Big Chief Conditions

Gates are open, road seems like it has been improved.

The gates are open, went last weekend. You can drive all the way in.

About what time of day does the sun crest the wall?

The easier climbs start getting into the sun around 1-130. The stuff in the cave is almost completely shaded till 3.

Does anyone know what the road conditions look like this early season? I know it's been a bit muddy but the weather has been pretty sunny. Curious if they have opened any gates etc. 

Road condis are great. Was just up there today. Second gate is still closed. Almost no snow on the road whatsoever. Was about a 3 mile hike in 

Is big chief open yet? May 2024

Howdy! This is gonna be my first time in the area, so I don't know to much about it yet, but from what I gather there are 2 gates. I'm trying to figure out if either are open, and how far the approach is based on the current gate situation

Both gates are open. Standard summer approach, about 20 minutes from the parking lot.

Anyone been up there yet this year? Are both gets open / is the wall accessible?

M Wwrote:

Anyone been up there yet this year? Are both gets open / is the wall accessible?

I went up 2 weeks ago and the Gates were open

Are both gates open? If anyone's been up there or contacted the ranger station. They haven't picked up my calls.

Ethan Petreewrote:

Are both gates open? If anyone's been up there or contacted the ranger station. They haven't picked up my calls.

Were you able to find out? 

Emailed today, waiting for a response!

Both gates are open as of 12/05, assume it will stay that way as long as the warm weather holds.

Thanks Lurker, That's good to hear! This is the response I received on the 1st: I’d only be guessing as I haven’t driven it for a few weeks, but it’s probably mostly clear with snow patches in the north facing aspects.  Gates shouldn’t be closed quite yet. - Jonathan Fisher USFS

I hope they keep it open on Saturday the 13th, and logically I think they would unless they preemptively close it. I don't see snow on my forecast app till the 16th, the Tuesday, but obviously we're a week out so weather can and will change. 

If anyone wants to join I am aiming to climb the 5.11s and try a 5.12 or two on the 13th of December! I'll probably go with a friend or two, maybe I can convince my parents as well to brave the cold to get on real rock. 

And an update is that the gates are open at big chief.  Typically, they close them towards the end of December depending on the snow situation. If anyone wants to come climb with us, we'll be at The Oven around 9:15 tomorrow morning! Climbing 5.10a to trying the 5.12a

Hi,

It’s been a dry winter this season. Any chance the gate is open yet?

There are currently several gates closed between the neighborhood and the normal parking lot. Despite the mostly dry winter the upper parts of the 06 road haven't been snow free. Also as far as I can tell the Forest Service opens gates more on a routine schedule than based on current conditions, and it would stand to reason that all of the personnel cuts, budget cuts, and massive reorganizations of the last few years will only make them slower to respond to conditions. Sometime in June is usually a good bet.

Unfortunately I just learned that there likely won't be a Big Chief season at all this year, as the Forest Service has a mechanical fuel reduction project in the area with an associated access closure that starts tomorrow, May 1 and extends through the end of 2026-

https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/tahoe/newsroom/releases/upcoming-wildfire-risk-reduction-projects-may-temporarily-impact

The closure area fully contains Light Deprivation Buttress and all normal access trails to the main Big Chief wall. I'm not aware of any other legal routes on public land to get to the Big Chief climbing area-

https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r05/tahoe/publication/alerts/17-26-03%20Big%20Chief%20Sale%20Closure%20Order.pdf

😭

Update: access is open now! Though the season will still likely be super short.

Gates are open and the 06 road is clear, dry, and in good shape all the way to the parking area. The early season flooded forest that covers the approach trail has receded to just a small pond that isn't hard to get over on logs.

I found another forest service map that shows real time open / closed status for the many mechanical fuel reduction projects around Truckee this summer. The Jackass area closed earlier this week but the Big Chief area is open for now:

https://www.truckeeforests.org/project-updates/

Sounds like the Big Chief area will close in the next week or two but who knows, just check the map before heading out.