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mushroomsamba
Jul 20, 2007, 2:39 AM
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my search for a school is turning up empty. As I get ready to choose a school, I'm really hoping for something with good rock climbing around it. I've been climbing for 3 years, and I'm looking for a school in the United states, with good climbing near by, preferably trad but I'll take what I can get, can anyone think of some schools? thanks a bunch -cheers
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localshredder
Jul 20, 2007, 2:50 AM
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University of Utah in Salt Lake City will give you quick access to Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons which both have great trad climbing. UC Boulder has amazing climbing around it as well, The Flatirons, Eldo, Rocky Mountain National Park are all super close. Indian Creek is only a couple of hours away from either in the winter so that is also a bonus. Joes Valley, Maple Canyon, American Fork Canyon, Logan Canyon, Ibex and Rifle are pretty close to both as well, so you have a great choice of world class sport and bouldering in the neighborhood as well. Good luck in your search.
(This post was edited by localshredder on Jul 20, 2007, 2:56 AM)
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mistajman
Jul 20, 2007, 3:04 AM
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What do you want to study? That would make a difference in where you should go. That said Boulder would be nice, but a lot of other places would be great also. University of Wyoming is about 15 minutes away from amazing trad climbing, and 15 minutes the other way from decent limestone sport. Also Laramie is close to the front range. If you really don't care about the community you live in and want the best climbing go to UNLV. You could climb in red rocks year round. Also on your side of the country you could go to UNC Asheville. Great climbing all within a short drive!
(This post was edited by mistajman on Jul 20, 2007, 3:06 AM)
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brewer19
Jul 20, 2007, 3:34 AM
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mushroomsamba wrote: I'm looking for a school in the United states, with good climbing near by. what's wrong, Scotland not good enough for ya? remember , Ratho is only 15 minuets from HWU. if i could go anywhere in the states it'd probably be Boulder, but be warned, it's quite pricey for us out of state students. in any case, i'll be visiting at some point , so save me some floor space.
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Jblake
Jul 20, 2007, 7:37 AM
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Of course it really depends on what your scholastic goals are but if finances are important you can always consider colorado springs, pueblo (co) or canon city (co). All have good climbing and are cheap to live in. Great trad lies a short distance from Colorado Springs and the other two cities have a large amount of classic climbing that lies outside of town but an effort must be made to find out about good trad areas. Personally I'd say if your going out of state just start looking at schools and if you can't afford it start looking at other areas. Undoubtably you'll find a good place to make home that will not be far from great climbing. Often times the best climbing seems to be where there is absolutely zero info on great climbing. There aren't too many states that don't hold some classic climbing near by but personally I'd stick with the rockies for pure rock and the great access to its many route options.
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ride_pow
Jul 20, 2007, 1:13 PM
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What else are you looking for in a school? Please tell me this is not your main criteria.
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hrtmnstrfr
Jul 20, 2007, 1:28 PM
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Marshall University in West Virginia is exactly 1.5 hours from each both the New River Gorge and the Red River Gorge.
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mushroomsamba
Jul 20, 2007, 1:41 PM
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guess I should have added that I'm going to study economics. No climbing isn't the main concern, just a concern
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coach_kyle
Jul 20, 2007, 2:30 PM
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I went to Appalachian State in Boone, NC. They have a good Business and Econ department, and it's near Shiprock and the Linville Gorge, as well as some smaller crags that locals know. Great college experience, and I learned how to climb.
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firemantim
Jul 20, 2007, 3:19 PM
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Follow Coach Kyle's advice and go somewhere in NC. Great climbing all over the state and a great variety too with world class bouldering, trad, and other stuff mixed in. I just graduated from Elon University near Greensboro this year. Could have been a little closer to the mountains but there was some great climbing within an hour. Then, go study abroad in Scotland at least one semester and get your ass kicked winter climbing in the highlands. I cant recommend North Carolina enough
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rcnc21
Jul 20, 2007, 3:52 PM
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I'll throw in another vote for App State in Boone.45 mins or less to world-class bouldering, amazing trad in the gorge and ship, and slab at stone.2-3 1/2 hours will put you at rumbling bald, looking glass, moore's, the new, and some great climbing in Tennessee. NC is also a very "trad" state.
