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florent
Mar 5, 2009, 5:00 PM
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Hi everyone !
I'm a French climber an I'm thinking of living some time (several months) in the US.
What's the best "climber's" city, including the fact I prefer sport climbing (rather than boulder or trad), and a good friction (Joshua Tree in summer? Not for me...) ? Other point important to me : local climbing community should be active !
I was thinking of Boulder (CO) ? Your opinion ?
Thanks !
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jcrew
Mar 5, 2009, 5:10 PM
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Boulder or......Vegas.
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kennoyce
Mar 5, 2009, 5:24 PM
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The time of year that you plan on being here is very important since the temperatures can be very extreme in some of the best climbing areas. Please let us know when so we can help you.
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johnwesely
Mar 5, 2009, 5:29 PM
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The red.
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florent
Mar 5, 2009, 5:31 PM
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I still don't know the time of the year, but I don't exclude to stay for a long time if I can. So the best for me would be to find a place which is good both for winter and summer...
thanks for your help
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superjosh
Mar 5, 2009, 5:33 PM
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Boulder certainly has a vibrant climbing community, arguably the most active in the US. It also is a great town with great weather year-round. However, the sport climbing areas within an hour of town are rather mediocre in my opinion. The best climbing areas around Boulder are Eldorado Canyon (very trad) and Rocky Mountain National Park (unbelievable alpine rock and bouldering). There a bunch of lesser-known areas with a smattering of good sport routes (Boulder Canyon, Clear Creek Canyon), but Ceuse they are not.
While it depends on the season to some extent, the best sport climbing areas in the US in my opinion are Smith Rock, Rifle, Rumney, and the Red River Gorge. This statement assumes you can climb 5.12 (7b).
Smith Rock is located near the quaint mountain town of Bend, Oregon, a cool little town with an active climbing community. Smith is absolutely beautiful and has a high desert climate kind of like Provence, with lots of sun. The rock is volcanic tuff, and the style is very technical pockets and crimps on vertical to gently overhanging rock. I think there are more than 1000 routes there. The best seasons are spring and fall, but on sunny days I imagine you find perfect conditions in the winter. It's also close to Mt. Hood, which I'm told has excellent skiing.
Rifle is in western Colorado near the town of Rifle, Colorado. It's a narrow limestone canyon flanking a creek. The style is physical, with many pinches, underclings and kneebars. Amazing movement. The best season is May to October. Summer can be a bit warm, but totally manageable. Active but small climbing community. Only about 300 routes total, and most of them are 7b and up.
Rumney is in New Hampshire, in the eastern US. The rock is schist and gneiss. The style is generally short and bouldery with many positive features. Best season is the fall, when the leaves are changing colors. The weather is not as reliable as in the West, and I think the climbing community is quite small. About 500 routes I think.
I saved the best for last. The Red River Gorge is unbelievable, probably the best sport climbing area in the US. It's located near Lexington, Kentucky. The rock is high quality sandstone, and there are a lifetime of routes at every grade up to around 13c. Above that it thins out. The style is steep endurance, lots of positive crimps and pockets.
Best seasons are spring and fall. Local community is active and pretty big. More than 1000 routes.
Finally, I'd like to give a nod to the climbing around Salt Lake City. So much diversity of rock. Maple Canyon, about 2 hours away, is a sport climbing destination unto itself, and you have tons of other opportunities close by. I know you're not that into trad, but the Utah desert is a must for the visiting climber. It's sort of like sport climbing since you can place gear wherever you want. Salt Lake is a cool town with a very large climbing and outdoor community.
Also, I'd encourage you to do some trad climbing while you're here. It's the essence of American climbing. You've got to see Yosemite and do some of the classics there if you get a chance.
Hope that helps a bit.
Josh
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nthusiastj
Mar 5, 2009, 6:00 PM
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I live in Boulder, and I second everything that Josh says.
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kennoyce
Mar 5, 2009, 6:34 PM
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Great post with excellent info. I do have to second the opinion on Salt lake City. While I may be biased because I live there, there is a ton of climbing around. There is plenty of sport in BCC, AF, and Rock canyon which are all within a half hour. There is also some excellent trad in LCC if you wanted to try that. As was mentioned, Maple canyon is some of the coolest sport climbing anywhere and its just 1.5 hours away. Spring, Summer, and Fall all offer great climbing potential, and in the winter you can always head south (St. George for sport, Moab for trad) just 3 to 4 hours away, and still have world class climbing. Hope this helps.
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hafilax
Mar 5, 2009, 6:40 PM
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Québec City 
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altelis
Mar 5, 2009, 7:18 PM
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I'll second the suggestion of Plymouth NH (ie climb at Rumney).
Its essentially all sport, tons of routes. Great climbing. The other bonus is that its constantly infiltrated by french canadians, eh?
That being said, if you are anything like me, I understand the Provencal dialect infinitely better than their "french"!
I would second that fall is the best time of year; but great climbing can be found spring-fall, with an occasional great winter day...
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johnwesely
Mar 5, 2009, 7:30 PM
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florent wrote: johnwesely wrote: The red. Red River (staying in Lexington  )? Red Rock ?
The red river gorge. Stay at Miguel's.
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sungam
Mar 5, 2009, 7:35 PM
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johnwesely wrote: The red.
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florent
Mar 5, 2009, 10:33 PM
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Thanks for your answers !
In fact, I've already been to Rumney and Red River (Miguel's of course ;) ). Awesome places to climb, but to live, I'm not so sure (especially for RRG, the atmosphere, except climbing, is quite weird)... My project would be to find something like a climbers roommate in a city where it's nice to stay some months and not so far from good sport climbing areas. I'm not talking of a two weeks trip.
Of course, I'll also do some trad stuff, that's just not my main goal.
I haven't thought of Bend : it could be good idea. Smith Rock is a dream for me, and in the past, a French climber "just" did a good climb over there ;)
Thanks for your time.
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sungam
Mar 5, 2009, 10:51 PM
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Get a big tent.
If you ever find a city that's even 1/8th as fun as Miguel's, let me know - I want to live there.
You could easily live at Miguel's for a few months, along with hoard of other sound folks doing the same.
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nthusiastj
Mar 6, 2009, 4:10 PM
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florent wrote: Thanks for your answers ! In fact, I've already been to Rumney and Red River (Miguel's of course ;) ). Awesome places to climb, but to live, I'm not so sure (especially for RRG, the atmosphere, except climbing, is quite weird)... My project would be to find something like a climbers roommate in a city where it's nice to stay some months and not so far from good sport climbing areas. I'm not talking of a two weeks trip. Of course, I'll also do some trad stuff, that's just not my main goal. I haven't thought of Bend : it could be good idea. Smith Rock is a dream for me, and in the past, a French climber "just" did a good climb over there ;) Thanks for your time.
The good thing about Boulder is that there are TONS of climbers and its easy to work, have a semi cheap room, and climb close or roadtrip on the weekends. We have good climbing close, but it's also really close to alot of really good weekend climbing (Rifle, Wild Iris, Sinks, The Park). It would be pretty easy to hook up with various groups climbers and take trips wherever you want to go every weekend.
People here also don't give you the stink eye when you bail on work to go climb or ski.
I seriously can't believe I'm advocating another climber into coming here. I feel ashamed.
A good way to mak your decision is to go on http://www.mountainproject.com and look up some of the places, then filter for sport routes, and see what you like.
(This post was edited by nthusiastj on Mar 6, 2009, 4:12 PM)
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