Amazing experience with knowledge instructors. Great climbing location! Friendly and helpful…read morestaff during the booking process. Even helped us get accommodations nearby. Would totally do it again!!

Spent three days climbing with guides from Yosemite Mountaineering School. I'm sure all the guides…read moreare spectacular, but I can personally recommend Chase and Jake. Highly professional, impressively safe, and personable, not to mentioned astonishingly strong climbers. Chase and I spent a day cragging gearing up for a run up Half Dome's southwest face via Snake Dike. The end of our 12 hours together had much less talking, but Chase helped make the 6+ mile hike in much more enjoyable (as much as it could be of course) passing the time with fun stories and fun facts. We told some jokes, saw some nature, passed some hikers, and were first on the crag, setting us up for an awesome day! Jake and I climbed the 1100-foot East Buttress of Middle Cathedral and when my foot slipped while scaling a lie back crack and my life flashed before my eyes, I felt the rope tighten and stopped safely (only falling 6 or 8 feet of the 800 feet we had climbed thus far). Awesome day with Jake! Both Chase and Jake were excellent on meeting me where I was in my climbing ability, being a confident 5.10 leader, able to climb middle 5.11 but without much experience on Yosemite's granite I had a few tricks to learn to be successful. I highly highly highly recommend YMS to anyone new to the valley or wanting to safely experience what Yosemite has to offer!

Amazing. Climb…read more Probably one of the best multi-pitch rock climbs I have ever done. We started very late and ended up going down in the dark. I don't recommend this for one main reason: The descent is not straight-forward by headlamp. I found the description from SuperTopo to be a bit confusing, so here's my description (in case you don't heed my advice and try to roll this sucker late in the day): You are going to want to down-climb the last 10-15 ft of the summit pinnacle. The section you JUST climbed up to reach the tiny summit. Down-lead this (or better yet, just leave your pro in from the ascent) and build an anchor at the base. (I know this seems like a stupidly short "pitch" to build an anchor for, but, TRUST ME. The rope drag is heinous if you try to go around the corner and then anchor-in.) Then do a running belay/simul-climb around the corner (you are now going AWAY from the face you just climbed up). Once around the corner, go slightly right (skier's right). Once you've done this, just keep going left and down, gradually, on easy 3rd class terrain (we took the rope off at this point). When it starts to look easy to go right, traverse right until you pop out on the other side of the mountain. You'll probably do some minor bush-whacking, just try to keep hopping on those big granite boulders! The SuperTopo seems to say that you hook back right a lot sooner (after going down-left), the terrain there looked like very run-out/, 5th class slab (read: skeery), so we did not do this. OK, now that we've talked about the boring part (getting down), let's talk about the FUN part: climbing up. It's 5 pitches of 5.6-5.7 on glorious granite with ample spots for pro. You can run it out with ease, knowing there is always going to be a place to get your nuts in. This is the complete opposite of "Snake Dike" on Half Dome in that regard. We did the far-left (climber's left) variation. I think it's variation "A" in the guide book. We decided to simul-climb the first two pitches, this was a good call. The beginning of pitch 1 is very easy (low-5th and even 4th class) by the time it gets more difficult, the leader will already be at the 2nd anchor and the second can be belayed up. If you're a strong climber you could even keep going and link all three of the first pitches! Every pitch is fun, with great moves and great positioning. I'd make sure you are not wearing a pack or gear sling for the start of pitch 4, as the chimney is kinda tight in the beginning. Or maybe I'm just getting fat? I lead the last two pitches by headlamp, a new experience, and shockingly more fun that scary. If you do this, I'd start either insanely early or insanely late, in order to avoid the crowds. Have fun!

Cathedral Peak is arguably the most beautiful peak in Yosemite National Park. Despite its beauty,…read moreand despite the fact that the trailhead is at the edge of Tioga Road and easy to find, there are no crowds. During my hike on this 7 mile round-trip trail, I encountered, at most, only twenty other hikers. The trail is an easy hike for adults and for little kids. There are no cliffs near this trail. This means that, unlike some of the trails leading to or from Hawkins Peak at Pinnacles National Park and unlike the fabled Kalalau Trail in Kauai, there is no danger rocks falling from above, and no need to worry about tumbling over the edge of any cliff. Once you have reached the 3 1/2 mile mark, you will be rewarded with a splendid view of Cathedral Peak, which is photogenic from any angle, and which provides a variety of photogenic rewards at different times of day. Near Cathedral Peak is a meadow with little streams, and orange-colored bedrock near one of the streams. Also in this area, is an exposed granite dome, similar to nearby Lambert Dome. My photographs show: (1) Me posing on a granite dome located next to a meadow. This meadow is just to the south of Cathedral Peak, (2) The trail marker sign next to Tioga Road, (3) The orange-colored exposed bedrock, and (4) Two photographs of a little stream that winds its way through a meadow, with Cathedral Peak in the distance.

16-17 pitches of Granite?…read more 5 minutes from your car? Right next to a hotel with plumbing and food (and coffee, and beer)? No one pitch on this route is great, but the route in its entirety is really something special. It's a great line to work out your multi-pitch skills. Despite looking like a convoluted route in all the topos, it's surprisingly intuitive while you're climbing it. The rappels going down though. Ugh. So much rap. So tired. Want beer at car.

Everything was great from booking the half day to the climbing. Clay was our instructor and was…read moregreat. He is a great guide and coach. I would recommend Ground Up for anyone who is new to climbing and wants a fun day outdoors. I took my 11 year old son and he had a blast. If we come back to Mammoth I will be booking another climbing adventure with Ground Up.

