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yuiruprup
May 27, 2011, 2:39 PM
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Whats up?
I got accepted to grad school at North Carolina. Much to my dismay I really have no choice but to go there since it is such a good school. I heard there is a climbing gym on campus. Is it worth a damn? Or will I have to grab my ankles and make the pilgrimage to the TRC?
-Thanks!
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swoopee
May 27, 2011, 6:25 PM
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For what Chapel Hill will cost you in tuition and fees you can build your own gym. As you can probably tell from my reply, I have no real knowledge of their climbing wall(s) but this might help:
http://campusrec.unc.edu/climbing-wall
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KirbyC
May 27, 2011, 7:38 PM
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If you are in-state the tuition and fees are one of the best bargains in education.
It is a great school, and a beautiful town (I went there as an undergrad). Franklin Street is fun, and the campus is beautiful and welcoming.
There is a gym, only open 2 hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, that has maybe 20 very well-set top rope routes. It's in the Chapel Hill Community Center (http://www.townofchapelhill.org), and shares space with a basketball court and a pool. The crowd there is older than the one on campus (obviously) and as a grad student, you might prefer it. The campus gym is pretty nice though.
Interestingly enough that Community Center hosts the longest-running annual indoor climbing competition.
Also, if you don't like college basketball you should get into it. The Tar Heels will be AWESOME next season.
(This post was edited by KirbyC on May 27, 2011, 7:40 PM)
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rtwilli4
May 29, 2011, 1:28 PM
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Disclaimer: (just some friendly rival talk) I went to NCSU and think UNC is mostly spoiled brats and Carborro is full of dirty hippies.
That said, I lived right off of Franklin for a summer and the drive down to TRC isn't bad at all and it's worth it. Great gym.
I don't know about the campus gym but unless I am mistaken, the community center has some very strong climbers training there. One in particular that is probably the strongest unsponsored climber in the country.
Anyways, some people really love Chapel Hill. I didn't like living there and would much rather be in Raleigh or Winston, but it is a nice little town and it has a lot to offer. And assuming that you aren't wasting your money on a meaningless Psych degree like most of the undergrad students, you'll be getting a top notch education.
You're also less than 2 hours from Moore's Wall and less than 4 from the New River Gorge. Two of my favorite cragging areas in the WORLD.
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yuiruprup
May 29, 2011, 3:01 PM
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Thanks for the replies. Moore's Wall at 1.5 hours isnt what I would call a "local" crag and 4 from the New, as much as I love the new, probably won't happen too often. I will be moving to Chapel Hill from Boone where we are spoiled with an abundance of good rock close to town.
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csproul
May 31, 2011, 1:28 PM
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There are 2 gyms on campus and they are actually pretty good. There is also a gym at the local community center when the UNC gyms are closed. TRC and VE are ~30 minutes away. There is awesome bouldering about 50 minutes away at Asheboro in the winter. Moores, Pilot, Cooks etc are all under 1.5 hours, and there are many good options within 2-3 hours.
As to the people complaining about the price of grad school...many grad students (almost all of the science related programs) actually get paid to go to school. It's pretty awesome.
(This post was edited by csproul on May 31, 2011, 1:32 PM)
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TarHeelEMT
Jun 2, 2011, 12:16 AM
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1) There are two gyms, and they are pretty good for college gyms. For the most part, you'll find graduate and professional students at Ram's Head in the afternoon. In the evenings, most of the stronger climbers are at Fetzer.
2) The Community Center is really good, although I don't see the sense in paying even their nominal fee when I can climb for free on campus. Between the campus gyms and the community center, there's no sense in driving to TRC unless you're actively trying to waste your money.
3) Why are you going to UNC to your "dismay"? It's a damn good school, and western North Carolina has great trad climbing.
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