(This post was edited by rcnc21 on Jul 20, 2007, 3:57 PM)
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ride_pow
Jul 20, 2007, 9:33 PM
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I am not going to tell you where you should go. I give you some general ideas about this decision which come from my experiences and those of my friends while choosing schools a few years back. (Warning this is a bit of a ramble) I wouldn't concentrate on finding some place to climb until I had an idea of several schools which fit my academic goals. In the end the climbing may place one of the schools above the rest. I wished I would have made my school choice on academics first and outdoor pursuits second. It is harder to transfer into a better academic school than to transfer to an outdoor mecca. Don't go to one of those "outdoorsy" schools like CU Bolder, MSU Bozeman,... unless you can put up with "outdoorsy" people. I am not sure about you, but I can only handle so much bro brah talk. These are the people that ruin climbing trips for me. Besides as others have said there is plenty of excellent climbing all over this country (another reason to look at academics first and climbing second). This is cliche, but you will experience new things in college. I didn't pick a school because of climbing (it was snowboarding for me) but I ended up starting my climbing journey in college. I now believe climbing will be a life long pursuit of mine. So where ever you end up, keep your ears open for like minded people and join them in their pursuits. People are what really make these activities fun. So post up your ideas of schools and let people hash out their opinions of climbing in those areas. Good luck.
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Torag7
Jul 20, 2007, 10:14 PM
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I go to Furman University in Greenville, Sc, about a hour and a half from Rumbling Bald, Crowders Mountain, and a Bunch of other places that are very driveable. Free Climbing wall at the school, 3000 people nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on a lake...could you ask for more. PM me if you want more information, I'll be an RA next year. www.furman.edu www.engagefurman.com
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abock33
Jul 20, 2007, 11:26 PM
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hrtmnstrfr wrote: Marshall University in West Virginia is exactly 1.5 hours from each both the New River Gorge and the Red River Gorge. UK's about 30 min from the red. NRG might be a good weekend trip from there
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mikitta
Jul 20, 2007, 11:32 PM
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As mentioned, the schools in Colorado, Ft. Collins and Laramie are all good choices for proximity to the rock. They all have good proximity to ski slopes in the winter, as well as other outdoor pursuits. I graduated from U-Wyo, and I'm not going to talk the school up. The College of Business was struggling when I graduated and I don't know if they figured out their problems in order to retain their accreditation. You can check into it as they used to have an ok economics program. I'm not sure what's in South Dakota that will meet your needs, but South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is pretty close to the Sylvan Lakes and Needles area of the Black Hills. That is some gutsy good stuff there. Tucson and Phoenix both have decent proximity to good climbing, as do college towns in Washington State, Idaho and Oregon. If you want to go east, Southern Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia have a great place in Cooper's Rock. West Virginia University - Morgantown is just 15 minutes from Cooper's. You also have the benefit of being about an hour and a half away from Seneca and 2-3 hours from NRG. I don't know about climbing in Pennsylvania or how far the Gunks in New York are, but I do know folks do weekend trips there. Pretty much just decide on a region you WANT to go to school, then do a search of what is near by. Do you want a western school or an eastern school? Do you want to go to the south? Good luck on your choice :) I'm sure you will find a great school and still be able to keep up with your climbing. God Bless, mik
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Jblake
Jul 21, 2007, 3:27 AM
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I love Furman. I'll second that one. Are the Kappas still the fun ones? Don't really know about he great climbing access though.
(This post was edited by Jblake on Jul 21, 2007, 3:33 AM)
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mitchgripgrabber
Jul 21, 2007, 9:34 PM
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chatanooga, tn fayetteville, ar flagstaff, az Durango, co Boone, nc slc, ut all great places with pros and cons but all have alot of varied climbing and good people
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sspssp
Jul 22, 2007, 3:57 PM
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Keep the UC but shorten the drive. UC/Merced: one hour from the valley.
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wzrdgandalf
Jul 22, 2007, 4:18 PM
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Hell it doesnt really matter where you go as long as its a few hours from mountains. I go to the University of Georgia (three hours away from any climbing) yet I still get out every weekend. I would say look at UTC (university of tennessee at chattagnooga), University of Kentucky (right at the red), Appalachian state, Berkeley, humbolt state (cedar wright learned to climb there), NYU (close to the gunks). But it doesnt matter where we tell you because a lot of the time it matters more about your grades to be honest. If you can get into the top echelon schools then go strait to berkely because its so close to climbing mecca (yosemite) if your grades arent up there enough and climbing truly is what you are looking for then look at some of the smaller colleges that are always near the larger ones. Not as hard to get into, in a nice college environment, near the climbing you want, and classes arent as hard so you can spend more time climbing.
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kobaya67
Jul 22, 2007, 4:20 PM
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Cannot believe no one has mentioned SUNY New Paltz, which is only 10 min away from the Gunks! Good ice climbing is about an hour away, too.
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