Motherlode Hill Driving Etiquette

I've never really seen any posts/discussion about this, so I may be alone in my frustration here, but...

If you're looking to go opposite the normal flow of traffic on the Motherlode hill (going down during a popular departure time, for example), consider NOT doing that or send someone out to make sure that the road is clear. This past weekend I witnessed a number of cars going down the hill at the end of the day (7ish in the evening) when there was a bunch of traffic trying to go up the hill. If you're going up the hill and someone is trying to come down, you have to then reverse down the hill until you get to a pull-off, forcing everyone behind you to also back up. It's a pain in the ass. I even witnessed a dude SHUTTLING people up the hill (he would go up the hill and then drive back down to pick up people so they didn't have to walk up the hill). Just don't. It's perfectly fine to walk up that hill and you're inconveniencing everyone else trying to leave the crag. Not to mention the extra wear that it puts on the road because now people have to gun it from a stopped position in order to allow you to pass. Just be mindful. Rant over. 

I made a deal with god. I can run up that hill, with no problem!

Yup, that sounds like a grade-A Clusterf*ck.

Would you expect any less from Rocktoberfest weekend?

Matt Robinsonwrote:

Would you expect any less from Rocktoberfest weekend?

Nah--but it's been an issue in the past as well. 

In 4x4 off-road driving, uphill has right of way. 

Marc801 Cwrote:

In 4x4 off-road driving, uphill has right of way. 

In all driving, uphill has the right of way

Marc801 Cwrote:

In 4x4 off-road driving, uphill has right of way. 

True. But there's no way a vehicle going down the Lode hill is going to be able to reverse back up it to get out of the way (in the tricky spots). 

So far I've been lucky, this has not happened to me, but I'm dreading it.

One thing that would help a lot is if everyone left a lot of space between their car and the car they are following.  Conga lines of cars backed up with no room to retreat is what really turns these things into clusterfucks.

I think the clusterfuck adds character, if you don’t like it maybe check out Muir Valley

If the lode hill is too much of a cluster there is always the back way out, I've never run into any traffic headed that way  

TaylorPwrote:

In all driving, uphill has the right of way

Not to single you out, but consider a truck and trailer backing uphill. Maybe there is a different story in 4x4, I would hold that the opposite is true.

A couple of years ago I was driving to the parking lot to approach the Crestone Needle in Colorado.

I was in a 4wd truck, as were most people on the road. A Subaru Outback was in front of me. I happen to know that kind of car can make it but not if you like said car very much.

The driver stops on a steep part of the climb and drives in reverse until a pullout. This forces the 5am conga line to also reverse. This makes a 4 wheeler further back get impatient and start passing vehicles in ruts (this is not a shouldered road). 

As he passes me, he runs out of room and slips into a rut, causing him to buck toward my truck, sideswiping me and also slamming his head into my truck. He never stopped, just drove up and escaped accountability onto the Rainbow trail.

Luckily it was an old enough truck that if it was damaged, I couldn’t see where. I still hope he broke some plastic and had a headache.

Moral of the story, the Lode hill isn’t too bad in comparison.

Having driven the Lode hill many times, I simply can’t sympathize. It’s maybe 1500’ long. If you have anything that’s AWD and not super low, there’s tons of options almost everywhere. One ice patch can develop down low. I do think that towing or pushing 2wd vehicles up the road is teaching them the wrong lesson. 

nic houserwrote:

Not to single you out, but consider a truck and trailer backing uphill. Maybe there is a different story in 4x4, I would hold that the opposite is true.

In that situation I imagine the truck/trailer would just stop his vehicle and let the upwards driving vehicle by. Thats what I would do, more for the sake of me making it down the hill more than etiquette. Id want all my options open rather than having to avoid someone on the way down. 

Doug Chismwrote:

In that situation I imagine the truck/trailer would just stop his vehicle and let the upwards driving vehicle by. Thats what I would do, more for the sake of me making it down the hill more than etiquette. Id want all my options open rather than having to avoid someone on the way down. 

You are assuming there is room for the down-hill-moving truck to stop at any point, and the uphill cars would still be able to pass… that is an incorrect assumption on the Lode hill.

Lena chitawrote:

You are assuming there is room for the down-hill-moving truck to stop at any point, and the uphill cars would still be able to pass… that is an incorrect assumption on the Lode hill.

Not assuming they can stop at any point, no, I never said that. But Ive been down there 4 times this year and there is really only a couple spots that were bad enough that you would definitely not want to stop there. It would be pretty easy to see if a vehicle was approaching one. I think 2 responsible drivers should not have an issue, but a couple of careless ones could. 

Ehhh, I mean people are getting into fights and pulling out guns over the Nada Tunnel right of way.  In fact, the last time I drove through the tunnel, when I was halfway through, a car entered from the other side and temporarily blocked my exit.  I always thought the etiquette for the tunnel was obvious, but etiquette for the Lode Hill is much more complicated.  I don't expect etiquette to happen overnight either.  There are simply way too many people visiting the whole region.  I always walk the hill, even now with paid parking, I'll pay and then walk to wherever I want even Drive-By Crag.  I'd rather hike the hill another 100 times than deal with the potential chaos of driving it.  

Nov 2019

Amanda Smithwrote:

Ehhh, I mean people are getting into fights and pulling out guns over the Nada Tunnel right of way.  In fact, the last time I drove through the tunnel, when I was halfway through, a car entered from the other side and temporarily blocked my exit.  I always thought the etiquette for the tunnel was obvious, but etiquette for the Lode Hill is much more complicated.  I don't expect etiquette to happen overnight either.  There are simply way too many people visiting the whole region.  I always walk the hill, even now with paid parking, I'll pay and then walk to wherever I want even Drive-By Crag.  I'd rather hike the hill another 100 times than deal with the potential chaos of driving it.  

Well that's the point of this post--to get some discussion started regarding proper etiquette. Of course it's not going to happen overnight. But the traffic on that hill increases every year so there should be some collective agreement on how to address traffic concerns. 

Keith Buttonwrote:

Well that's the point of this post--to get some discussion started regarding proper etiquette. Of course it's not going to happen overnight. But the traffic on that hill increases every year so there should be some collective agreement on how to address traffic concerns. 

Why not address your concerns directly with the RRGCC?  

https://rrgcc.org/