Sierra Passes

Climbing in the Sierra Nevada is amazing, at least for California. I haven't ever climbed in Europe, but that looks even better. For now, the Sierras are going to have to pass as a climbing mecca. The whole trip was really relaxing and well worth the time. I stayed at the J Marklee and had trouble getting to sleep the first night due to the complete silence of the place. We got to eat pasta at a small villa on a really Germanesque hillside while watching the sunset and grilled Salmon for an outside dinner the third night. Breakfasts were hearty, too much so for my fragile stomach, so I suffered on the early climbs each day, but did really enjoy the food.

The first day, we climbed Ebbetts pass and the Pacific Grade. The latter climb is short but sweet, with stairsteps, switchbacks and great views of the valley. The descent past Alpine Lake was fun, then I turned around and did everything in reverse.



The next day was Monitor Pass and a shuttle over to Sonora Pass from the east side. This climb is brutally steep at the bottom and end, but fairly easy in between. It's also beautiful and goes past a bunch of gurgling streams and through conifer forests. It smells totally different up there; here in the Bay there's a distinct lack of smell, like it has been scrubbed of everything organic. Up in the Sierras, the I swear you can smell the rocks as well as all of the different plants. The descent off of Sonora is definitely fun, but something you have to be very alert for since the curves are all on the steepest parts of the road.



The last day, we rode to Blue Lakes along a beautiful stretch of new pavement. Finally, I rode up to Carson Pass. That's something I've done before on the Death Ride, and this time was no more fun that last. It's heavily traveled, and the views pale in comparison to the other passes over the weekend.

All in all, I think I rode around 200 miles and feel completely rejuvenated. Now that I'm back at sea level, I feel stronger than ever, too. Maybe I'll go ahead and race this weekend!

The folks that went on this trip were a fairly diverse mix of people, though we were all engineers/lawyers/doctors. It's hard to get people to climb this much, but these guys and gals just attacked everything like it was something they did everyday, then at night the conversation was always animated and interesting. The company really put the final touches to make the weekend special.