Beautiful mountains, world-class granite, and a small town full of nature lovers. When the slopes of Donner Pass aren’t covered in 15 feet of fresh powder, the vacation town of Truckee screams: climbing.
There are so many sports and activities that people, especially teens participate in in the Truckee area. But one community that might not be the best known, but is still substantial, is Truckee-Tahoe’s climbing community.
The Truckee area and the Tahoe basin offer world-class climbing on textured granite and features rivaling Yosemite’s. Climbing areas like Donner Summit, Tahoe Donner Boulders, and local favorites like “Chosshire” are classic spots to meet friends and family and get on the wall. Another place for amazing climbing is Lover’s Leap and it isn’t too far down around the lake.
Tahoe’s location in the Sierra Nevadas also places it close to prime climbing areas like Bishop and Yosemite, far, but not out of the question for a weekend road trip. When a student climber was asked if climbing in Truckee was more special to them than other places, they responded saying, “Yes, it is… because Truckee is such a well-known area and I feel special that I get to climb here.”
Guidebooks are the analogue way for climbers to find their way around the routes, and author Dave Hatchett highlights so many bouldering areas around the Truckee/Tahoe area with his Bouldering Lake Tahoe book series. These guidebooks are useful to locals and tourists alike, and teens climbing without their parents can feel confident walking up to a boulder and climbing with no fear.
Now for teens. Truckee High School boasts a student body full of athletes. From club to school sports, teens at Truckee High do it all. A surprising number of students climb across the street from the school at High Altitude Fitness, with friends and family, after school and on weekends, and range from beginners to competitive climbers.
Climbing brings so much to Truckee. It is so common to hear of people moving to Truckee to ski or snowboard, but those same people often spend summers on the wall, learning how to climb and raising families that do the same.
This sport creates a community unlike any other. Similar to skateboarding, teens can easily find peers in the sport, but adults often take it to high levels as well, which makes it an ageless sport that is easy to get into.
A student climbing at High Altitude Fitness was asked if they have felt like climbing has helped them find more community, they said “I’ve made a bunch of friends climbing, people who climb are genuinely pretty chill.” Friends of many backgrounds and groups come together to climb at the gym and find a common ground to have fun and connect over. Another student at the gym said, “I’ve made lots of long-time friends, and the vibes in the gym are usually pretty positive when you’re just around a bunch of cool guys and gals climbing.”
This sport is incredibly multifaceted, with many different forms of climbing, but also different levels of seriousness brought to the table. Different forms of climbing can range from top roping (climbing with ropes anchored at the top of a route), leading (climbing with a rope that the climber is clipping into as the climb goes on), and bouldering (short wall climbing without ropes and large, powerful moves). All are fun and all are great forms of the sport, but different skill sets and personality types can be found in them all.
Climbing difficulty and community ranges from people just showing up to the gym to climb after school, to student athletes competing in national and international competitions, to climbing junkees chasing good climbing, all of these are great places to be as long as the sport is appreciated.
One unique thing about the Truckee area is its natural surroundings, which share in the uniqueness of climbing as a sport. Similar to skiing and snowboarding culture in Tahoe, climbing is centered around the outdoors, which is something that many other sports cannot claim. Living in an area such as this, it is incredibly valuable to take advantage of the natural world when choosing a sport, and skiing and snowboarding are not year-round sports.
Climbing is beneficial for community, personal growth,, and general health, and Truckee is the perfect place to partake in the sport. Get outside and get into the climbing community, friends and family will follow.
