Calaveras Dome in December?

Currently looking for areas to climb long trad routes within 3-4 hours of San Francisco in mid to late December.

Anyone know about the conditions or road closures near Calaveras dome? Or enlighten me to other good trad winter Northern California destinations.

Sugarloaf. Hardly cal dome length routes, but quality granite, south facing aspect lets you climb when the sierra is blanketed in the white stuff.

Other than that Im blanking... depends on the snow year to some extent of course.

Owen Summerscales wrote:Sugarloaf. Hardly cal dome length routes, but quality granite, south facing aspect lets you climb when the sierra is blanketed in the white stuff. Other than that Im blanking... depends on the snow year to some extent of course.

Hi Trevor,

December can be an amazing time to be up at Cal Dome if the weather is sunny (and if it isn't sunny at Cal Dome, then Sugarloaf will be a no-go also). If it has already snowed then Ellis road (i.e. the easy way in) may have already been closed by the forest service. Even if its open, consider chains because I have damn near gotten stuck for the night even with 4-wheel low engaged. That said, if Ellis is closed, you can still easily get in via Tiger Creek Road/Salt Springs Road. This is longer, but it is almost always open. FYI, the reason for this is that Ellis road hops over the ridge into the valley at a way higher elevation so that it often has a small section of snow all winter. Tiger Creek never gets above ~4000 feet so it never holds snow for long.

As far as climbing though, you will likely want to stick to south facing cliffs unless it is unseasonable warm (possible I guess). That means climbing on Hammer Dome, Silver Streak slabs, etc. Still plenty to do.

This pic was taken in early December and obviously it was amazing. Not a soul in the valley.

mountainproject.com/v/10688…

As we were walking out, my buddy shot this pic:

mountainproject.com/v/10688…

...it snowed ten minutes later for 25 minutes or so, but was then crystal clear all night. Cold, but wonderful. Good stuff.

Yosemite.

Once you get a few pitches off the ground many south-facing routes are comfortable.
Don't let 'winter' fool you, this isn't Vermont. Lots of good routes are prime in winter.

EDIT: Gold Wall, Ribbon Falls, and Royal Arches are just a few examples of good cool weather walls with long routes. Check out Pat & Jack's, Cookie & Arch for shorter routes that are lower elevation, and stay warmer than the Valley floor in winter.

I've been to Cal Dome once. I believe it is mostly north-facing, so you will be mostly in the shade in the winter. Hope for warm temps.

Totally temperature/condition dependent.
Bump this thread closer to the time you want to climb out there and I'll give you an update of the conditions/road closures etc as it will be more than likely I will have been there several times recently. November and December can be some of the best times of year to visit.

Looking for updates! Dates I'm available and trying to climb at Hammer Dome and maybe Calaveras: December 21-23, December 26-January 1.

Panther Creek and Ellis rd are closed. Tiger Creek is open and will remain open as it is the access rd for the crews that maintain the power plant/dam and aqueduct at Salt Springs.

Seepage is a problem on Cal Dome but there are many routes to choose from that don't seep much. Shade is also a problem, it's everywhere there... all day.

You'll have to watch the weather for more detailed information of conditions closer to your expected time of visit.

Two things to watch for; Rain obviously, if it's raining, forget it.
Snow levels, if the snow level drops below 5000ft a day or so before you plan to visit, you're probably hosed unless it was a light dusting. Same for Sugarloaf. You need a day or so of good sun after a snowstorm.

Actually, conditions are very similar to Sugarloaf, if the climbings good at Sugarloaf, it's typically the same at Cal Domes.