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tallsailor
Jun 16, 2007, 7:33 PM
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What are some quality universities with good alpine/ice/backcountry skiing opportunities nearby? I am looking to study mechanical engineering, and am tired of living in Minnesota, where the ice climbing is OK, but mountains are non-existant...
Thanks much,
John
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uzibear
Jun 16, 2007, 7:39 PM
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well, university of washington, university of colorado of course, montana state
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herbaltee
Jun 16, 2007, 8:06 PM
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University of British Columbia. Its in Canada, its freaken amazing and its in Canada...
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petsfed
Jun 16, 2007, 8:18 PM
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Colorado State University's really close to Rocky Mountain National Park, so loads of alpine, ice, and alpine ice. The skiing is a bit farther away, at least for the good stuff, but its still there.
You might also try Western State, which is located in Durango or Gunnison. Very good climbing and skiing down that direction.
Cornell I'd be a good option for ice, but not so much mountains. I think Utah State is based out of SLC, if not its another major Utah university (but not BYU, which you don't want to attend if you aren't Mormon) and its got the entire Wasatch at its feet. Awesome ice, alpine, back country, its just that the booze is hard to come by.
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lovesclimbing
Jun 16, 2007, 11:24 PM
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Calgary is diffently one to consider
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eliclimbs
Jun 17, 2007, 12:17 AM
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I second Colorado- Boulder, and Colorado State in Fort Collins. Both have pretty good programs and good climbing near by.
Eli
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alderak
Jun 17, 2007, 3:35 AM
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MSU in Bozeman MT.
Excellent engineering school, tons of backcountry skiing, hyalite canyon for ice climbing (http://www.montanaice.com), tons of rock climbing too.
Alpine climbing to be had in the beartooths, and some places around town (beehive basin, etc.), I haven't done anything other than Granite Peak, but I know you can get some information once in town.
The place is great for an outdoorsman, and the school is very strong for engineering.
Edit: add clicky link
(This post was edited by alderak on Jun 17, 2007, 3:48 AM)
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ja1484
Jun 17, 2007, 3:44 AM
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A request:
Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it ><
See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't.
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tallsailor
Jun 17, 2007, 4:03 AM
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This is only a temporary situation... I have been out of high school for a few years and need to move towards college. I happen to have a decidedly shitty GPA and need to improve it by getting a few A's. I would like to take some courses at a bona fide university instead of going the community college route, and then see where I end up getting a degree. Many universities have continuing education programs that do not have admissions standards and often "count" towards a future degree towards that school or others... I also get restless, and although I like Minneapolis, I feel like it might be time to wander somewhere else.
John
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tahoeraised
Jun 17, 2007, 7:06 AM
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A request:
Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it ><
See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a *very* fine line between bold and stupid.
All of the schools mentioned have fine academics in certain disciplines. So...if you like mountains, go to one of these schools, where you will meet professors, students, future coworkers who have similar interests. This helps set you up for a career where you will hopefully be close the things you love. Follow your passion.
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petsfed
Jun 17, 2007, 7:17 AM
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ja1484 wrote: A request: Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it >< See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't.
More accurately, make sure you like the school and the people at it. If you hate it, you'll spend too much time in the hills and not enough time on your coursework, and that will screw over your future career.
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uzibear
Jun 17, 2007, 8:11 AM
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ja1484 wrote: A request: Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it >< See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't.
i'm gonna go ahead and disagree : ) you only live once, go climb, and any of these schools will get you edum-a-cated ........... 
of course if you're looking to go to grad school things could be different, but still, i went to CU-boulder because i wanted to climb myself; boulder is ridiculous for climbing; in your BACKYARD you have eldorado and the flatirons; it's an easy drive to lumpy ridge, rocky mountain park, the diamond, i mean, come on : )
that being said, i hope you're liberal : ) cuz if not you'll be run out of town........
