Cathedral Peak
Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite · near Tuolumne Meadows / Lee Vining · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- technical
- Elevation
- 10911
- Best season
- July–September for dry rock; a summer Tuolumne classic
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Tuolumne Meadows trailhead (short approach) · Guide services climb it constantly · Yosemite wilderness rules apply · The quintessential Tuolumne summit
- Best for
- California's most-loved moderate alpine rock climb
- Features
- The Tuolumne alpine-rock classic · Clean, knobby 5.6 granite · Iconic pointed summit · Short approach, big reward
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Popular route — parties stack up; rockfall from above · Exposed final moves to the summit block · Afternoon thunderstorms — start early · Descent route-finding down the back
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- roped-rock · scrambling · altitude
- Style
- rock-route
- Altitude
- 1
- Route notes
- Perhaps the most beloved alpine rock climb in California — the Southeast Buttress (5.6) climbs clean, knobby Tuolumne granite in a handful of joyful pitches to a tiny, spectacular summit block, another peak John Muir soloed long before ropes
- Beta note
- ~10,911 ft; SE Buttress 5.6, ~5 pitches; a hugely popular moderate alpine rock climb
- Intl tip
- For many, the platonic ideal of a Sierra alpine rock climb: a short Tuolumne Meadows approach, ~5 pitches of clean, knobby 5.6 granite up the Southeast Buttress, and a tiny airy summit block. John Muir soloed it in 1869. So popular it can get crowded (mind rockfall and start early for storms). It's technical roped climbing, not a scramble — but perhaps the finest introduction to Sierra alpine rock for competent climbers. Guide services run it daily in season.
- Directions note
- Park at the Cathedral Lakes trailhead on Tioga Rd (Hwy 120 closed in winter)
The guide
Cathedral Peak is, for many climbers, the platonic ideal of a Sierra alpine rock climb: a short approach from Tuolumne Meadows,…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cathedral Peak — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.8472, -119.4054