Skip to main content
Classic Climbs

Climbing at Sugarloaf Februly 2020!

By February 20, 2020February 22nd, 2020No Comments
sugarloaf rock climbing

Today I met Rodolfo and his wife Maria at the Strawberry Station General Store.  After checking out there great selection of climbing gear and grabbing snacks, we headed towards the small town of Kyburz to climb on the 400 foot spire called Sugarloaf.  Twenty minutes of uphill hiking brought to the base of the cliff.  We past by the climbs Bollee Gold, Harding’s Chimney, Scheister,  Farley, the Fracture, and stop at the classic 5.10a Dominion.

After flaking the rope, harness’s on, geared up, we start up Dominion.  A couple of easy mantles lead to a nice left facing corner that provides nice hand jams and solid trad placements.  The corner widens providing finger locks, stems and a final reach to a good hold which brings us to lower angle rock and a bolted anchor.

 

Finishing Dominion

 

Most parties rappel back to the ground, but since Rodolfo had never been to the summit, we continued on.  A hard traverse left, brought us past the Grand Illusion, the worlds first 5.13.  Ducking under a big roof we joined the third pitch belay spot of Farley.

 

Traversing over to Farley

The third pitch of Farley goes up a short awkward corner the leads to the spectacular “knobby face”.  Clipping a bolt you head of the head wall peppered with knobs of all sizes.  Twenty five feet of face climbing leads to a small crack which provides the much needed piece of gear.

 

 

 

Climbing the “knobby face”

Another traverse left leads to the belay of Scheister and Hardings Chimney.  Either tunnel through or stem out the walls passing a couple of bolts to reach the summit.

Topping out!

 

After scrambling down from the summit, we climb a few single pitch climbs.  The Fracture 10d, Taurus 11b, and the first pitch of Farley 9.

Taurus 11b!

A great day indeed!

 

Heading up to South Lake Tahoe, California for a vacation?  The skiing doesn’t seem to be enticing, come climb with us, Lover’s Leap Guides!

Petch

Petch has been climbing since 1989 and has passion teaching and guiding as much as he does for climbing. At the end of an eight month climbing trip that took him and his partner from Joshua Tree in Southern California to Devils Tower in the eastern part of Wyoming, and everything in between, the final stop turned out to be Lover’s Leap. The right turn towards Lover’s Leap landed Petch in the campground in 1993. Climbing for eight months and a bank account of zero, he quickly found a job at the Strawberry Lodge. Falling in love with Lover’s Leap and Strawberry he found making a home easy. A guiding job opened in 1996 with teaching youth backpacking and rock climbing. The exciting future of guiding as a full time profession led to the opening of Lover’s Leap Guides in 2003. With his enthusiasm and knowledge of Lover’s Leap, Lover’s Leap Guides has become the most popular and busiest service to climb at Lover’s Leap. He has spent countless hours working with the Access Fund, CRAGS, and the Forest Service to maintain trails, protect nesting raptors, and community outreach. Climbing most of the routes at Lover’s Leap, he has also added numerous routes of his own. From 5.5 to 5.12D, some of his first ascents have become modern day classics. A good chance you will probably climb one of his routes when you climb with Lover’s Leap Guides. Petch is certified by the AMGA as a Rock Instructor and holds his certification as a Wilderness First Responder and CPR.