All Locations > California > Eastern Sierra > Bishop Area > Owens River Gorge > Central Gorge

Upper Crust Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Upper Crust

L › R R › L A › Z

	Butterknife T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Darshan (aka Ripoff) S 5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
	Expressway S 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
	Feudal Beerlords T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Fork it Over S 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b R
	Nirvana S 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Offramp S 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
	Road kill S 5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c PG13
	Uncertainty Principle S 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c

Order Wrong? Sort Routes

Explore this area in 3D

Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Elevation:	5,285 ft	1,611 m
GPS:	37.51236, -118.57093 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	11,423 total · 170/month
Shared By:	Marek Hajek on Nov 8, 2019
Admins:	Aron Quiter, Euan Cameron, Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes Page Updates (admin only)

See Weather Forecast

Access Issue: Bridges Out! IMPORTANT LADWP NEGOTIATIONS!! Details

Due to liability concerns, bridges are being removed in the Owens River Gorge at the request of LADWP. The Bishop Area Climbers Coalition and the Access Fund are currently in negotiations with LADWP to get this issue resolved. In the meantime, please continue to be good land stewards by respecting these bridge closures and finding alternate crossing points until this issue is resolved.

1) Never park or camp overnight at the access points.
2) Always park off the pavement, taking great care to avoid blocking the gates.
3) Clean up after your dogs. (Local climbers are finding abandoned doggie poop bags.)
4) Pack out all trash and TP, including picking up after others.
5) Use the outhouses if at all possible.

Description

As viewed from the river, the Upper Crust is found immediately left and up from Social Platform. In fact, it used to be called Social Platform before its route collection grew too large and was split into two areas. Upper Crust is now the left area.
The left half of Upper Crust faces directly west and gets afternoon sun, while the right half of Upper Crust faces north-west, more north than west. Hence, the two area classics, Expressway and Darshan, found on the right half, stay shady from morning till early afternoon.

Getting There

A bridge used to exist 50'[15m] south (downstream) from where the Central Gorge trail meets the unpaved road at the bottom of the Gorge. Now, the crossing is a lot more adventurous. It is possible that a tree branch or a rickety plank has been placed where the bridge used to be. This changes day to day. Many wade across the river - bring flip-flops.

9 Total Climbs

Route Finder - Best Climbs for YOU!

Location:	Upper Crust Change
Type:	to Trad Sport Toprope
Quality:
Pitches:
Sort by:	then:

Classic Climbing Routes at Upper Crust

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 12 ● Butterknife Trad
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 118 ● Nirvana Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 50 ● Feudal Beerlords Trad
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 31 ● Offramp Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 238 ● Expressway Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 17 ● Uncertainty Principle Sport
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b 98 ● Darshan (aka Ripoff) Sport
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c PG13 5 ● Road kill Sport