Black Mountain Climbing

This digital Black Mountain climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Black Mountain days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

Located in the San Bernardino National Forest in the San Jacinto Mountains is one of the best bouldering areas in Southern California, Black Mountain. There is a long history of climbing here from the Stonemasters, to locals coming from some of the first climbing gyms, to Chris Sharma in Rampage and beyond. Unfortunately, most of this history has gone unrecorded and will not be a priority in this guide. The priority is to document and share as much information as possible so that it is not lost and can be passed down for as long as possible. That being said, I am onl... Show more

This digital Black Mountain climbing guidebook gives you GPS navigation, verified topos, and beta for hundreds of climbs. Explore classics and hidden gems with offline access to maps, directions, and beta videos. Whether it's your first visit or fiftieth, KAYA makes your Black Mountain days smoother, safer, and more dialed. Located in the San Bernardino National Forest in the San Jacinto Mountains is one of the best bouldering areas in Southern California, Black Mountain. There is a long history of climbing here from the Stonemasters, to locals coming from some of the first climbing gyms, to Chris Sharma in Rampage and beyond. Unfortunately, most of this history has gone unrecorded and will not be a priority in this guide. The priority is to document and share as much information as possible so that it is not lost and can be passed down for as long as possible. That being said, I am only one person and my goal is for this to be a living, breathing document of Black Mountain. I encourage everybody to contribute to the names, grades and any known history to any of the documented or undocumented climbs so that we, as a community, can pass this information down to future generations. Below is a list of all other pertinent information: The Paper Book: Purchase the paper guidebook by Kimbrough Moore and Ian McIntosh here: https://www.blackmountainbouldering.com/ The Season: Black Mountain is best in the Fall and Spring. It can be absolutely great in the Winter if it isn’t too snowy, however the road most likely will be closed (more info in “The Road” section). The summer can be pretty hot and isn’t ideal for climbing at your max but it is one of the few areas in Southern California at elevation, so it is often better than nothing. The Road: The majority of the climbing in Black Mountain is accessed off Forest Road 4s01 which is a dirt road that is only occasionally maintained, which means the road can be quite rough. The road is most likely to be maintained just before Memorial Day weekend, so it is good to assume that the further away from Memorial Day, the worse the conditions of the road might be. 4WD/AWD is strongly recommended, however the vast majority of the time, most cars can make it up the road to the majority of the areas (The Chappies and Ragger’s Point being the main exception). The Gates: About 2 miles up the dirt road is a gate that is open seasonally. It is most often closed at the first snow of the season and opened when the forest service deems it safe to drive back up (sometime in Spring). If the road is closed, it is only closed to vehicles, which means hiking up the road is still an option and often leads to very few people and amazing weather, just be ready for a .45 - 1.5 hour hike. The other major gate is just before Boulder Basin Campground. The gate is generally open from Memorial Day weekend to Oct/Nov. There is plenty of parking below the gate and the hike to the campground is quite short so it isn’t too much of a hindrance. The Camping: The easiest camping is in Boulder Basin Campground which is $10/night and an additional $5/vehicle. The majority of the camping is first come, first served, however there are some sites in the campground that can be reserved ahead of time. The sites do not have running water, but do have pit toilets, picnic tables and fire pits. Besides Boulder Basin Campground, there are some Yellow Post Sites which are free for camping. These sites have fire pits and picnic tables but do not have water or toilets. They also fill up extremely quickly so don’t rely on getting one. Please be up to date on fire restrictions. Just because there is a fire pit does not mean access to the fire pit is allowed. Not obeying fire restrictions can lead to severe fires in the area and hefty fines. The Grades: So much of the climbing at Black Mountain has little to no consensus. While I did the best that I could to get as accurate of a grade for every climb documented in this guide, this is just the start. Grades are a consensus of the community and often the grades represented here are from just one person in this community. Please do your part and contribute to the consensus by not just taking the grade that the climb is given but to give your own well thought out opinion. Climbs are a different experience for everybody so there is no reason to feel judged on your opinion or to be rude to another person’s opinion. The Names: As alluded to in the introduction, much of the history of Black Mountain is unknown or lost to time. Many of the names given to the problems in this guide have been given a very generalized name and as a result, may be inaccurate. This is again where I ask you to do your part and contribute to the history. If you are aware of any inaccuracies, please just reach out so they can be adjusted. The Amenities: -Cell service is spotty and highly dependent on area, but it is best to assume that your cell phone will not work. -There is a water spigot located between OK Corral and Boulder Basin, however its accessibility is seasonal and unreliable so it is best to not count on it. -The closest gas station is in Pine Cove and tends to be surprisingly cheap. -The closest restaurants and grocery stores are in Idyllwild, which can take 30-45 minutes to get to, depending on where in Black Mountain you are. -LA/Orange County: Head east to Banning. From Banning take the 243 for 16.6 miles and turn left on Forest Route 4s01. Find directions for individual areas in their specific area description. -San Bernardino County: Head south to Banning. From Banning take the 243 for 16.6 miles and turn left on Forest Route 4s01. Find directions for individual areas in their specific area description. -San Diego County: Head to Temecula and take the 79 S for 17.9 miles, turn left onto the 371 E for 20.7 miles, turn onto the 74 W for 12.4 miles, continue onto the 243 N for 12.5 miles and finally turn right onto Forest Route 4s01. Find directions for individual areas in their specific area description.