Highway 50 Corridor Climbing

If you can lead 5.9 trad, there's a lifetime of climbing along highway 50 (paraphrasing George Connor, who has done the same for many years). One can indeed find many varieties of destination, from wilderness to crowded roadsides, for all skill levels and in all styles.

U.S. Route 50 connects Sacramento to Ocean City, Maryland. The section described here winds from its western terminus, up the Sierra Nevada foothills through Folsom and Placerville, weaving alongside the historic Pony Express trail, into the Echo Summit area (after which it descends into the South Shore).

Between Placerville and South Lake Tahoe, the main climber's gear stop is Strawberry Station, in view of the heavily visited Lover's Leap. The Leap is bust for a reason, and a first time visitor should always go there if it's in season.

Read the Eldorado National Forest's brochure on the Highway 50 Corridor.