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uzibear
Jun 17, 2007, 8:14 AM
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tallsailor wrote: This is only a temporary situation... I have been out of high school for a few years and need to move towards college. I happen to have a decidedly shitty GPA and need to improve it by getting a few A's. I would like to take some courses at a bona fide university instead of going the community college route, and then see where I end up getting a degree. Many universities have continuing education programs that do not have admissions standards and often "count" towards a future degree towards that school or others... I also get restless, and although I like Minneapolis, I feel like it might be time to wander somewhere else. John
ok, now THIS doesn't sound good to me at all; do you have any idea what you're trying to achieve? how are you going to pay for it? are you ready to commit yourself and get through it?
if you move to a new state you'll probably need to wait a year to get residency before starting at a university (unless you're loaded, but i'm guessing that's not the case), without residency costs are ridiculous
i moved to boulder, worked for a year and applied at CU, got in, and went; i liked CU so i can reccommend it to you, and getting in isn't very hard, but i was a transfer student, and my gpa was about 3.2, bio major
for you, if you went to boulder you might take a year or two at a community college and then transfer, if your grades suck
i think montana and colorado are the frontrunners in the usa, and colorado has undoubtably better rock climbing, and i think by a far margin; but i've been to bozeman and i loved it, so that matters too; boulder is a neo-hippy town, it's wierd, and climbing isn't an unusual thing, it's like the local sport : ) when you can drive for 10 minutes and be climbing in eldorado canyon, how can you beat that?
(This post was edited by uzibear on Jun 17, 2007, 8:20 AM)
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uzibear
Jun 17, 2007, 8:16 AM
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tahoeraised wrote: A request: Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it >< See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a *very* fine line between bold and stupid. All of the schools mentioned have fine academics in certain disciplines. So...if you like mountains, go to one of these schools, where you will meet professors, students, future coworkers who have similar interests. This helps set you up for a career where you will hopefully be close the things you love. Follow your passion.
bingo; i gotta say also that the time in my life when i was climbing the most (nearly everyday) was the time when i did best in my classes; i doubt i'm the only one that gets fueled up by climbing
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ja1484
Jun 17, 2007, 2:17 PM
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uzibear wrote: tahoeraised wrote: A request: Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it >< See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a *very* fine line between bold and stupid. All of the schools mentioned have fine academics in certain disciplines. So...if you like mountains, go to one of these schools, where you will meet professors, students, future coworkers who have similar interests. This helps set you up for a career where you will hopefully be close the things you love. Follow your passion. bingo; i gotta say also that the time in my life when i was climbing the most (nearly everyday) was the time when i did best in my classes; i doubt i'm the only one that gets fueled up by climbing
And that's perfectly fine - I'm just saying don't end up at a poor institution, or one you hate to be at, because the climbing nearby is good.
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sizzlechest
Jun 17, 2007, 4:08 PM
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University of Calgary, you are 1 hour from some of the best ice in the world, 3.5 hours from the bugaboos, incredible world famous alpine and amazing backcountry skiing (rogers pass etc.). Good rockclimbing in summer too. The economy here is insane, you could probably get a visa and end up with a good eng. firm when done school.
And we have good steaks too, sometimes even without mad cow
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reno
Jun 17, 2007, 11:18 PM
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petsfed wrote: I think Utah State is based out of SLC, if not its another major Utah university (but not BYU, which you don't want to attend if you aren't Mormon) and its got the entire Wasatch at its feet.
That'd be University of Utah, where I'm trying to get accepted.
Third time.... either going to be a charm, or third strike. We'll see.
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builttospill
Jun 18, 2007, 11:06 AM
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university of utah is in salt lake city, not far(i.e. 20 minute drive) from world class backcountry and downhill skiing. There's some local ice about the same distance (WI3-4) and Provo CAnyon is a 50-60 minute drive from campus (lots of ice). There are plenty of mountains to climb, although it's not particularly "alpine." There are some nice alpine rock routes and snow climbs....it ain't the cascades or canadian rockies but it's pretty good.
Utah State is in logan, utah. It's closer to Jackson, has it's own mountain range next door (campus is 3 minutes from logan canyon), but not much alpine. Plenty of rock climbing in logan canyon and some ice some years (though not exactly great). PLenty of hiking and skiing and a decent downhill resort. I'd choose the u of u though, if I was choosing between the two.
