Echo Summit is a mountain pass over the Sierra Nevada in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, located in eastern El Dorado County, California. At above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, it is the highest point on U.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it at postmile 66.48 between

Twin Bridges Twin bridges are a set of two bridges running parallel to each other. A pair of twin bridges is often referred to collectively as a twin-span or dual-span bridge. Twin bridges are independent structures and each bridge has its own superstructur ...

and

Meyers Meyers is a surname of English origin; many branches of the Meyers family trace their origins to Anglo-Saxon England. The name is derived from the Old French name ''Maire'', meaning "mayor", or an officer in charge of legal matters. The English ...

, south of Lake Tahoe. The "Sierra Nevada Southern Route" (aka the "Pioneer Route") of the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

, the first road across the

, was routed over nearby Johnson Pass in 1913. The current alignment over Echo Summit was constructed between 1936 and 1939. The "Sierra Nevada Northern Route" of the Lincoln Highway went over

Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual appr ...

. Echo Summit is a trailhead for the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.1968 Olympians Return to Echo Summit
USA Track & Field, Bob Burns, June 27, 2014.

1968 U.S. Olympic Trials

Echo Summit is notable for being the location (sometimes listed as " South Lake Tahoe") of the 1968 U.S. Olympic track and field trials for men, held September 6–16, a month before the 1968 Olympics in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. (The women's trials were at low altitude in Los Angeles County, at

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

.) The Echo Summit site opened in July as a training camp for high-altitude acclimation, being virtually identical to the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in Mexico. The picturesque alpine location was on the cover of the July 1968 issue of '' Track and Field News.'' The original men's trials were in Los Angeles in late June, but a second round of trials was added to the training camp. With a

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

tax and financial support from Harrah's Tahoe casino, a synthetic

Tartan track Tartan Track is a trademarked all-weather synthetic track surfacing made of polyurethane used for track and field competitions, manufactured by 3M. It lets athletes compete in bad weather without serious performance loss and improves their resu ...

was purchased which was very similar to that to be used in Mexico City. Installation was completed in early July and was designed to be easily dismantled and reinstalled, being moved the following summer to nearby South Tahoe Middle School where it survived until 2006. Installed southwest of the summit in the parking lot of a small ski area, hundreds of

Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

trees remained in the infield, densest on the north end. The high jump pit was also surrounded by huge boulders. Four world records were achieved at the trials.Hymans 2008 pp.9-10 The location became a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

in 2014 with a roadside sign along Highway 50. At the time, this was only the fifth sports-related historical site in California. The ski area, known as Nebelhorn and later Echo Summit, closed twenty years later in 1988. It is now Adventure Mountain, a snow play area for sledding and tubing.

References

External links

*
National Weather Service: current temperature

Adventure Mountain Lake Tahoe

{{Authority control Mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Landforms of El Dorado County, California California Historical Landmarks U.S. Route 50