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bigwallgumbie
Dec 5, 2004, 11:54 PM
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Hey yall, looking for a place to live. Never been to durango, heard its nice, kinda want to know what the climbing around town is like? I know the creek is nearish (4 hours?) ouray is nearby and stuff but... anything GOOD withing 30 minutes?? I like trad and sport and aid and ice and alpine and snow slogs and yeah... just looking for beta and the route db didn't seem very trustworthy...
Thanks!!!
Oh yeah, and if anyone knows of a ski town w/ cheap housing, jobs and still is selling season passes for cheap right now, yeah, that'ld be nice too cause that was goal #1 but 900 effin bucks for a pass, yuck...
oh yeah, if this is in the wrong place, well, thanks for moving it...
and one more, I'm looking for a rock/ice/snow partner in the durango area starting in a couple weeks mabey, could use a used set of ice tools too...
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iceisnice
Dec 6, 2004, 1:47 AM
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Registered: Jun 2, 2004
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hey man, just moved to durango myself. been skiing and ice climbing my a!@# off!! seriously though, the moab area is only 2 hrs away, ouray 1 1/2 hrs (or more depending on weather), there is a lot of sport climbing and bouldering anywhere from 5-20 min out of town. it is all sandstone. there is a good amount of trad lines too. there is a lot of cliffs that still need to be explored. there are a ton of great trad routes in the telluride area which is 1 1/2 hrs away. if you are more of an alpine and ice person (like me) then you will be in heaven. the ice around silverton, telluride, and ouray is all pretty amazing. the Needles and Grenadiers are some of the best alpine climbing in the state. they have some of the highest concentration of alpine routes in the state as well. also, if you backcountry ski, there is no better place in colorado than the san juans. if you need a partner, let me know. i only work 10 days a month and have a lot of weekdays off and could always use more partners. hope that helps.
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furrymurry
Dec 6, 2004, 2:21 AM
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You've also got Cascade Canyon which is killer limsetone sport climbing, a nice little reprieve from the sandstone.
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iceisnice
Dec 6, 2004, 1:55 PM
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tis true, cascade has also formed up some good ice routes already
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icekubes7
Dec 6, 2004, 2:40 PM
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Registered: Jul 15, 2002
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Durango is SWEET for a climber. I lived there for about two years, and I am completely in love with it. Being from Colorado, and living in many different moutnain towns, Durango is definitely my favorite as far as quantity and quality and variety. Yup, Indian Creek and Moab are like 2 and a half hours away, Telluride about hour and a half, Ouray and Siverton like an hour. Really great bouldering, fun multi pitch trad, pumpy and steep limestone sport climbing, crazy ice and alpine all within 5 minutes- 2 hours. Pretty much all of the climbing areas around are in very beautfiul settings. The San Juan mountains surround it, which are incredibly beautiful, and the Weminuch Wilderness Area, which is the largest and most pristine wilderness area in colorado is right outside of town. I'm outta the country now, but anytime I'm back in the US, I'll definitely be in Durango.
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icekubes7
Dec 6, 2004, 3:07 PM
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oh yeah, as far as anything GOOD withing 30 minutes...
East Animas has lots and lots of really fun 1 and 2 pitch sandstone trad climbs, and you can literally see it from town, it's like a five minute drive and 10 minute steep hike from downtown. The Golf Wall has some hard and steep limestone sport routes, and it's like 15 minutes, Cascade Canyon has lots of fun limestone sport routes and it's about 30 minutes. There's epic bouldering basically in town, ask around when you're there. Then there's a whole bunch of smaller sandstone trad spots within 30 minutes. Yeah, Durango is where it's at, all this talk about it has me missing it right now!