As it is I'm trying to get out of BYU but I live ~5 minutes from the mouth of Provo CAnyon and can't complain in the winter.
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granite_grrl
Jun 18, 2007, 3:33 PM
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tallsailor wrote: This is only a temporary situation... I have been out of high school for a few years and need to move towards college. I happen to have a decidedly shitty GPA and need to improve it by getting a few A's. I would like to take some courses at a bona fide university instead of going the community college route, and then see where I end up getting a degree. Many universities have continuing education programs that do not have admissions standards and often "count" towards a future degree towards that school or others... I also get restless, and although I like Minneapolis, I feel like it might be time to wander somewhere else. John
So...let me see if I understand...you did really bad at school the first time around, so you want to go back to improve your grades by going to a school with ample climbing opportunity around.
Does anyone else see the problem with this? Maybe university isn't the right choice for you.
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skidawg
Jun 18, 2007, 4:06 PM
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University of Washington is good for ME......also good for what you mentioned too though since it's by the northern cascades, as well as rainier, adams, and helens.
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tallsailor
Jun 18, 2007, 4:11 PM
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lol You make a good point! The reality is that there's more to the situation than just starting over with school... I will also be moving out from my parents house. I'm planning on taking a light course load and just getting a few good grades on a transcript. I will be leaving a good job that I have been successful in and need to find a new one (which will probably be crap). And you're right, university may not be the right choice for me, but since I'm not sure of that, I want to keep my options open by mitigating some of the effects of past bad decisions... I don't disagree that all of this has decidedly risky elements to it, but then, I am a climber, aren't I?
Thanks for the concern,
John
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trebork2
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Jun 18, 2007, 6:51 PM
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University of Alaska Anchorage
Those guys and gals are always going climbing somewhere on the weekends. Some good climbers in the group. I don't know who the group is led by but they always seem to be having a lot of fun. The ice is great and the mountains are big.
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climb_eng
Jun 18, 2007, 8:18 PM
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Another vote for the University of Calgary in Canada. You're an hour away from some of the best ice climbing in the world, as well as one of the best places in the world to learn how to alpine climb. We're talking limitless climbing, skiing and mountaineering opportunaties. If there is a negative, it's the poor to extermely poor rock quality the Canadian Rockies are infamous for.
UofC it self is not regarded as a great school generally, however it has an excellent engineering department as well as a world class business school. Worth looking into anyway.
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the_climber
Jun 19, 2007, 8:05 PM
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petsfed wrote: ja1484 wrote: A request: Please don't pick a university based on the leisure opportunities around it >< See how the academics are first, and then look for gravy. Remember, school is temporary...careers many times aren't. More accurately, make sure you like the school and the people at it. If you hate it, you'll spend too much time in the hills and not enough time on your coursework, and that will screw over your future career.
This is true. If you can't stand the Univeristy, and the People you are studying with. You won't spend the time there. I though otherwise till the last two semesters... and because of those I'm taking time off. When it comes down to you can't stand being there, you need a break (Oh, and after 7 years straight I needed a brake too)
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the_climber
Jun 19, 2007, 8:17 PM
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So,
Alpine... mmm hmm,
Ice... mmm hmmm,
Alpine rock near location... mmm hmmmm
Trad climbgin that will make you bold, or cry trying... mmmm hmmmm,
I would suggest U of Calgary. Mind you U of Alberta is a good school too.
University of Saskatchewan is a good school, Big problem with it is both the location, and the small minded inconsiderate know-it-all small-town-kids who think 100,000people is the "big city" half of whom have never been out of the province think they are all that won't befriend you unless you fall into their little click's criteria which will no doubt mean you have to lower you self to their level bull shit spraying snot nosed little pimpled shits who have mommy and daddy paying for everything infuriating aggravating self-centered insensitive bloody WANKERS...
.....errr, don't go there unless you have a higher patience for wankers than I do.
[/rant]
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