Hetch Hetchy  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Elevation:  4,000' Page Views:  2,516. Good page?    Administrators:  M.Morley, Sam Vanderhyden, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  ElGreco on Aug 16, 2012 Make this area a Favorite What's New  Printer View Add Area  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event  Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 70° | 36° 64° | 30° 59° | 32° 63° | 32° 61° | 30°

Hetch Hetchy

Description 

Hetch Hetchy Valley has been named the "other Yosemite Valley". Situated inside Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy Valley was described by John Muir as "one of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples". Initially protected by the establishment of Yosemite National Park, in 1913 the city of San Francisco won congressional approval to build the O’Shaughnessy dam on the Tuolumne River, which flowed along the valley floor. The dam buried the valley under 300 feet of water.

Today, the reservoir and dam dominate the character of Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Climbers seldom venture here, opting instead for the Mecca that is Yosemite Valley. Nonetheless, Hetch Hetchy is well worth a visit by you, your partner and your gear if you are looking for something different.

Hetch Hetchy offers a mix of climbs, from easy roadside topropes to long and hard aid routes on its tall walls. As you would expect from an area that has not had generations of climbers on its routes, the rock can be a tad dirty in places. Information does not abound on the routes. However, at Hetch Hetchy you will find a different face of Yosemite, solitude, adventure, fun climbs and a chance to leave the guidebook behind and put up new routes.

Last but not least, hopefully you will find inspiration among its sheer granite walls, and the opportunity to ponder the debate of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley first hand.

Getting There 

From Hwy120, just outside the entrance to the Park at Hodgdon Meadow, turn onto Evergreen Road, following signs for Hetch Hetchy.

The Classics

Featured Route For Hetch Hetchy

Wandering Albatross 5.10a  CA : Yosemite National Park : ... : H3

A super-fun and quality route with varied climbing that makes the most of the short wall by wandering left and right! You will use face climbing, possibly a mantel, fingerlocks/ringlocks, awesome handjams and fists. Start on the large flake near the middle of the wall and work your way on it via a strenuous mantel or a long reach up and left. The lip on the flake is intermittent, so work out your sequence! Then follow the finger crack above to where it meets a horizontal crack. Another finger cr...[more]   Browse More Classics in CA

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Hetch Hetchy

O'Shaughnessy dam