Upper Rock City Climbing

This digital Upper Rock City 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 Upper Rock City days smoother, safer, and more dialed.

If you take into consideration the thorough description of a “classic” climb on the previous page, you will find that this area is full of them. Essentially, it is quite popular because it’s very close to the parking lot, and has several steep climbs with lots of chalk. It’s very common to see a group of people working the old-school sandbag, Benthic Dweller V5, or several climbers on Tomb Raider Roof V7 complaining about the mantle above a perfectly flat landing. All sarcasm aside, there’s a high concentration of moderate climbs here, and most have great landings,... Show more

This digital Upper Rock City 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 Upper Rock City days smoother, safer, and more dialed. If you take into consideration the thorough description of a “classic” climb on the previous page, you will find that this area is full of them. Essentially, it is quite popular because it’s very close to the parking lot, and has several steep climbs with lots of chalk. It’s very common to see a group of people working the old-school sandbag, Benthic Dweller V5, or several climbers on Tomb Raider Roof V7 complaining about the mantle above a perfectly flat landing. All sarcasm aside, there’s a high concentration of moderate climbs here, and most have great landings, making this a comfortable place for a gym-to-crag transition. However, I find that the best climbs in this area tend to see less attention, so be sure to branch out and try the lesser-known lines. Jacob’s Ladder V3 is one of the best V3s around, and I always enjoyed running a few laps on Entrance to the Tomb V3, given its length, and the fact that it doesn’t require pads. If you possess the pioneering spirit that compels you to walk further than 100 yards from your car, you may find some gym-style boulders like Roundhouse V5, 50 Words for Grit V9, and Canadian Bacon V7. It’s worth noting that each area has its own particular oddities, and Upper Rock City is no different, carrying an unusual concentration of pure sloper boulders. Fontable V3, Fontasy V3, Fontastic V4, Mild Hypoxia V5, and Air at Altitude V7 all share a number of desperate smacks to stay on. If you do them in summer, I’ll be really impressed. From the front gate, drive 2.8 miles to the overlook parking area. From here, walk past the gift shop on its left side following a short path that leads to the Rattlesnake Trail, and drop into a rock corridor on a crude rock staircase. Head downhill, and you will have several options: head right into the first corridor (The Nook and The Cranny), continue downhill, taking a right into the second corridor, (where you will find the excellent arête Colorful Corner V4), head left on the Rattlesnake Trail towards the Underlook Trail, or continue downhill on a climber’s trail, which veers right and leads you to the Tomb Raider Roof (a 45-degree overhang with a very tall friction slab topout). Just past the Tomb Raider Roof, you will see the classic roof crack of Bat Eliminate 5.11a (V3 super-highball) directly in front of you, and the large roof of Benthic Dweller V5 to the right. Head downhill from the Tomb Raider Roof to find the Roundhouse Boulder and the short roof of Canadian Bacon V7.