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One hour from all types of greatness

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Michele White · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 0

I'm wondering if there is anyplace on earth that is one hour or less from great rock climbing, fabulous skiing, awesome ice climbing, and class III+ rapids for whitewater rafting...any ideas of a town or city that is within one hour from all these types of greatness? (really good skeet and trap shooting would also be a plus!)

bjp · · durango · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 10

i happen to know of such a place.

(i happen to live in such a place.)

-ben

Randall Chapman · · Grand Junction, CO · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 1,532

Grand Junction, CO

Ouray (rock/ice): 1 ½ hours
Moab (climbing/bouldering/rafting/mountain biking): 1 ½ hours
Colorado National Monument (climbing/bouldering/ice sometimes): you can see it from town
Riffle (rock/ice): 1 ½ hours
Fuita (mountain biking): ½ hour
Powderhorn (skiing): 1 hour
Telluride (skiing): 2 hours
Aspen (skiing): 2 hours
Glenwood Springs (climbing/rafting) 1 ¾ hours
Westwater (class III on the Colorado River): 45min
Indian Creek (climbing): 3 hours

Of course all times are subjective of course.

Michele White · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 0

I flew in to Grand Junction to get to Moab and drove through Colorado National Monument. Didn't see anything else since I was just passing through but sounds like I need to plan another trip out there...

Tristan Higbee · · Pocatello, ID · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 2,970

Salt Lake City.

Or anywhere else along the Wasatch Front.

Michele White · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 0

I'm doing some research on Durango, Ben. (Rschap did the work for me on Grand Junction) Thanks for the input.

Tristan: I didn't know there was any whitewater near SLC - I need to check that out. I'm headed out there next week for some skiing and ice climbing :)

Tristan Higbee · · Pocatello, ID · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 2,970

I think there is... I don't do the whole whitewater thing, but there's stuff all along the Provo River, I think. The Spanish Fork River and Diamond Fork Creek (though these might be a bit more than an hour away) are possibilities, too. And I think I've heard of people doing stuff in the Cottonwood Canyons? There might be more stuff north of the city, but I live to the south so I don't know.

Bobby Hanson · · Spokane, WA · Joined Oct 2001 · Points: 1,230

I don't think there is that much good whitewater near SLC. I don't really kayak, so I'm not sure, but I've heard it isn't that great here. I don't know what the Provo river is like so maybe down there. I do know that there is a little bit of whitewater kayaking up in Ogden, but I can't say much beyond that.

If you take this out of the equation, the Salt Lake is hands down what you are looking for. The skiing here is truly amazing (except this year). The climbing is pretty phenomenal too.

Have you looked into Boise? I hear it has a lot to offer, especially for whitewater and climbing.

SeaJellie · · Ann Arbor, MI · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 5

Since you said "on earth" these options should be close (if not perfect) to fitting your desires:

Alberta and B.C. Canada
Various places in Europe of which my favorites might be:
SE France (Chamonix, Grenoble)
Northern parts of Italy

Don't know about skeet and trap shooting in the two latter locales, but you'll at least have some amazing food in compensation. Plus you can get into via ferrata ;-)

Randall Chapman · · Grand Junction, CO · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 1,532

There are some good runs in Utah but not that meny. The American Fork is near Salt Lake but its class IV, the Provo River near Wood land is class III but I don’t know anything else about it. I think you’ll spend more time in Idaho or Wyoming if you are looking for good rivers to run but that’s not a bad thing.

edit: I should say Salt Lake not Utah in the first sentence. Utah has some great runs like Desolation Canyon, Moab Daily, Cataract Canyon, etc. But they’re not close to Salt Lake.

Randall Chapman · · Grand Junction, CO · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 1,532

I’d think about Denver before Salt Lake if you’re going to move to a city, the only reason I need for not living in Utah is 3.2 beer.

Bryan Gall · · New Castle, CO · Joined Sep 2002 · Points: 260

Glenwood Springs, Colorado or there about...

