Calaveras Dome is a giant granite formation south of the Mokelumne River and Lake Tahoe, with nearly 2,000 feet of climbing and an impressive variety of routes ranging from single-pitch outings to 19-pitch endurance fests. The climbing spans slabs, splitter cracks, face climbing, offwidths, Grade V aid lines, and routes that somehow manage to combine all of the above into one long adventure. Most routes were established ground-up and retain that unmistakable old-school spice.
I first heard about Calaveras Dome the previous summer when someone casually mentioned it as a climbing destination. Not long after, a Colorado partner brought it up again, describing it as exceptional, and it immediately landed on my 2026 tick list. In early May, I headed to the Tahoe area and posted on Mountain Project looking for partners. I spent several days climbing in the region, including two routes on Calaveras Dome.
The first was
Sands of Time (5.9, 6 pitches), one of the more moderate multipitch lines on the formation. Conditions were still slightly damp from recent weather, but we had a fun and relaxed day nonetheless. Two days later, I returned with Petch Pietrolungo—whom I had climbed with at Lover’s Leap a few days earlier and who had extensive experience on Calaveras Dome. Our original plan was
High Times (5.11, 11 pitches), but after seeing how wet that side of the wall remained, we opted instead for
Wall of the Worlds (5.10+ PG13, 6 pitches), a superb alternative. I came back again two days later and climbed
Sands of Time a second time, this time in dry conditions.
Still,
High Times lingered on my list. The route is a Calaveras classic linking some stunning corner systems; if it were in Yosemite, there would be a line waiting every day. The 60-meter 5.10b corner on Pitch 5 and the 50-meter 5.11 stemming corner on Pitch 10 are outstanding highlights—about as good as corner climbing gets.
A month later, in early June, I returned with John Alcorn to climb it, kicking off a 10-day California climbing trip together. Usually it is getting too warm to climb on Calaveras Dome by June (even though
High Times goes into the shade by early afternoon), but it was a cooler (high of around 68 degrees) day than those surrounding it (highs in the 80s). So it seemed like our chance. We started mid-morning so we only had a couple of hours of climbing in the direct sun. John led the entire route while I climbed in a fix-and-follow style (thanks John for the fun ride!). We both found the two 5.11 slab sections (on Pitches 2 and 8) to feel quite desperate, whereas the 5.11 stemming corner on Pitch 10 felt significantly easier. Probably just a matter of style. It was also a bit warm for hard slabbing. Regardless, we both thought the route was superb.
(
High Times is also known as
Silk Road. The route was originally established by Jay Smith and partners under the name "High Times." Years later, two alternate approach pitches were added, and the entire climb was subsequently renamed "Silk Road." The original name is used here.)
This page includes a route overlay, time stats, our rack, and pitch-by-pitch photos from the climb.
