View Routes and Areas within Donner Summit| Donner Summit |  |
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Aspen Boulder, The
Baboon Crag
Babylon Crag, The
Bat Walls
Black Wall
Donner Memorial State Park
Freeway Slab
Gemstone Wall
Goldilocks Wall
Green Phantom Rock
Grouse Slab
North Stars Wall
P.C.T. Cliff
Peanut Gallery, The
Perch, The
Road Cut, The
School Rock
Snowshed Wall
Space Wall
Star Wall
Stealth Wall
Tunnel Slab
White Lines Boulder
Donner Summit
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| Location: | 39.3184, -120.314 View Map Incorrect? |
| Page Views: | 422,701 |
| Administrators: | Aron Quiter, Aron Quiter, John Robinson, M.Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer, Justin Johnsen, Kristine Hoffman (sitewide) |
| Submitted By: | Brian Quiter on Oct 7, 2002 |
| Forecast: | 
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Mark Hudon climbing at Donner, 1979. Photo by Blit... 
Description
Donner Pass is located just south of 80 east of Truckee. The climbing is on granite rocks ranging from small to hundreds of feet. Both cracks and sport climbs co-exist here, and there are some kick-ass climbs of both sorts.Camping near the climbing is illegal, but doesn't seem to be too severely enforced. If that troubles you, there's camping on the opposite side of Donner Lake, or plenty of hotel-type accommodations in nearby Truckee, which also is an ample source of food and entertainment.The Donner Pass climbing season is from ~mid-April until whenever snow closes the road in November or December. Donner's 7000' elevation means that even during beautiful summer days a surprise storm is possible, so be prepared.
In 2014, the Truckee Donner Land Trust and the Access Fund jointly launched the Save Donner Climbing campaign. The goal is to purchase private land for public conservation and access, which includes the Black Wall and other nearby cliffs.
CRAGS, a local Access Fund affiliate, has been working to support this process.
Access
In 2014, the Truckee Donner Land Trust and the Access Fund jointly launched the Save Donner Climbing campaign. The goal is to purchase private land for public conservation and access, which includes the Black Wall and other nearby cliffs.
CRAGS, a local Access Fund affiliate, has been working to support this process.
Getting There
From the Bay Area, take 80 East, through Sacramento. Continue uphill until the Soda Springs exit. Follow Donner Pass Road through Soda Springs and past the ski area exits until you find yourself travelling down a steep and windy road with large rocks on both sides. The first rock you'll come across is Baboon Crag then School Rock, both on your left. Total drive time is highly dependent on traffic and your willingness to speed, but it can be done in just over two hours if you're foot is heavy...
Climbing Season
Weather station 2.8 miles from here
262 Total Routes
['4 Stars',31],['3 Stars',106],['2 Stars',92],['1 Star',22],['Bomb',2]
['<=5.6',17],['5.7',6],['5.8',23],['5.9',34],['5.10',80],['5.11',52],['5.12',19],['5.13',7],['>=5.14',1],['',0],['<=V1',0],['V2-3',17],['V4-5',1],['V6-7',2],['V8-9',3],['V10-11',0],['V12-13',1],['>=V14',0]
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Donner Summit:
Featured Route For Donner Summit
Start by climbing into the pod. At the first bolt move out left onto the face, and make a hard move to gain the good right slanting rail and the second bolt. Climb up to the ledge and wander over to the wall and clip the 3rd bolt.Move back slightly right and up to good hollow sounding holds. Continue up to a good resting point below the crux.The crux involves rocking over onto a high mantle for the left foot and a reach to a bomber flake. Continue up the flake to the anchors....[more] Browse More Classics in CA
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Slideshow
Unknown problem (V4?) on an unknown boulder at Don...
