First, do you want completely avoid California, or just the Central Valley routes (I5/CA99)?
Alternative 1:
- I5 to Shasta, then diagonal over to Reno, US95 to Vegas. That's been discussed a number of times
Alternative 2:
- US97 to Klamath Falls, diagonal over to US395 in northern Calif. US395 to Reno.
Alternative 3:
- US97 to La Pine, OR 33 (?) to Lakeview, US395 south
Alternative 4:
- to Bend, US20 to Burns, OR 78? to US95 south to Winnemucca (sp?), then then south to Vegas (don't have go through Reno)
Alternative 5:
- I84 to Ontario, US95 south
Alternative 6:
- I84 to Twin Falls, US93 south to Vegas. US93 has often been discussed as an alternative to I15 to Vegas.
Focusing on the middle part. The NS options are US395 (some Nevada, mostly eastern Calif), US95, US93 (I15 if you really must have freeway). For the most part these highways follow NS valleys between mountain ranges. While there are some grades, there aren't any difficult passes or curves.
