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swoop
Apr 10, 2003, 2:46 PM
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What city do you think would be the best for Climbing.....Irvine, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Palo Alto, L.A., or Davis?
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emelia
Apr 10, 2003, 3:10 PM
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Having lived in Beserkely for 6 years, I have to vote for the Bay area. Lot's of local cragging, 2 hours from the Sierra, 3 from Yosemite, bit more to Bishop and Lee Vining and you can suffer the couple of extra hours to J-Tree and the SoCal climbing areas and in the opposite direction up to the Shasta climbing areas. Not big on SoCal to live in and Davis is too far from the ocean.....Bay area gives you everything...plus you're only 1 hour from Napa!!! There are also some great indoor gyms for those days when ya can't get out. I LOVED it there....so what the heck am I doing here? Where am I anyway?
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tt
Apr 10, 2003, 3:50 PM
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I live in Oakland now, and there's plenty of climbing in the Bay Area, and as someone else said Yosemite is easily in weekend trip range. I didn't climb when I was in So Cal, but alot of my friends went to Jtree all the time. Bishop is about 4-5 hours away from LA, I think Yosemite is a similar distance.
--Actually, we don't need more people in California, I think Colorado is where you wanna be :?
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jorgle
Apr 10, 2003, 3:55 PM
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Here is some info. from the Socal Area
Yosemite: 6 hrs, Williamson: 1.5hrs, Bishop Areas: 4 hrs, Malibu Creek: 1 hr, J-Tree: 1.5 hrs, Tahquitz Rock: 1.5 hrs, Big Bear area: ~2 hrs
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epic_ed
Apr 10, 2003, 3:59 PM
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Any thoughts about the Sacramento area? Both in terms of climbing (similar to the Bay area, I assume) and employment? Quality of life stuff?
Ed
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hack
Apr 10, 2003, 4:31 PM
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I currently live in Davis, the closest climbin is gym stuff, but you do have some real rocks within an hours drive...it is a very nice town though (assuming you don't mind living in the central valley). With that said I am leaving here as soon as I graduate college :P .
The Sacramento area is decent, not my kind of place, but decent. Same general closeness to climbing as Davis.
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tim
Apr 10, 2003, 4:37 PM
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SF and LA are both great cities with awesome climbing a short drive away.
I lived in SF for a year and a half, loved it (2.5 hours to the Ditch!!). I'm going to be living in LA come next year, and I've discovered that there was a lot more to Los Angeles than I thought when I was in my Gay-Area snob phase. For starters, the Needles are closer to LA.
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westside196
Apr 10, 2003, 5:03 PM
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I've lived in Orange County my whole life, and I love it. J-Tree is close by, but also there is a lot of stuff to do when your not climbing. If your going to be moving somewhere, your not going to be climbing 24 hours a day. I think you should factor in other things as secondary options. Like whatever stage your at in life, whether its school or work should factor in somewhere.
With that said, my family lives in Berkeley and that's a great area too. Plenty of stuff to climb, and I've only been to one indoor climbing gym there, but it was a really nice gym. (Berkeley Ironworks). I like the people in the area, but I haven't been there much so I can't really compare the people and the atmosphere to where I currently live, accurately enough.
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watersprite
Apr 10, 2003, 5:07 PM
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and it's close to Castle Rock State Park, where Sharma and lots of other Yosemite valley climbers got their start.
it's about 3 hrs. from Yosemite, 2 hours to Napa (Mt. St. Helena); 1-1/2 hrs. to the Pinnacles.
there are a couple of indoor gyms in So. Bay and nearby. SF is very expensive and hard to find housing, even though many people have left since the internet boom crashed.
Sacramento is cheaper, but then there is the problem of jobs, which is also going on here.
good luck, wherever you end up.
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murf
Apr 10, 2003, 5:12 PM
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Swoop - Seems like all those are college towns to me. Pick a school first, get in, and then see. Of all those listed good climbing is within a few hours. SB is probably the worst climbing-wise of all those listed ( adds hours to the JT/Tahq etc ), but the surf is good, and the girls/boys better ( hmmm, "swoop" male or female? ).
Murf
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superd
Apr 10, 2003, 5:17 PM
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A bonus point for LA...you can climb there year round. SF is really cool as well, but it appears that the climbing there is seasonal.
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cloudbreak
Apr 10, 2003, 5:21 PM
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You would have great climbing near all of those cities, BUT, Southern CA has the best weather year round. Although, accompanying that year-round great weather are the crowds.
If you are picking a city to attend college in, pick the city because of the school you want to attend, as mentioned before, and not because of what climbing you will find nearby. It'll pay off in the end.
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drkayak
Apr 10, 2003, 5:23 PM
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In reply to: Any thoughts about the Sacramento area? Both in terms of climbing (similar to the Bay area, I assume) and employment? Quality of life stuff? Ed
I have lived on the east side of Sacramento for 20 years. Sugarloaf, Lovers Leap, Calaveras Dome – A lifetime of climbing all within a hours drive. We also have two small crags closer for after work climbing. I would trade it all to live close to J. Tree. Josh is the best there is.