Just had an Amazing weekend in Alabama Hills, Lone Pine CA!! Ground Up programs are a great way to…read moreget outside & climb. Clay is very knowledgeable & experienced (not to mention easy going guy). He made our weekend sooo much fun & educational. I can't wait to climb w/ Ground Up(Clay) this summer in Mammoth!!!

I almost died here…read more I was climbing Snake Dike for the first time. At the point where you are supposed to traverse left, off of the dike you've been climbing on pitches 1-3, and onto another one...I didn't. I just kept "riding the dike". This route is called "Snake Dance" and goes at 5.9R. Long story short, the first bolt must've been 90-100 ft above the anchor. I had climbed up 80-90 ft, could see the "first" bolt but was getting pumped out trying to reach it. I started shaking, was filled with terror and then...then I was falling. I was cheese-grattering down the granite slabs, and I was oddly at piece. I remember thinking "well, I had a good run, I guess now I know how it's going to end." I tried to keep my feet in front of me as I was coming up on a ledge. I thought it would be better to break my legs than my FACE. As I neared the ledge my clothes had shredded through down to my skin (it was cold day, wearing a shoftshell probably saved me from even more sever road rash) and the, suddenly, the rope caught! I didn't know what injuries I may have sustained but at least I wasn't going to die. I mean, as long as my belayer held on. And she did, boy did she ever. I had fallen all the way down to the one of the previous anchors. How...convenient. I had my climbing partner hold the rope tight and I swung over to the anchor. I had her rappel down to me and...her hands were very very badly burned from the rope. But, she held on, and she saved my life. We limped out and eventually got to an emergency room. Her hands would have to be in bandages for weeks, but they are all better now. Luckily, I got away with just a cracked rib, bruised heels, and road rash along my arms, thighs, and butt (sorry bro). We came back 6 months later, stayed on-route and had a great time. A summit has never tasted so sweet. The "actual" Snake Dike route is till VERY run-out in places. There are spots where there is only 2 or ever ONE bolt on the entire pitch. But, most of the climbing is in the 5.4 range, so it's not anywhere near as heady as 5.9 slab. (yeah, I'm a punter, 5.9 slab with epic runouts gets me real skeered, especially now...seriously, my hands are sweating all over my keyboard as I type this...) Best part of Snake Dike is that you don't need a permit. I don't expect it will be like this for much longer, get it while it's hot!

This place is lit! Bit pricy but it's very cool and fun. Staff is very nice. Kinda has a hipster…read moreteenage vibe. Clean.

Some of the people who work at the front desk tend to be on the younger side and lack basic social…read moreskills when interacting with people who come into the gym. It can feel like people are just there to hang out and do not give a welcoming experience in the gym. Juun in particular is pretty standoffish.

This is a hike I would recommend to friends and you. I was there on a gloomy day when all of the…read morefalls in Yosemite were going like gang busters. This was due to a Snow Melt in May 2019 from a 160 Percent to Average Snow Fall. Take your time and you may notice some special sights like the Moss covered Heart Shaped Rock which is about Four Feet across. The Popcorn look alike I believe is Tree Resin. It did look good enough to eat. Notice the Rock Overhang and be sure you do not hit your head! Be sure to check the trail instructions from Forevermemorable F.. Without them and the pictures he posted I would not have found the trail. I would recommend you use Hiking Poles to help you descend the trail. If you would like to see the upper part of this falls take a ride on "Big Old Flat Road", Location 37.727751,-119.713163. Here you will find a small Parking Lot across the road from the upper falls. Walk on the bridge and check for the cascades. One nice aspect of this spot is that even when the park is packed the are no crowds here. I think it is more interesting to view than Bridal Veil Falls and you can get very close to it. Please check my pictures to see what I mean.

The hike to the waterfall is less than 15 minutes but the trail is hidden. 99% of visitors stop off…read moreand stay in/around the parking lot. I went in the Spring when the waterfall was moving and grooving. Much too fast and powerful to get much closer. Check out the pics of my April visit. This place would be great to visit in the Summer and just chill in the pool just under the waterfall. If you need trailhead info PM me.

Aaron was an awesome and patient teacher. My kids had a great time learning the ropes (ha). Aaron…read morestarted and ended the day with the same excitement and enthusiasm

Quite simply, the best. While I know the focus may be more on climbing, Aaron taught me the…read morerequisite skills for self-arrest/glissading as well as crampon usage/techniques. Personable, patient and engaging, best guide I've seen in any field. Played a big part in helping me successfully summit Whitney the following day. Thanks!

What a fantastic trip put together for us by the Sierra Mountain Center. From the start Emma was…read morefantastic and professional in the coordination efforts for our Palisade Traverse trip. My son and I had a 1:1 guide ratio and the guides, Dave Stimson and Tyler Logan, were exceptional. Exceptional in their knowledge of the route, their efficiency with rope craft and their trailside manner - despite the exhausting climb we had such a fun time. We are already planning next year's outing with SMC. You can see a video of the trip here: https://theearthbeneathyourfeet.com/Hikes/HikeDetails/5574743739453848794f31484538675743512b3472513d3d

Overall, It was a great experience. Very comforting to have everything sorted and just focus on the…read moremovement. The weather was great. Almost too hot but better than too much snow. Our guide, Dave was EXCELLENT. Social, made great food, and paced us very well. We all had a wonderful time!