Anyone know what the weather is looking like for this weekend? I am showing sun and a high of 55, how is the rock in these conditions? What climbs get sun all day and is there snow and ice down? I am impatient to get back on the rock.

Try the ice on the north side of Tahquitz. With the snowfall, warm days, and cold nights the ice should be forming nicely.

Ha! I am trying my best to avoid the ice!
Anybody been out there recently that would know how bad it is?

Try heading out to J-Tree... It's usually pretty nice this time of year, and it's not much further from so. cal.

Ya Jtree is nice but I want multi pitch awesomness that only tahquitz can offer. Has nobody been out there this time of year? The whole south face should catch sun pretty much all day. I am guessing that it would make beautiful climbing weather, but I don't know if there is a snow cap on top that will make the whole thing a mess of wet rock with boulders rolling down, or if I need snow shoes to jump up the scree pile.

I was in Idyllwild last weekend. The entire rock was covered in snow and ice.

=( this sucks. Sorry all you ice climbers but I hate winter. I want my stellar rock back. Tuolommne(sp?) is closed unless I want to ski a couple miles in, Tahquitz is icy, and Yosemite is probably cold as well. Anyone have beta on good alpine granite that is not snowed in?

Usually durring this time of the year the south side is pretty climbable. All you have to do is navigate some water in places, but nothing to hard. Even though the south side traps some heat, I bet it is cloder the a witches titty up there. Here is what NOAA says forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=33.76088200086917&lon=>>>

If you want to climb more then two full pithes I would bring your ice tools. That has to be good right now, with all the precip. That has been coming down.

Though with all that said, I would go up there and try to climb something if your stoked on it. You would have the place to your self and it is sure to be adventureous. More
Iike a mountaineering outing.
Maybe these place
www.mountainproject.com/v/mendoza-canyon-aka-coyote-domes/10>>>
www.mountainproject.com/v/baboquivari-peak/105738022
Or you can head past the border to the trono



Cheers, hope that helps

The South Face of Tahquitz is definitely climbable and would be quite nice in the sun. The same goes for the Sunshine face at Suicide, which is in full sun by 8am.

As for ice, I climbed the North Side Gully this morning. The approach to the north side and the gully have significant enough snow to necessitate an ice axe and crampons. The gully is generally nice neve snow with a few powdery spots and a few water ice sections. Awesome conditions! The rock itself is iced up in places, but the majority of it is very thin. There are a few slabs on the right side of the North Side Gully that are iced up well enough for climbing. Some friends of mine were up there on Sunday and had a good day ice climbing.

Edit: To be clear, I descended on the south side of the rock, so I was able to see it clearly. No water streaks on the major routes, as far as I could see.

Thanks my man! I have a kind of noob with me so I would hope to not have to much epicness on this trip haha.

Dude, I admire your optimism but it's been in the 30s in LA with some recent precipitation. What makes you think it's Tahquitz season, especially with a noob in tow? Sure you could get lucky, but Josh is the far safer bet.

Ya I have a list of stuff in jtree that I want to do. But cmon! The temps say it will be in the 50's in Tahquitz. Thats warm enough to climb isnt it? haha.

Jtree it probably will be and I am sure fun will be had.

Keep watching the forecast, supposed to be signficantly warmer this coming weekend than it was this past weekend.

Ryan, tell me more about the ice conditions up there! What routes/sections currently have climbable ice?

=( this sucks. Sorry all you ice climbers but I hate winter. I want my stellar rock back. Tuolommne(sp?) is closed unless I want to ski a couple miles in, Tahquitz is icy, and Yosemite is probably cold as well. Anyone have beta on good alpine granite that is not snowed in?


Hazard..... I don't know where you live but I will let you and the world know a place.

The Kern River Canyon, north of the town of Kernville. Some of the formations are in the old guides, some are not. The only time you can climb on some of these, cause it gets so hot in the spring, summer and fall, is the winter time. Also the rocks located EAST of lake Isabell... along the 178, have good sunny climbing. These are in the guides as well... "The Fortress" and "Burnt Granola" are two of the older formations. Look around.... there are more to find.

pm me if you want.

Tahquitz Ice:
I did not see any major, named routes iced up enough for climbing. However, some of the low angle, class 3 and 4 slabs, on the right side (when going up) of the North Gully had iced up pretty well as of Monday morning. Today, the temps got into the upper 50s in Idyllwild so there's no telling what condition the ice is in now. This weekend is going to be warmer as well so the ice may become too thin or hollow to climb safely.

Tahquitz and Suicide Rock:
It was awesome and sunny today. You'd be warm climbing in the sun at either rock. All you have to do is endure a hike up the approach trail in well packed snow. Many people have been up there since the last snow so staying on trail should not be an issue to those with eyes. Micro spikes would make the hike more enjoyable.

To the OP. The words "Alpine", "Rock", and "Winter" rarely coincide to mean warm and dry. Your best bet is Tahquitz.

I don't mind cold. Just keep that bloody snow off of me. Haha. Thanks for the report, I got a campground in Indian cove and tick list to do. I will wait on tahquitz. I am interested in this are Guy is talking about. It has been awhile since I was in that area and I don't recall seeing any formations.

This has always been my favorite time of year for open book. Good time to give chingadera a go too.

I scratched the rock from the larks to el whampo. Not much ice, but a little to scratch. The first pitch of el whampo is a fun little mixed pitch. But more scratching rock than ice. The gulley getting to el whampo can also be a fun scramble... although we had cold in fern valley we lacked a good precipitation event to feed any good ice. Still, itz been good fun.

if you can navigate the seasonal glaciers, and the hungry mountain lions, its t-shirt weather on the rock. and its oh so sticky...

but the dangers of winter climbing should not be overlooked. JT is still the safest place to go for winter climbing... and i am glad everyone agrees!

In jtree and it is fun. But man there are do many people here! Barf. Should've ran to tahquitz.

how's tahquitz looking right now? im planning to had out this weekend

Most likley cold and icy.... it was like a hi of 48 f last monday in Banning.

Luck to you.

San Diego backcountry has some pretty amazing multi-pitch climbing.

Its no Taquhitz but Eagle Peak (mostly bolted), Corte Madera and El Cajon Mtn have climbs up to 500 feet in length. Plus no one is out there.

All are South facing and super nice this time of year.

Any word about ice conditions in The Trough? I'm hoping there might be some good ice up there by this weekend.

It has not even been a month yet but I am hoping that for some reason Tahquitz might have thawed out.
I like the SD backcountry suggestions, might try and find someone to do that with.

Its getting there. With the snow in the mountains today and tomorrow prob a no go for the very short term. However it looks like its gonna heat up midweek next week (wed/thurs) into the high 60's. I will most likely head on up there around then.