Job market is bad in Sacramento now. Except, possibly, new home construction jobs.
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caughtinside
Apr 10, 2003, 5:24 PM
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Hey, I live in Davis and there is rock nearby if you know where to go. Wink wink. Plus, close to the leap and other tahoe classics. 4 hours from Yos.
SOmeone made the point of hotter student bodies in SB though, and that is absolutely true. Skib talked about SLO, I love that town and have surfed around it a ton but have never climbed there.
It all depends on what you're into though. Although as a parting shot the local gym doesn't have ANY 'tough guy' vibe that I've picked up on at other places, if you know what I mean.
Did I mention you can climb year round?
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chouca
Apr 10, 2003, 5:43 PM
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I must concur with Tim. If I were to live in a non-Sierra town in CA, I would move to LA for several reasons. First of all, the people are friendly and upbeat. There are more options for low-budget living there, which frees up more $$$ and time to climb. And the drive to NoCal is not that bad, I have done it several times. J-Tree and Vegas are just a few hours away.
San Francisco is a beautiful city with lots to offer, but every time I go there, the vibe is too aloof and pretentious for my tastes. Not that there aren't cool people there, but geesh, I can't live some place that has so many indignant people with an equal number of axes to grind. A writer hit the nail on the head when he described them as the Bay Arayans. The cragging in the area is more vairied and higher quality than in the south, and the climate is comfortable, with less smog as well.
Both places have plenty to offer alot. Kind of like having to choose between a bubbly, perky blond, or a sophisticated, complex brunette. Either way, you go, you are still doing allright..
Marc B.
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sspssp
Apr 10, 2003, 5:49 PM
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Move to California (if not here already). Get residency. And by then, UC/Merced might be opened. An hour to the valley. UC school. How much better could it get?
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beercanclimber
Apr 10, 2003, 6:05 PM
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In reply to: I must concur with Tim. If I were to live in a non-Sierra town in CA, I would move to LA for several reasons. First of all, the people are friendly and upbeat. There are more options for low-budget living there, which frees up more $$$ and time to climb. And the drive to NoCal is not that bad, I have done it several times. J-Tree and Vegas are just a few hours away.
ok, being that i've lived in LA for the last 5 years i'm gonna have to disagree with you on some of this. the people are not all that friendly and
it is extremely expensive to live here and to go out here. traffic is the wrost i've ever seen, and it is smoggy as hell.
with that said, it still has a lot to offer. like people have said, year round climbing with tons of spots within an hour or two, including Josh.
along with that the beachs are great, the mountains are close so you can ski and hike etc.
living here for college has been cool, i plan to stay for a few years until i get it out of my system. but after that it's back to San Diego for me, it's gotta be the best city in the world, but obviously i'm a little biased.
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emelia
Apr 10, 2003, 6:27 PM
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In reply to: San Francisco is a beautiful city with lots to offer, but every time I go there, the vibe is too aloof and pretentious for my tastes. Not that there aren't cool people there, but geesh, I can't live some place that has so many indignant people with an equal number of axes to grind.
Funny.....that's what everyone in SF says about LA (except the beautiful city part..... :lol: ) Glad to see the NoCal/SoCal head-butting is still alive and well....keeps everyone in their place!
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mzllr
Apr 10, 2003, 6:33 PM
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moving to the bay area right now is kind of like going to a party after the keg has already been tapped and all the hot chicks have left. you can see a lot of people who cashed in on the .com boom, but everything is pretty dried up right now. if you're moving out here expecting to find a job, don't expect to find one soon (i'm going on month 4).
having said that, not having a job definitely clears up a lot of time to enjoy the bay area climbing. castle rock is a beautiful place to climb and you have yosemite and the sierras as your backyard. you're alway close to water and (coming from arizona) i love the changes in weather here.
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tim
Apr 10, 2003, 7:04 PM
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In reply to: moving to the bay area right now is kind of like going to a party after the keg has already been tapped and all the hot chicks have left. you can see a lot of people who cashed in on the .com boom, but everything is pretty dried up right now. if you're moving out here expecting to find a job, don't expect to find one soon (i'm going on month 4).
Heheheh. SF was a blast in in the go-go years, wasn't it? I've never drank so much free booze, hooked up with as many pretty girls, or had as much fun as I did there. Too bad it was mostly other peoples' money fueling the boom. Oh well. It was great while it lasted.
I actually do have a good job prospect in SF (one on offer right now) but I don't think that it is a wise long-term move. I'm planning to get a PhD and the skids are greasiest for that down in SC (for me at least, doing the type of research I am interested in). Sucks, I guess. I'm not sure what's best.
For school, see where you get in. Berkeley and UCLA are both great schools, nobody ever sniffed at Stanford either. You'd have to live somewhere in the northeastern corner of CA to have the sort of crap climbing options that anyone in the mid-Atlantic enjoys, which is why I have to get the hell out of here.