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0
Rschap wrote:I’d think about Denver before Salt Lake if you’re going to move to a city, the only reason I need for not living in Utah is 3.2 beer.
Really??

'Rado:
wikipedia wrote:In the United States, some establishments are permitted to sell only low-alcohol light beer . For example, in Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Utah, beer that is sold in supermarkets and convenience stores must have no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight (4% ABV). This low-alcohol beer is called "low-point beer" or "three-two beer".
It's as easy to get 8% beer in Utah as it is in Rado.
Evan S · · Denver, Co · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 510
Bryan Gall wrote:Glenwood Springs, Colorado or there about...

Yes, you are correct. There's a reason a number of climbing magazines have been based out of Carbondale. The roaring fork valley is central to and blessed with a solid variety of recreation. If you're looking for a place to do everything you listed close to home, it's hard to beat. All I will say is that I've heard word of mouth that although there is plenty of world class climbing very close, it's still a mild disappointment compared to somewhere like Boulder or Salt Lake.
Scott Bennett · · Western North America · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 1,265

I don't know about winter sports, but for killer climbing and world-class rivers, look at Fayetteville, WV. Good mountain biking, too. I'm not sure about the shooting sports, but it is West Virginia.

mtoensing · · AZ · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 705

Gunnison, co

black canyon (ice and rock)
lake city (skiing rock and ice)
crested butte ( whatever your heart disires)
almont (rock mostly but there are ice lines and some skiing)
black canyon (need I say anymore

I'm not into boating but the gunnison river and the Taylor river always have guiding companies on the water as well as a ton of kayakers. I have a lot of friends that boat the black canyon each year.

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0

How about Jackson Hole?

Andrew Caraballo · · Milwaukie, OR · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 530

Seattle, WA

Rock: Squamish, Index, Gold Bar, Leavenworth, Vantage, Spokane (all within 1 to 3 hours away) Very high quality climbing.
Ski: Stevens Pass, Snoqualmi Pass, Whistler, Mission Ridge
Ice/mounaineering: Cascades, Olympic Mts, Victoria Island
Rafting: Tons thanks to glacial melt

I'm honestly thinking about going back, It's starting to win over Colorado in my mind.

Bobby Hanson · · Spokane, WA · Joined Oct 2001 · Points: 1,230
Rschap wrote:I’d think about Denver before Salt Lake if you’re going to move to a city, the only reason I need for not living in Utah is 3.2 beer.
Here are some mileages from my house.
Alta: 22.3
Snowbird: 19.9
Brighton: 24.5
Solitude: 23
Mill D (popular backcountry skiing trailhead): 20.1
Porter Fork (another one): 9.6
Park City Resort: 26
Deer Valley: 27.7
Climbing areas in LCC: 15.5
Climbing areas in BCC: 13.3
Downtown SLC: 4.5
State Liquor Store: 1.6

Note that I chose to live near the U. If I lived in Sandy, UT my mileages would be:
Alta: 11
Snowbird: 8.5
Brighton: 21
Solitude: 19.3
Mill D: 16
Climbing in LCC: 4
Climbing in BCC: 8
Downtown SLC: 18
State Liquor Store: 3.9 (they're everywhere)

Here are some mileages from Golden, CO (downtown Denver is farther away):
Winter Park: 58
Berthoud Pass: 41
A Basin: 52
Keystone: 65
Eldo: 17.5
Michele White · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 0

Thanks, y'all! I'm taking lots of notes... Great suggestions in US and Europe. A nearby airport hub is also a big plus. Score one for SLC area... Skiing is a definite requirement but beer is a non-issue as long as I can still have the occasional glass of wine or margarita!

Umph! · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2004 · Points: 180

That's easy. . . Longmont, Colorado!
Ski Eldora
Rock climb S. St. Vrain
Ice climbing Big Thompson Canyon
Rafting in Last Chance Ditch
Skeet shooting up Lefthand Canyon. . . or was that Skeeter, shooting (yeehaw!!).

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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