New to Climbing in Mammoth?
Start at these four crags (Sport climbing & toproping)
Photo: Hangin’ out at Horseshoe Slabs
As a climber if you’re new to an area, it can be extremely tedious learning where the best crags are and how to get the beta you need.
The section below will point you to the four best climbing areas (in our opinion) for beginner and intermediate sport climbers & topropers in the Mammoth Lakes area.
This is purely an intro! If you’re looking for detailed route info, there’s a library of beta on Mountain Project, from local guidebooks and local climbing shops, which we’ve provided links to in our article below.
Without further ado, here are a list of our go-to climbing areas in Mammoth Lakes!
Horseshoe Slabs
Summary - A small, beginner-level crag that’s really close to town; perfect for a couple quick laps when you’re short on time. Horseshoe Slabs is a great teaching wall—especially for cleaning anchors and repelling, due to easy access to a couple sets of bolted anchors with rap rings at the top of a small crag to the right of the main wall.
On the main wall itself, some of the toprope routes are intended to be anchored around trees at the top. If that makes you nervous, there are easy bolted sport routes on the wall as well.
I’ve take first-time climbers here on two separate occasions without any confusion about the climbing beta or accessing the anchors.
Photo: Looking up at the main wall of Horseshoe Slabs | Courtesy via: Mountain Project
Location - Horseshoe Lake in the Lakes Basin area—just a 10 min. drive from downtown Mammoth.
Seasonal Timing - Whenever the Lakes Basin area is open.
Type - Mostly Toprope and Sport. Supposedly some trad.
Difficulty - Mostly beginner with some intermediate.
Over a dozen climbs between 5.4 - 5.10a. Expert climbers will probably be bored here.
Classic Climbs - Rodeo Rider (5.6), Blacksmith (5.8), Horseman (5.10a)
Directions - Simply drive to the Horseshoe Lake parking lot. You can even take the free trolley to the trailhead.
Approach - From the parking lot, follow the main trail wrapping around the right side of the lake toward the west shore (it’s the most intuitive trail you can follow). It’s a flat, leisurely walk that shouldn’t take longer than 10 min. The bottom of the crag is level with the main trail and no more than 40 ft. away to your right. It’s very obvious, and you’ll be able to see it as you’re walking by.
Guidebook - None that I know of, but probably not needed for this crag, given the few number and overall easy grade of the climbs. Local shops might have some detailed resources.
Resources
MountainProject - Rock Climbing at Horseshoe Slabs
Clark Canyon
Photo: View from the parking lot | Courtesy via: Mountain Project
Summary - Like Owen’s River Gorge, a true sport climber’s Mecca! Clark Canyon is a volcanic tuff pocket paradise with over 100 routes.
Most climbs are intermediate level bolted sport routes (including some legendary multi pitch sport climbs). These routes are tall (110+ ft.), so bring your 70m rope.
Location - 25 min. NE of downtown Mammoth, along Hwy 395. If you're looking to stay a couple days, you can find a few designated campsites with bear boxes in a meadow roughly a mile before the parking lot.
Seasonal Timing - May through October, depending on season conditions. Here’s what I love about the Eastern Sierras—by the time Owen’s river starts getting too hot for climbing, the higher elevation Clark Canyon hits its peak season.
Type - The vast majority of routes are bolted sport climbs, with a small handful of trad and bouldering options. Don’t come here if you’re looking for toproping—you won’t find much.
Photo: Courtesy via Climbnrock.com
Difficulty - Lots of options between 5.6 - 5.12d, especially in the intermediate range
Classic Climbs - Wild Will’s Arete (5.8), Pull My Finger (5.10a, 3 pitches), Driller Instinct (5.10d) - incredible route, King Spud (5.11b)
Directions & Approach - A little tricky getting there. Many low clearance vehicles may not be able to navigate the uneven dirt road leading to the parking area. Find turn-by-turn instructions on Mountain Project.
Approach - The crag is just a 1/4 mile away from the parking area.
Guidebook - Mammoth Area Rock Climbs: The Climbing Guide to the Eastern Sierra North, by Marty Lewis
Resources
Mountain Project - Rock Climbing in Clark Canyon
SummitPost.org - Clark Canyon Sport Climbing (very detailed)
Touchstone Climbing Blog Post - Clark Canyon Trip Report
Warming Wall
Photo: Routes on the main wall | Courtesy via: SummitPost.org
Summary - Another great sport climbing wall really close to town, great for a couple quick laps when you don’t have time for a full-day climbing excursion.
Most routes are small (40-50 ft.) and made of sharp, grainy and (mostly) good quality volcanic rock.
Location - Literally in town; the start crag basically sits at the bottom of Chair 7 (the trailhead and parking area is just past the Austria Hof Lodge).
Seasonal Timing - April through November. However, living up to the promise of its name, this south-facing wall gets really hot in the summer time.
Type - Sport and trad, although Warming Wall can also be set up for toproping (Mountain Project doesn’t mention this).
Difficulty - True intermediate to advanced. The vast majority of the routes on the warming wall are in the 5.10-5.11 range, with two easy trad routes (5.4 & 5.8) that are good to learn on.
Classic Climbs - Dodgeball (5.10b), Greenhouse Effect (5.10c)
Directions & Approach - Great specific directions to the crag here.
Guidebook - None that I know of, but again probably not absolutely necessary since it’s a small, popular crag close to town. Local shops might have some detailed resources.
Resources
SummitPost.org - Warming Wall
MountainProject - Rock Climbing at Warming Wall
YouTube - Warming Wall, Mammoth Lakes (just a quick video that shows you what the area is like)
Owen’s River Gorge
As you can imagine, Owens River is an epic climbing area, but not on a hot day…
See our full Owen’s River Gorge Climbing summary in Bishop Area Climbing.
Summary - A 10 mile long canyon made of Bishop's famous volcanic tuff, Owen's River Gorge is one of the most well-developed sport climbing meccas on the west coast.
Location - 30 min. south of downtown Mammoth on Hwy 395.
Seasonal Timing - October through May. The gorge gets hot during the summer, which leads to slick holds on popular climbs, mostly due to the nature of the rock.
With a lengthy approach and a lot of sun exposure down in the canyon, it’s easy to get that feeling of being trapped in the heat anytime after May.
Rock Creek
Coming soon!
