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marc801
Dec 30, 2009, 10:20 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: There are a TON of great destinations in the US, but you limited the options when you specifically asked for sport destinations.
In reply to: Ideally I want somewhere that has a cool vibe and plenty to do aside climbing if the going gets wet or hungover |
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sycamore
Dec 30, 2009, 10:39 PM
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Any of these areas would be great. But the fact that you are only coming for two weeks means that you could pretty much go to any decent sport crag in the US and have two weeks worth of awesome climbing. The New, the Red, and Smith are all fantasic, undoubtably, but you'll probably climb less than 2% of the climbs at any one of those places. If money and/or time is a concern, I'd recommend a place closer to a major airport (Vegas, SLC, Phoenix), as all three of these places (and City of Rocks) are hours away from non-hub airports.
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Gmburns2000
Dec 30, 2009, 11:12 PM
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camhead wrote: Nath, there are tons of little sport crags throughout the US, but very few are worth touting to someone who is making the trip over here; that's why the same ones are coming up over and over here. As for my input, it all depends on if you want JUST a climbing destination, or if you are looking for general outdoor or even tourist activities, with some climbing on the side. For the best pure climbing at your level, opportunity to improve, accessible climbers' amenities, and ease of finding partners, etc., I would go ahead and recommend the Red River Gorge. One area that has not yet been mentioned here (I don't think) is City of Rocks in Idaho. Plenty of crags walking distance from the campground, easy to find partners, beautiful area. It's best in early fall or late spring, and is climbable through the summer. Almost all sport climbs there are slabby, technical, and sometimes sparsely bolted.
Oh yeah, there's plenty of smaller crags for sure, but I get the sense there are more opportunities for trad than sport (with regards to destinations).
Yeah, destinations are variable according to what you desire. No argument there.
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Gmburns2000
Dec 30, 2009, 11:14 PM
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marc801 wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: There are a TON of great destinations in the US, but you limited the options when you specifically asked for sport destinations. Not only that, but the OP further limited options by requesting: In reply to: Ideally I want somewhere that has a cool vibe and plenty to do aside climbing if the going gets wet or hungover
Yeah, but that's all up to the purveyor of said atmosphere. I personally think there's a great atmosphere at camp, but that's just me.
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marc801
Dec 30, 2009, 11:23 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: Yeah, but that's all up to the purveyor of said atmosphere. I personally think there's a great atmosphere at camp, but that's just me.
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Gmburns2000
Dec 30, 2009, 11:33 PM
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marc801 wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: Yeah, but that's all up to the purveyor of said atmosphere. I personally think there's a great atmosphere at camp, but that's just me. Atmosphere, sure (but drum circles are way lame and just plain suck, especially for anyone in earshot), but "plenty to do" other than climbing implies either other outdoor activities or town/city ammenities, especially in the case of bad weather.
Yeah, I've never been a fan of drum circles (or late night guitar solos - just ask anyone who's been with me after 10pm at Camp Slime in the 'Gunks - "Hey dude! I know you're awesome and all and that you can strum that thing with the best of them, but some of us would like to climb tomorrow. Thanks!").
I dunno. I can't think of a climbing area that I've been to where, if it rained, let's say, there wasn't a place to go to do things that are otherwise unplanned. But then again, I'm perfectly happy sitting in a quiet bar and talking shit. 
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marc801
Dec 31, 2009, 12:00 AM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: I dunno. I can't think of a climbing area that I've been to where, if it rained, let's say, there wasn't a place to go to do things that are otherwise unplanned. But then again, I'm perfectly happy sitting in a quiet bar and talking shit.
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camhead
Dec 31, 2009, 12:11 AM
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marc801 wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: I dunno. I can't think of a climbing area that I've been to where, if it rained, let's say, there wasn't a place to go to do things that are otherwise unplanned. But then again, I'm perfectly happy sitting in a quiet bar and talking shit. Uh, City of Rocks. It depends on how far you want to drive. You do realize that the town of Almo (4 miles from the campground) is dry and the nearest beer is 20 miles away in Malta?
What are you talking about?
I got beer in Almo this past fall, and have been able to whenever I've been at CoR in the past 9 years. A new store/restaurant/bar even opened up recently, though I've not checked it out.
