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chill41
Oct 30, 2006, 11:32 AM
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So, I want to go to a sport-climbing mecca with relatively warm weather this January, and I waited a little too long to get my passport (so Potrero is out unless I drive.)
I'm considering the alternatives now and Bishop sounds like a sweet spot. For those of you who've climbed there in the winter alot, what's the weather usually like? Also, how hard would it be to get there by flying/bussing and then get around once there without a car (I'm too young to rent one.)
Many thanks for your advice and kind wisdom Lords of Bishop
Chris
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mascent
Oct 30, 2006, 12:10 PM
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Joshua Tree would be a better call. Bishop in Jan. can be pretty brutal for camping. At JTree you wake up at the base of a route and can walk anywhere. Plus no snow.
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chanceboarder
Oct 30, 2006, 12:17 PM
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In reply to: Joshua Tree would be a better call. Bishop in Jan. can be pretty brutal for camping. At JTree you wake up at the base of a route and can walk anywhere. Plus no snow. |
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mturner
Oct 30, 2006, 1:34 PM
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Bishop is cold and snowy in the winter. It can be manageable though. I've done it and the rock (if not snowy) is nice in the winter, great friction.
If I didn't have a car though, I'd completely rule out Bishop. There is virtually no public transportation, including taxis. The climbing is well outside the city, and most of it isn't even that close to the camping. It's a place worth visiting for sure, but I'd consider going somewhere else if I didn't have a car.
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boltdude
Oct 30, 2006, 1:37 PM
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Not having a car is not going to work for Owens unless you're in great biking shape and have a bike, or are solid on camping out in winter and getting resupplied by catching rides once in a while. Owens is about 15 miles from Bishop by bike, with a 2000' elevation gain (all paved and you can bike into the gorge on pavement via the south entrance). The closest camping is the pinion forest area, about 800' vertical and one mile from the central gorge entrance (closer to north gorge entrance).
Climbing is fine even on the coldest winter days as long as there's full sun (often shorts-and-T-shirt weather even mid-winter). But even high clouds keep the rock from warming up, so cloudy days are trouble. If you climb 5.12 in the cold, then you can climb on Eldorado Roof no matter how nasty the weather gets, otherwise Owens is a bad place to head in the rain or snow.
Climbing days are short: the Gorge is pretty deep, and it runs N-S, so you get sun on certain walls from 8:30am to 2pm, and the selection is fairly limited for sunny winter walls (you'll probably run low on stuff to do in the sun after a couple weeks). A lot of the Gorge is not sunny in the winter regardless of what time of day (Gorgeous towers area for instance).
Owens is awesome - but I wouldn't recommend it to someone with no car in the winter.
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scottb
Oct 30, 2006, 1:44 PM
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I think the closest airport to Bishop is Reno/Tahoe, about a four hour drive when the roads are good. I think it'd be pretty tough to hitch a ride.
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timm
Oct 30, 2006, 3:19 PM
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Red Rocks. You will need to find transportation to the campground but from there you should be able to partner up with others for rides to the crags and to town.
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mitchgripgrabber
Oct 30, 2006, 5:07 PM
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Just stay at the Pit. There will be several like minded people and a stac of euros w/o cars. It could happen. Getting to bishop could be hard....
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eddie_munster
Oct 30, 2006, 6:20 PM
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getting to bishop from the reno airport:
http://www.countyofinyo.org/transit/CRESTpage.htm
$28 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
If you're going to climb at owens: Camp at the Pit or the Pinons (more boulderers at the Pit). Hitch rides. Partners should be easy to pick up if you're there for awhile. If you're bouldering, it is much easier. You can even just camp at the buttermilks. If a snow storm rolls in, you're hatin' it. Owens will still be climbable after the storm, just take the lower gorge approach via the road.
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eddie_munster
Oct 30, 2006, 6:20 PM
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getting to bishop from the reno airport:
http://www.countyofinyo.org/transit/CRESTpage.htm
$28 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
If you're going to climb at owens: Camp at the Pit or the Pinons (more boulderers at the Pit). Hitch rides. Partners should be easy to pick up if you're there for awhile. If you're bouldering, it is much easier. You can even just camp at the buttermilks. If a snow storm rolls in, you're hatin' it. Owens will still be climbable after the storm, just take the lower gorge approach via the road.
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chill41
Oct 31, 2006, 7:11 AM
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Thanks for the quick replies people. OK, it sounds like getting around there could be a little sketchy and it's gonna be cold. I'm travelling a long ways to run away from snow, so maybe Bishop's not the prime destination I thought it was.
For you guys that know Red Rocks, how hard would you say it is to be there in the winter with no car? Anybody here actually done it that could share their experiences?
Chris
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