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matttheripper
Apr 10, 2003, 7:09 PM
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So Cal por vida. I live in Long Beach and I love it. The gyms are good and I'm within an hour of Stoney Point, Malibu Creek, and J-tree is not too far away either. The gyms aren't as good as the Bay area but should that really even be much of a consideration. Not to mention the beaches are nice, the people are beautiful, the weather rocks, and the crags are close. Why would you want to live anywhere else?
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dingus
Apr 10, 2003, 11:29 PM
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I've lived in Modesto, Salida. Turlock, Santa Rosa, Stockton and lately, Sacramento area.
Central Valley - ya gotta grow to love it. It can be a burning hell for 3 months every summer, not as hot as Phoenix, but definitely hotter than the Inland Empire of LA. And winter! At least 2 months of Tule fog... if it ain't raining (and it don't rain THAT much), it's foggy, from the start of rainy season (Oct - Nov) to the end of Jan. But inbetween!!! 3 months of spring, Feb to April and 3 months of Fall, Sept - Nov (with Nov being negotiable)... 70's during the day, 50's at night. Even in the hottest of summer it cools down nicely. Sac has cleaner and slightly cooler air (as does Davis) than valley towns to the north and south.
Closest real climbing to me is an hour away. Yosemite is an easy day trip, as is the Meadows, Cal Dome, Lovers Leap, Donner Summit, Table Mtn. And the skiing! Mama Mia! Prolly go this weekend. Skied a 1 and a half feet of fresh pow last Friday and sport climbed at the Grotto in sunny conditions the next day, in T shirts.
The Sierra is without a doubt the best rock climbing mountain range in the US and I'm told the world, from the weather to the skiing to the 400 miles of granite peaks to choose from.
Comes down to lifestyle though.
I'd rather live in Fresno than either the Bay Area or LA, no offence to you city slickers, but you can keep that big city crap.
Sac fits my lifetyle well. I'm a half hour from the airport too. Foothills would be nicer but I can't afford it just now.
DMT
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rokjunky
Apr 11, 2003, 12:07 AM
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i live in bakersfield. central valley. about 100 miles north ot LA. 100 miles south of Fresno. true, it IS hot as hell here for a couple of months each year, but also true, you can climb around here all year long. i live 20 minutes from Kern River Canyon. there are dozens and dozens of climbs right in the canyon. probably more like "hundreds", but i haven't looked that hard. great granite. sport and trad. we also have rock that will cheese grate your limbs, but hey, what's climbing without leaving some DNA behind? some of the best limestone in Ca. is just 90 minutes from me. i found some super boulders today. and of course, i left DNA. hiking everywhere.
the Needles are within 2 -2.5 hours. Jtree is 2.5-3 hours. Bishop is about 3 hours. THE Valley is about the same. Stoney Point is 1.5 hours. Williamson Rock and Horse Flats are about 2.5 hours.
we've also got the Kern Slabs and New Directions Rock just about 75minutes from B-town.
housing is relatively inexspensive and we have a jr.college and CSUB right here. there are jobs.
i've been climbing here for about 2 years and have only had to share a crag once.
there are much better places to live, of course. but it does have it's good points.
good luck.
everything happens for a reason.
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baldguy
Apr 11, 2003, 12:18 AM
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Irvine: don't know anything about it, except that it's < 2 hrs. to J-tree. that can't be too bad.
San Diego: beautiful women (goes for most of SoCal), good surf, good fish tacos ... i've never climbed down there, but i know a crusty, old climber from the area who speaks highly of it.
Santa Barbara: gorgeous, expensive and nowhere near any climbing (that i've heard of)...take up surfing. and drinking.
San Francisco: i love it here, but as Dingus pointed out, a lot of big city crap (trolling for parking, sky high rent even now, asshat drivers, etc.). within 2 hours of SF there's good climbing/bouldering to be had, plus one of the most pretentious gyms in the country right in town. Berkeley might be better for climbing, i dunno - decent local crags, closer (slightly) to the Sierras, cheaper rent, mellower vibe. if you do move to SF and your parents aren't paying your way, you'll spend all your gear money on rent.
Palo Alto:
In reply to: Lisa: Thanks a lot everybody, now I'll never get into an Ivy League school! Bart: You're going to Stanford, you're going to Stanford! Homer: You're going to Stanford! Lisa: Take it back! Take it back! Homer: Stanford!
L.A.: close to an ABUNDANCE of climbing, but it'll take you two hours to get out of town. probably the best choice if you plan to spend every weekend climbing. you just have to get used to the smog and the traffic.
Davis: the only thing i know about Davis is Dos Coyotes. mmmm...Veggie Border Burrito. and that it's about halfway between SF and Tahoe.
i agree with the other posters that you should see where you get in (if, in fact, you are planning to go to school out here). you'd be able to climb most weekends if you lived in any of these places ... with the possible exception of Santa Barbara. good luck with your decision!
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rokjunky
Apr 11, 2003, 2:04 AM
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in regards to climbing(or lack thereof)in Santa Barbara. up until the time i purchased a certain guide book, i was under the same impression as
baldguy. that there weren't any climbs in SB. on the contrary, there are lots of climbs. of course, they're in the san marcos pass(mountains and canyons above SB). i haven't checked them out yet, but i plan to.
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