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marc801
Dec 31, 2009, 12:18 AM
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camhead wrote: I got beer in Almo this past fall, and have been able to whenever I've been at CoR in the past 9 years. A new store/restaurant/bar even opened up recently, though I've not checked it out.
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minibiter
Dec 31, 2009, 12:32 AM
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Assuming you're looking for single pitch sport climbing with a wide variety of grades (5.7 - 5.14+ projects):
#1: Red River Gorge
#2: New River Gorge
There's enough climbing at both places to last a lifetime. Consider that the Red is made up of many mini-crags, and the New is made up of the New proper with over 1000 routes, then you have the Meadow and Summersville, both with many excellent routes.
The rock at both is sandstone though, so if you're looking for granite or greenstone or something you'll have to go somewhere else. It's not soft sandstone either - pretty rare to have something break in either place.
Cheers
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Gmburns2000
Dec 31, 2009, 3:44 AM
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marc801 wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: I dunno. I can't think of a climbing area that I've been to where, if it rained, let's say, there wasn't a place to go to do things that are otherwise unplanned. But then again, I'm perfectly happy sitting in a quiet bar and talking shit. Uh, City of Rocks. It depends on how far you want to drive. You do realize that the town of Almo (4 miles from the campground) is dry and the nearest beer is 20 miles away in Malta?
20 miles doesn't bother me. if it's raining, what else am I going to do? and I imagine all the other climbers will be in the same boat.
but yeah, it's not as nice as walking from the crag to the bar.
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thebadgerrogers
Dec 31, 2009, 9:56 AM
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Sorry, I shoudl have taken into account you'd only be referring to the classic crags here and rightly, I'd only asked for mentions of sport, not trad.
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thebadgerrogers
Dec 31, 2009, 10:04 AM
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Thanks to all of you for your great words of advice. I have some tough decision-making to do and will post the outcome in a few weeks.
I hope to meet up with some friendly's for some climbing beta at the chosen venue!!!
Thanks again, and have a Happy New Year!
Nath
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cracklover
Dec 31, 2009, 8:16 PM
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If you are truly completely flexible with your schedule, then I'd suggest Ten Sleep over the weekend when they do the climbing festival. Definitely world class climbing, a real "western" feel (different from Europe, that's for sure) several bars and restaurants, and a parade.
Oh, and the area is stunningly beautiful.
GO
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kaizen
Dec 31, 2009, 9:07 PM
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Since you're coming from the UK, you may want to consider leaving the forest and hitting up Shelf Rd or Ten Sleep. I haven't been to Ten Sleep, but it sounds great. Shelf Road is moderate central in a high desert environment. New River Gorge and Red River Gorge are wonderful as well, but it won't be a huge change in scenery for you. RRG is juggy overhanging paradise on bombproof sandstone, and NRG tends to be more vertical/technical in nature. Owens River Gorge and Bishop Would be a great change of scenery also.
Really you should have a great trip at any of the places mentioned in this thread. Enjoy. |
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therat
Jan 1, 2010, 5:34 PM
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shockabuku wrote: I'd recommend Ten Sleep Canyon in Wyoming but there's not really much else there. The climbing is great though.
The quality of routes in Ten Sleep is ALL you need.
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jcrew
Jan 1, 2010, 6:31 PM
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since you're not looking for world-class difficulty, i'd say the owens rivers gorge is the place. it's got hot springs, all the other moutain sports, desert, beer..
or maybe skaha, b.c.? it's hot in the summer, but perfect in spring or fall,
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camhead
Jan 1, 2010, 6:35 PM
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Just one more bit of info on the New River Gorge, which has been mentioned several times here. Yes, it is incredibly good. However, no other area that I have climbed at in the US has a higher rate of rainy days. And, unlike the Red River Gorge, which has a lot of caves that always stay dry, the New has relatively few options for rainy day cragging compared to its overall quantity of routes. Unlike sea-breeze-blasted Squamish, it can take a while to dry out as well.
In other words, there is a bigger chance of rain ruining your trip to the New River Gorge than about any other US climbing destination that I know of.
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rhythm164
Jan 1, 2010, 8:29 PM
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jajen wrote: rhythm164 wrote: pfwein wrote: People say Red River Gorge is the only "world class" sport climbing destination in US. those folks have never been to Rumney Yes we have.
then you went to the wrong Rumney.