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bigwallgumbie
Dec 6, 2004, 3:49 PM
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Registered: Jul 12, 2002
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Sweet yall, sounding really, really good. I've heard before, and kinda had that feeling but still wanted 1st person, ya know? Moab 2 hrs??? wow. As far as the sandstone around town, that was looking more like the hard stuff chattanooga/boulder than the desert stuff, that right? (I LOVE the desert, but hey, guess I'm still a southern boy at heart... )
Peace yall.
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watchme
Dec 6, 2004, 4:22 PM
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Registered: Jun 26, 2003
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I went to school in Durango back in the early 90's. Great place to live. Good cragging nearby, good bouldering, good paddling right in town, good snow, good ice; I guess you could say it's all good.
I wonder how crowded it is nowadays? Durango was an expensive place to live back then, I wonder how spendy it is now?
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furrymurry
Dec 6, 2004, 8:05 PM
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Well I'll be getting paid to live there all summer so its not too bad :D (working at a summer camp). Anyways, last summer I heard whispers of some stuff developing up around Lemon Reservoir, anybody know about this?
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indiansummer
Dec 6, 2004, 8:47 PM
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Registered: Sep 30, 2004
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There are maybe 9 or ten routes in at Lemon...on the cliffs lining the river at the transfer park north of the lake....with lots of potential for more. Some routes were put in north of vallecito, again, with lots of potential for more....good times!
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furrymurry
Dec 7, 2004, 12:09 AM
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North of Vallecito...as in within the Weminuche? I'm trying to think of anywhere else there are cliffs around there. That would be sweet considering our camp is actually 5 miles south of Vallecito.
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indiansummer
Dec 7, 2004, 12:36 AM
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Will you be working at Kanakuk (sp?) ? I've run into a few of the counselors from that camp at cascade. They do a good job encouraging and teaching the campers.
The routes north of vallecito are about 5 or 6 miles north on 502 (I think it's cr 502). The approach is kinda hidden, so if you need more info pm me.
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furrymurry
Dec 7, 2004, 4:37 AM
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Registered: Sep 6, 2004
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Yessir, I will be at Kanakuk, I was there last summer as well, though regrettably only for a month (mid July-mid August). Hopefully all summer this year. Who did you meet? Jack Fisher, Jared Sickler, Donnie, Brett Lehman... great guys.
pm'd you as well 'bout Vallecito
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greenspace
Dec 7, 2004, 3:57 PM
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Registered: Apr 17, 2002
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after a day of climbing in around Durango, dont forget to fill up on ale at Carvers......great microbrewery :lol:
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iceisnice
Dec 7, 2004, 6:18 PM
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furrymurry and indainsummer, have either up you been up to Pope's Nose? its in the wilderness area and NE of where you guys are talking about. just trying to find people who have seen/climbed it. i've read about it and it sounds pretty sweet.
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furrymurry
Dec 8, 2004, 1:16 AM
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Had to look it up on topozone to find what you're talking about, but no I haven't been there, it isn't even noted on the Silverton/Durango mountains map. Looks kinda cool, hard to tell from the topo, but looks like it could be a good sized face. What's it supposed to be like?
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iceisnice
Dec 8, 2004, 3:22 AM
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its a 1200 ft cliff, has 5 routes that i know of so far. there is a short 5.9 near the end. the rest are 5.9 A3, 5.10 A3, 5.10 A2 and 5.9 A2 (i think). there is rumor that they can go free, but i have a feeling it will only be at the 5.12 and up end (out of my range to do free). One of the routes requires nailing across a huge roof. From the pics i've seen of it there are several other route possibilities. it is a 12 mile hike back there, but from what i've gathered it is solid rock.
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furrymurry
Dec 8, 2004, 6:06 AM
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Registered: Sep 6, 2004
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Ooooo, that might be a nice pre or post camp trip. I'm no aid climber but another guy who works out there definitely is, and I'm sure I could follow him. I'm with you though, 5.12 free is way out of my range. We might have to check it out this summer. I've no experience with climbing in wilderness areas, I assume no bolting allowed but any regulations other than that?
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