Guided Rock Climbing in Pine Creek Canyon near Bishop, California.

Less than a half-hour drive from downtown Bishop, Pine Creek Canyon is a rock climber’s paradise. Granitic cliffs and buttresses of all shapes and sizes line the canyon’s northwest side. I was blown away when I first happened to drive up the canyon (‘93 or ‘94, maybe?) while looking for a pleasant place to escape the heat in the valley and camp for a night or two in between some alpine climbing trips higher up in the Sierra. I remember staring for hours at the giant amount of rock and wondering why more people didn’t climb there. I had previously heard about the famous offwidth “Pratt’s Crack” (5.9) not to mention the improbable sport climb Tom Herbert established right next door, the mega-classic arete “Ecstasy” (5.13). Most climbers back then had seen a popular climbing flick showing lycra-clad Tom climbing his sport route while his trad-dad TM Herbert groveled up Pratt’s with giant camming devices.

I soon went back into the canyon with a partner and did a handful of the sport climbs that had been established on the Ministry and Gecko walls at that time. I looked at Pratt’s crack with awe, realizing that even though I was climbing up to 5.12 on sport climbs, I did not have the equipment (giant cams are expensive) to climb it comfortably. I left and didn’t return to go climbing in Pine Creek for many years. Not that it was a bad place to go climbing, but there were so many other crags that always seemed like better options, at least to my partners (this is, after all, a sport that usually requires an accomplice or two).

When I moved to Bishop in 2013, it seemed none of the locals wanted to climb anywhere else but in Pine Creek. Routes were being established at a frantic pace with the promise of a new comprehensive guidebook dedicated completely to this climbing area. The number of new climbs to attempt was (and still is) staggering, with the vast majority of the newer routes being bolted sport climbs. There are also plenty of mixed lines requiring trad gear but nearly always having bolts supplementing natural protection opportunities. Dozens of multi-pitch climbs have been established during the last 20 years, usually with 35-meter pitches so that climbers can conveniently descend with a single 70-meter rope. There aren’t many places I can think of where one can get such huge multi-pitch climbing mileage in on granite without packing a haulbag and committing to a big wall climb.

What about easy, single-pitch climbing options for beginners? While Pine Creek isn’t the best venue for folks climbing outside for the very first time, there are a few options, including the one crag located on the opposite side of the canyon from virtually everything else. But if you’re looking to learn or improve your trad climbing, escape the heat in the valley for some sport climbing, or try a multi-pitch climb for the first time, Pine Creek is the perfect place.

Get in touch with me to book a day of climbing in Pine Creek!