Matthes Crest
Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite · near Tuolumne Meadows / Lee Vining · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- serious
- Elevation
- 10918
- Best season
- July–September for dry rock
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Tuolumne Meadows / Cathedral area approach · Guide services offer the traverse · Yosemite wilderness rules apply · A bucket-list Sierra ridge
- Best for
- An exhilarating knife-edge granite traverse
- Features
- Mile-long knife-edge granite fin · Classic 5.7 traverse · Sensational sustained exposure · A Tuolumne bucket-list objective
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Sustained knife-edge exposure for a long distance · Committing traverse — escape is difficult mid-route · Route-finding and rope management on the crest · Afternoon storms on a totally exposed fin
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- roped-rock · scrambling · altitude
- Style
- rock-route
- Altitude
- 1
- Route notes
- A knife-edge granite fin nearly a mile long — the classic south-to-north traverse (5.7) balances along a dramatic, exposed crest that's one of the most exhilarating moderate alpine outings in the Sierra
- Beta note
- ~10,918 ft; South-to-North Traverse 5.7; a long, committing, extremely exposed ridge
- Intl tip
- A spectacular blade of granite in the Tuolumne backcountry — a fin nearly a mile long and often only feet wide on top. The classic south-to-north traverse balances along the crest at ~5.7, with some of the most sustained, exhilarating exposure of any moderate Sierra route. Committing: bailing mid-crest is awkward, and there's no shelter from storms, so move fast and start early. For climbers solid at the grade who prize position over difficulty, it's unforgettable. Guide services run it.
- Directions note
- Approach from Cathedral Lakes trailhead or Tenaya Lake on Tioga Rd
The guide
Matthes Crest is a spectacular blade of granite rising from the Tuolumne backcountry — a fin nearly a mile long and often only …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Matthes Crest — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.8272, -119.3883