View from high above Donner Lake
This picture isn't washed out... I just glow that ...
| Comments on Donner Summit | Add Comment |
| Show which comments —
Comments displayed oldest to newest — Skip Ahead to the Most Recent Dated Oct 20, 2012 |
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By Brian Quiter From: Oakland, CA May 11, 2004 |
More about camping: the Donner Lake camping area doesn't open up until Memorial Day, but Granite Flats campground opens earlier. It is located a few miles south of Truckee on highway 89. It costs $15/night/site and an extra $5/night for each extra vehicle. Its not the most remote campsite as it is directly adjacent to 89, but has decent toilets and well water. |
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By Aron Quiter Administrator From: Oakland, CA Sep 16, 2004 |
Sometimes $20 a night. |
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By Blitzo Sep 25, 2006 |
Donner has some great climbing! |
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By Nikolai Daiss-Fechner From: Boulder, CO Feb 11, 2008 |
If climbing near the top of Donner (Goldilocks, Schoolhouse, Hiking PCT etc), please do not park in the paved part of the Sugar Bowl Academy lot (formerly ASI). There is a service road that runs out the back of the lot. Parking on any of the dirt in this area is permitted. Just stay off the pavement. Bathrooms are rather scarce on Donner, and burying it is tough since most of the ground is solid rock. There is an outhouse at Snowshed wall (can't miss it), as well as bathrooms at the Cafe in Norden (West towards where you get onto 80). Donner Ski Ranch is also sometimes an option. SBA (right on the pass) CANNOT allow general public to use their restrooms legally. Also, down on 40 along Donner lake there are a few small cafes and stores that may or may not have bathrooms. There is a beach on Donner lake at the west end that has restrooms, but there is an access fee depending on the time of year. The easily accessible docks on Donner Lake are for public use, on a kind of first come first serve basis. Look down at the shore as you drive along the lake to find them. Excellent place to have an evening beer after climbing or spend a rest day lounging and swimming. (On a side note, do not fish here without a license because Rangers DO come by to check). The swimming is first class...water temps are chilly but very nice as far as snow runoff fed lakes go. I would be more than happy to provide any additional info. Feel Free to contact me. I however, have a terrible memory and rout beta is not my strong point. I did live here (at SBA) for 2 years though and know the area itself very well |
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By ---- May 3, 2009 |
couple of questions about Donners Pass: Is all the snow melted by the end of May? Is everything climbable at this time? Are crowds ever a problem here? Is it very often that you have to wait in line for a popular climb? Would memorial day weekend be a bad time to go? Thanks for any info you have. |
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By Rick D From: Reno, NV May 4, 2009 |
Response to Slab Guy: The snow will still be around but you can get to all the walls as of right now. Snowshed is still pretty wet though. Snowshed is usually packed on the weekends, Truckee will be a zoo on memorial, everyone from the bay comes up. |
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By Paul Rezucha From: Alameda Nov 2, 2009 |
Could anyone tell me if there is any good place to camp this time of year around Donner? Most campgrounds are open May through October. Forest Land is ok to "dispense" camp but where/how does one find a good area that's not private and that is accessible. You do need a fire permit (free) from the park service/visitor center if you plan to cook or have a fire. Thanks! |
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By Arin From: North Las Vegas, NV Oct 21, 2011 |
Does anyone know what camp site is closest and if there are any camp sites paid or BLM with trails leading to the climbing areas? I'm fine with long trails, even up to 10-12 miles. |
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By Rams Jul 10, 2012 |
Can anyone recommend a guidebook for Donner and/or all of North Tahoe? I searched online and all I could find was the Falcon guide from 1999 and a Maximus Press book for Big Chief. |
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By J. Albers From: Colorado Jul 11, 2012 |
Rams, See the link pasted below (it has a list of all of the books that are available): mountainproject.com/v/norcal-g... |
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By John Jackson Jul 13, 2012 |
Rams; If you want the comprehensive guidebook for the North Tahoe region: The new LOCALS GUIDE to North Tahoe has all 1,300 of the known routes in the North Tahoe-Donner-Reno region with full color overlays of almost every route. Included are seven hundred routes not documented in the other guidebooks listed, as well as a detailed history of climbing in the region. More info here: camp4press.com |
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By slk From: Reno, NV Aug 5, 2012 |
^^^^^^ This guide is awesome for the area. For a .7-.8 climber it's helped to point me to some fun stuff. Going to go hit some .6 and .7 up above snowshed today and help clean it out!!!! Thanks J. Jackson, see you at happy hour. |
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By Alex Haeger From: Denver, CO Oct 20, 2012 |
For anyone interested, the state park campground on Donner Lake is closed for the season as of 10/19/12. I got here late on 10/19/12 and was unable to find safe looking national forest land, although according to maps of the area national forest land surrounds the donner pass area. Does anyone have better info on camping in the NF land? |
