, about a dozen short, fun routes literally right on the road. 15 minutes drive past Upper Gibraltar.
An hour and a half to the north, San Luis Obispo has some fun climbing on entirely different rock than the Santa Barbara/Ojai/Ventura variety. The best routes are on Bishop Peak and the [currently closed] Cerro Romualdo.
Pretty much the only multipitch climbing within 3 hours of Santa Barbara is at Sespe Gorge. Ending Crack is the best of the lot. Tahquitz/Suicide offers many fantastic multipitch routes, but it's a 3.5 hr drive from SB directly through L.A. Tollhouse Rock is another option for multipitch, but again, it's a good 5-hr drive, you're almost better off going to Yosemite.
By andy patterson Administrator From: Santa Barbara, CA Jun 19, 2007
Actually, there are a number of awesome multi-pitch routs in S.B.: Cathedral Peak (adventuresome 3 pitch 5.7), Upper Gibraltar (2 pitch 5.10b), and a number of others...
Santa Barbara
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