Sean and I had spent a few days climbing at Tahquitz Rock, and for the final day of our trip we decided to check out Suicide Rock across the valley. We’d been staring at it for days, curious to finally get on its sunlit faces.

Unlike Tahquitz’s longer alpine-style routes, Suicide Rock is more of a traditional crag, with one-pitch to three-pitch climbs accessed by a relatively casual 30-minute hike. The area is known for its high-quality slab and face climbing—often a bit runout—and offers routes from 5.6 to 5.13, with most of the classics at 5.11 and below. I was a little hesitant given its reputation, but we chose a couple of routes without R ratings and went for it.

The most commonly cited origin of the name comes from a Cahuilla legend about two lovers from different tribal groups who were forbidden to be together. According to the story, they climbed the rock and leapt to their deaths rather than live apart—hence the name “Suicide Rock.”

We started off with the ultra-classic Sundance (5.10b, 3 pitches) on Sunshine Face, the largest wall on the formation. This is one of the defining face climbs of the rock. Sean took the leads, and I suspect I wouldn’t have had the head for Pitches 2 and 3, with their spaced bolts and sustained face climbing on slopey knobs. The rock quality is impeccable, and the climbing—technical, sustained, and exposed—is simply superb. Sean had a nice onsight.

Afterward, we considered the neighboring route Valhalla (5.11b, 3 pitches). In the 1970s, climbing this route was said to be the only prerequisite for joining the ranks of the elite and infamous Stonemasters, which made it hard to ignore. But with direct sun and warm April temperatures, the conditions were far from ideal for hard slab climbing. We decided to give it a try anyway. Sean led the first pitch, and it quickly felt desperate—friction climbing in the heat is no joke. We rappelled after Pitch 1.

We capped off the day with Flower of High Rank (5.9, 200'), one of the best and most popular crack climbs at Suicide Rock, and often done as a single long pitch. Back in more familiar terrain, I took the lead, climbed it as one long pitch, and had a blast.

All in all, it was a great day exploring Suicide Rock. There’s no shortage of quality—and history—packed into this place.

This page features route overlays and pitch-by-pitch photos from the climbs we did.