Lower Bear River Reservoir

Introduction

Climbs on the lower reservoir are both below the dam and around the lake. Climbing sites around the lake are toprope friendly and offer varying degrees of difficulty and style. They must be accessed by boat (or miles of hiking), so enjoy a camping trip and have some fun climbing!

Below the dam you can find climbing just about everywhere. Nearly all walls can be approached in 30-45 minutes across backcountry terrain that has been marked with cairns (ducks) to help find the trail. Parts of the approaches are 3rd and 4th class- be EXTREMELY careful crossing wet rock, it is very slippery.

North Rim sites are accessed by hiking through the PG&E quarry on the north end of the dam (before you cross the dam).

South Rim sites are accessed by hiking from the south end of the dam.

Please see route pages for more information.

North Rim Sites

Big Dome:

Climbing Routes:

Big Dome Routes

Daffy Dome Routes

South Rim Routes

The Schnoz is the formation on the left, Hully Gully is shaded, the Sidewalk Wall partially shaded next to Hully Gully, the Poultry Wall on the horizon above Hully Gully, and the rappel route and climbing territory in the center and right.

Climbing routes vary from toprope on the Poultry Wall to single pitch TR or lead (Sidewalk wall) to multi pitch traditional leads (Schnoz and the main wall).

Big Dome rappel route reaches the bottom of the gorge in three rappels. Requires two 60m ropes and skill to traverse unroped to the last anchor station.

The Schnoz

Accessed by walking down Hully Gully or coming in from the bottom (using any of the rappel routes).

Daffy Dome

The furthest west dome, the top of the dome is about a 30 minute hike from the car, similar to the distance to the climbing sites on Big Dome but you take a different fork of the trail. West wall climbing is on the far side not seen in this photo, east wall climbing is visible here.

South Rim Sites

The Sentry

Approach from the top; Knobby wall is the right hand face with many linear cracks. It features one toprope climb (5.6) with old hangers on toprope anchor bolts. The central clean pillar is the area below 70s ledge, so named for the 1/4" bolts atop the ledge. Various climbing lines are in the center and left of the photo.

Red Dome

Red Dome a.k.a. Bob's Buttress features many lines covering about 800 feet of vertical relief. Features a 4th class descent route allowing access to the river with just one 60m rope. Vector Face in the background.

Vector Wall of Silver Dome

The Vector Wall is expansive, featuring climbs 4 or more full pitches from the river to the top. Black Wall in the background. Two 60m ropes are necessary to rappel in to these climbs.

Downriver Wall of Silver Dome

The west face of the Silver dome, this faces downriver, hence the name. Features routes of 2-4 pitches. Two 60m ropes are necessary to rappel in to these climbs.

Black Wall

The only dome that you can approach the base and top of, Black dome routes are moderate to difficult and feature some of the most vertical terrain in the gorge. The top approach is made from a different parking area, but is only about 20 minutes hiking to a rappel route. Only one 60m rope is needed to get to the base, but you need to be confident in you climbing skill- the scrambles around the base of the dome are 3rd and 4th class and take about 45 minutes to reach the far side of the dome and the easiest route back to the top is runout 5.8 with traditional pro.

Scimitar Wall

Not well explored, it appears low angle. Named for the appearance when viewed from upriver, not across the gorge as in this photo.

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