All Locations > California > Yosemite NP > Yosemite Valley > Valley S Side > P. Cathedral Area

Church Tower Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in 2. Church Tower

L › R R › L A › Z

	East Arete T 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
	Wrong Arete T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b PG13

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:	4,890 ft	1,490 m
GPS:	37.71495, -119.63026 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	10,096 total · 80/month
Shared By:	Doug Hemken on Jun 12, 2014
Admins:	Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes Page Updates (admin only)

See Weather Forecast

Access Issue: Latest updates on closures, permits, and regulations. Details

Please visit climbingyosemite.com/ and nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/… for the latest information on visiting Yosemite, including permits, regulations, and closure information.

Yosemite National Park has yearly closures for Peregrine Falcon Protection March 1- July 15. Always check the NPS website at nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/… for the most current details and park alerts, and to learn more about the peregrine falcon, and how closures help it survive. This page also shares closures and warnings due to current fires, smoke, etc.

Description

Church Tower is a relatively little known spire, yet thousands of people walk right by it every year on their way to Middle and Higher Cathedral Rocks, and Lower and Higher Cathedral Spires. The Tower, and 3 or 4 routes on it, were described in Roper's Guide to the Valley (the Green Book), and it is obliquely mentioned in Reid, but has mostly fallen off the radar.

According to Valley legend, Church Tower is frequently climbed in the mistaken belief that it is actually Lower Cathedral Spire!

Getting There

From the Spires Gulley parking area(s), head up the climbers' trail toward Lower Cathedral Spire. This consists of following the trail back into the woods, walking left (east) a few dozen yards along the horse trail, then taking a trail toward the right (south). After a few dozen more yards, where the trail forks, take a left toward the Cathedral Boulders. Walk back through the boulders and continue up the trail that exits south and up, out of the back of the area. This steep user trail heads up a slope to the left (east) of the Spires. Continue up through the forest until you emerge into a boulder-strewn gulley. From here you can see the lower northeast side of Church Tower. For the East Arete or the SW Arete routes you want to continue up the boulder-strewn gulley until you can clearly see the saddle between Church Tower and Lower Cathedral Spire.