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sidepull
Jan 1, 2010, 8:55 PM
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marc801 wrote: sidepull wrote: zeth01 wrote: southern utah. arizona border Yep. if you make St. George your basecamp you have your choice of limestone, sandstone, and volcanic. Maple canyon is hard to beat in terms of the quality of movement and the sheer amount of routes. Every time I've been there I've run into some international group that decided to stay for a month. Not much to do on rest days so bring a good book and a guitar. Just to clarify, Maple Canyon is not in southern Utah - it's a good 4 hrs interstate drive to the north from St. George. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Owens River Gorge in Bishop, CA as an option.
Having grown up in Utah, I am well aware that St. George is not a base camp for Maple. I was hoping that separating the two thoughts with a paragraph break would make that clear. I think your clarification refined that point.
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sidepull
Jan 1, 2010, 9:02 PM
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marc801 wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: There are a TON of great destinations in the US, but you limited the options when you specifically asked for sport destinations. Not only that, but the OP further limited options by requesting: In reply to: Ideally I want somewhere that has a cool vibe and plenty to do aside climbing if the going gets wet or hungover
Having lived in the UK this past year, the notion that there is a scarcity of world class crags in the US in comparison is ridiculous. Indeed, I think the OP will be blown away by the scale of the crags, both in terms of size and sheer number of routes. I dare say that maple canyon has more routes than the entire Peak District all within a compressed area rather than spread out over a hundred miles.
That said, you'll be missing the "pub walks" - the US does not have a network of trails that link our purveyors of alcohol. Most trails lead to lakes or rocks or other trails. Perhaps you meant something different by cool vibe.
Good luck!
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sspssp
Jan 1, 2010, 11:51 PM
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jcrew wrote: since you're not looking for world-class difficulty, i'd say the owens rivers gorge is the place. it's got hot springs, all the other moutain sports, desert, beer..
Owens does have a lot of good, moderate climbs (especially 5.10~5.11). The gorge itself is not that spectacular but the surounding area is pretty cool.
I'm not sure I would recommend Owens by itself. However, you could include it with a trip through Yosemite. Even if you don't climb, Yosemite is a cool place to check out. And although most of the climbing in Yosemite is trad and although what bolted climbs there are can be runnout, there are plenty of reasonably bolted routes at a moderate grade between the Yosmite valley and Tuolumne meadows to keep somebody busy for a couple of weeks. Always with the option of driving over to Owens.
In much of the country, you get the driest conditions (and sometimes the best temperatures) from late September to early November.
(This post was edited by sspssp on Jan 1, 2010, 11:53 PM)
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sidepull
Jan 2, 2010, 9:22 PM
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sidepull wrote: marc801 wrote: sidepull wrote: zeth01 wrote: southern utah. arizona border Yep. if you make St. George your basecamp you have your choice of limestone, sandstone, and volcanic. Maple canyon is hard to beat in terms of the quality of movement and the sheer amount of routes. Every time I've been there I've run into some international group that decided to stay for a month. Not much to do on rest days so bring a good book and a guitar. Just to clarify, Maple Canyon is not in southern Utah - it's a good 4 hrs interstate drive to the north from St. George. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Owens River Gorge in Bishop, CA as an option. Having grown up in Utah, I am well aware that St. George is not a base camp for Maple. I was hoping that separating the two thoughts with a paragraph break would make that clear. I think your clarification refined that point.
On second thought, don't go anywhere near St. George:
http://news.yahoo.com/...A2NyZXdzY29udGVuZA--
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KidEpic
Oct 24, 2010, 5:09 PM
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So does the New River, Summersville Lake, Ten Sleep Wy, Smith Rocks, Little Cottonwood Canyon Ut. There are so many other GREAT destinations!
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KidEpic
Oct 24, 2010, 5:12 PM
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GO
you can climb in the area year round but getting into arizona might be dfficult this time of year you'll want to ask locals before heading if theres been snow and if theres access to the climbing. it's all unpaved roads once you enter arizona. i just like the area because theres limestone, sandstone, basalt... trad, bouldering and sport all near each other. this is st. george area that 'm talking about.
In reply to: Why would Az be hard to get in to? That doesnt make sense!
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