City to Summit

By Brendan Leonard — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 08:48:44 +0000

A summit route is the purest concept in climbing. Your grandmother may not understand the beta of your new project, or how we got from 5.10 to 5.15b, or even how you get the rope up there, but she can understand climbing to the highest point on a mountain. Fortunately, you don’t have to venture far from many American cities to find superb summit routes. Here are 10 worthy peaks, covering the spectrum of climbing: sport, trad, alpine, desert, winter, and summer. And best of all: the trailheads are all within an after-work drive of a major city.

Mt. Conness; San Francisco, CA
Elevation: 12,590 feet
Route: West Ridge (5.6, 1,500 feet)
Drive: 4 hours

Lone Pine Peak; Los Angeles, CA
Elevation: 12,944 feet
Route: Northeast Ridge (5.6, 3 miles)
Drive: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Elephant Head; Phoenix, AZ
Elevation: 5,607 feet
Route: West Gully (5.6 R, 1,000 feet)
Drive: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Mt. Wilson; Las Vegas, NV
Elevation: 7,070 feet
Route: Inti Watana to Resolution Arête (5.10+, 14–17 pitches)
Drive: 40 minutes

Mt. Stuart; Seattle, WA
Elevation: 9,415 feet
Route: North Ridge (5.9, 15 pitches)
Drive: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Mt. Webster; Boston, MA
Elevation: 3,911 feet
Route: Green Chasm (5.6 NEI 3, 2,500 feet)
Drive: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Stone Mountain; Charlotte, NC
Elevation: 2,305 feet
Route: The Great White Way (5.9, 3 pitches)
Drive: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Seneca Rocks, South Peak; Washington, D.C.
Elevation: 2,240 feet
Route: Soler (5.7, 2 pitches)
Drive: 3 hours

Pfeifferhorn; Salt Lake City, UT
Elevation: 11,326 feet
Route: North Ridge (5.5, 2,000 feet)
Drive: 45 minutes

Mt. Alice; Denver, CO
Elevation: 13,310 feet
Route: Central Ramp (5.8, 8 pitches)
Drive: 1 hour, 40 minutes

ClimbingCity to Summit

City to Summit