Royal Arches

Royal Arches Cascade area, from The Ahwahnee. Phot...

Description 

Royal Arches is a tremendous arched wall found on the north side of the Valley, just west of Washington Column. The wall is formed of white granite with cool black streaks running down it and it looms impressively over the Valley's Ahwahnee Hotel. Easily the most popular route on this wall is the moderate Royal Arches Route (5.10b or 5.7 A0), amazingly first climbed in 1936 by Ken Adam, Morgan Harris, and W. Kenneth Davis. This is a really cool experience for many first time Valley visitors, as the route takes you from floor to rim and is easily climbed in a day by most parties.

Getting There 

As with Washington Column, it used to be you could park at the Ahwahnee and hoof over to the Column on the bike path, but I've heard recently that you can't park there anymore (permit req'd?). Maybe someone can post up the current beta...

The Classics

Featured Route For Royal Arches

Royal Arches 5.10a/b  CA : Yosemite National Park : ... : Royal Arches

Royal Arches is considered by many to be one of Yosemite's all-time classics. To be entirely honest, I'm not really sure why. While the route weaves its way up an impressive band of rock at a relatively easy grade, there are certainly other moderate climbs of superior aesthetic quality. Perhaps it is the history behind the climb, first negotiated in 1936, or the easy approach combined with an accessible grade of 5.7 A0, or the simple fact that...[more]   Browse More Classics in CA

Photos of Royal Arches Slideshow

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"Maxine's Wall", 1975. Photo by Blitzo.	BETA PHOTO: Royal Arches	Royal Arches and North Dome...
Looking up at the Arches from the boulder field