Eagle Rock in Tahoe. Drone View. [Trad 5.9 - Trad 5.12] [4k] [HDR] [Original Content]

*Edit: All the trees seen in this video has since been Burned down by the Caldor Fire. With over 80k acres burned and 0% containment, this unstoppable fire seems on a collision course to burn Sierra at Tahoe ski resort and South lake Tahoe.

Eagle Rock is an obscure climbing area hiding in plain site along Hwy 50 between Sugarloaf and Phantom Spires. Everyone who has ever driven up Hwy 50 has definitely seen it and wondered what potential that huge cliff might have.

Despite it's appearance from below, this chunk of rock actually boasts a sheer 400ft vertical main face with several routes that cut right through it, with more routes from 150 to 300ft to both sides as the wall tapers down on each end. Hardly anything on the whole rock falls below 80 degrees vertical.

The rock is a mix between Phantom Spires discontinuous cracks and knobs, to Sugarloafs splitter cracks and sheer smooth faces with just a few Lovers Leap dikes thrown in just where you need them.

This is not a place for your average weekend warrior. The approaches are hard, the climbing can be a bit sporty, the beta is low and the pay grade starts at mid 5.10 with only a few burly 5.9's around. An injury out here would take many hours to execute and probably require an airlift if you could not walk yourself out. So a bit of prudence when choosing to climb here is a must.
To reach the base of the routes
The longest (and easiest) is to scramble around the West side. No trail exists. Scrambling around the East side is possible, but steep and requires bushwhacking. Downclimbing and scrambling around the large summit block/overhang on the East side leads to some wildly exposed 3rd class, which wraps around to the face and a bolted anchor. Two 60M ropes are required to rap the face from here. The rappel route is down the route "The New Black".
Retreating from the base back to the top requires a long steep walk up the West (climbers right) side of the formation.
Getting There
Eagle Rock is not accessed directly. Rather you take Silverfork Rd just on the east edge of Kyburz and head south for several miles. When the road drops back down level and parallels alongside Silver Fork Creek, watch for China Flat Campground signs on your right. Drive past the campground and begin looking for Middle Canyon Rd (FS road 11N18) on your left. It's a big wide dirt road heading up hill.

Follow the road up hill to the first fork. Take a left at the fork.
Continue up FS Road 11N18 for several miles. High clearance vehicles are sometimes needed to negotiate washouts, but the road is occasionally graded by logging traffic nice and flat.
A few thousand feet past a tight left turn there is another fork in the road. Take a left which will lead slightly down hill before leveling out.
Follow the road (FS road 11N18c) for several miles.

The bushes will become tight after awhile so if you care about your paintjob, you might want to park it here and huff it for the last mile. If not...

Continue past the bushes and there will be a washed out steep section of road. A high clearance vehicle is probably needed here, and 4WD is probably needed. (I've never tried it without). You can park at the bottom of the steep section just off the road and walk up from there. It only adds about 1000 yards to the approach.

After the steep section of road, keep your eyes peeled on the right for a dirt road heading steeply up hill. Just past this fork is a small clearing you can turn your truck around in and park just off the road. If you have a particularly burly 4WD truck, you might be able to drive up this dirt road all the way up to the top of Eagle rock and park at it's summit. I've never attempted it. If not...

Park in the small clearing and walk up the dirt road. It's about as long as the approach to Sugarloaf. There is a great campsite along the way. This dirt road will lead directly to the summit of Eagle Rock. ]

Follow me:
https://www.instagram.com/skibum96/

All Music is owned and created by, ANtarcticbreeze Music https://soundcloud.com/antarcticbreeze

#Caldorfire #beforedestruction