Sending It: Climbing El Dorado

Sending It: Climbing El Dorado | November 16, 2023 – January 28, 2024

The newest exhibition at Arts and Culture El Dorado’s Switchboard Gallery examines the unique and world-renowned climbing features perched along Highway 50 between Placerville and Lake Tahoe. The exhibition focuses on Lover’s Leap, Phantom Spires, and Sugarloaf – three large granite outcroppings that attract climbers from around the globe. SENDING IT: CLIMBING EL DORADO is a love letter to our corner of the Sierra and a celebration of the region’s vibrant outdoor recreation culture.

While Yosemite Valley will always loom large in the minds and mythos of die-hard rock climbers, El Dorado County holds its own as a wild granite playground. With Lover’s Leap, Phantom Spires, and Sugarloaf all a stone’s throw from one another and accessible right off Highway 50 en route to South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County attracts novice climbers and lifelong enthusiasts. Even the legendary Royal Robbins, who made his name conquering Half Dome, hosted a climbing school at Lover’s Leap.

Taking a grass-roots curatorial approach, the exhibition combines community-sourced photographs with images from the personal archives of legendary climber Royal Robbins, along with maps, ephemera, oral histories, and video presentations.

>>Learn more about SENDING IT: CLIMBING EL DORADO