Universities Fit for a Climber

University of Wyoming. I am a grad and grew up in CO. Great town. Very reasonable cost. Have never hiked, climbed, mountain biked, as much since. Would go back to Laramie in a hot second.

ETL

Durango is a vast expanse of metropolis with huge skyscrapers and more people than could be reasonably accommodated. You should definitely not look into Ft Lewis College.

Just to clarify what teece303 said.

Colorado College is not a small mountain school. It is the premier liberal arts university and is located in Colorado Springs, CO. The school has a very strong climbing history, an active climbing student body, and routinely produces talented (academically) students who are gifted climbers.

If you want some additional information about the climbing scene/history of CC, check out ccalpinejournal.org/

Go to "Inside the Journal" and you will be able to read journals from 2006 to 2013 describing the adventures of a number of Colorado College climbers.

J

If you expand your search to Eastern States, check out Plymouth State University. Bike ride away from Rumney and quick car ride to Cannon mtn.

Some quick video to check out

Student and climbing
youtube.com/watch?v=lQnrHhu…

Ski day
youtube.com/watch?v=CxoMtcW…

And Environmental Field Study
youtube.com/watch?v=inRNRb1…

4 words. Black Hills State University.

My top 5 (I'm biased towards the Rocky mtns fyi):

CSU: Good local climbing, good group of locals, decent gyms ('free' one on campus), within an hour of incredible climbing in any given direction (Vedauwoo, Eldo, Lumpy Ridge, Poudre Canyon, etc etc). INCREDIBLE beer scene. Very nice bicycling town

University of Utah: Great climbing 15-20 min away (LCC, BCC, Ferguson, American Fork, etc etc), Same for skiing, Great gyms (one on campus opening in.. dec I think?). Make sure you understand what you are getting into regarding the inversion in the winter though. Everyone you meet here casually crushes 5.13 and above for some reason.... Not the best bicycling town but the public transportation isn't too shabby.

CU Boulder: Similar to CSU (no matter what they tell you) in terms of climbing quality locally, a few really good gyms. I couldn't afford to live there though (housing is very expensive compared to the two above). Good bicycling town, although there are a few hills to deal with.

NAU: Flagstaff is just bitching. Never went to the school but every time I visit I fall in love a little more.

Montana State/University of Montana: Similar to flagstaff in how I view it.

Small shout out to University of Wyoming as well. Smaller feeling university but Wyoming is quietly one of the most bad ass locations in the country

I'll mention a few things of the schools that I know about.

1. I saw someone mention Bozeman. While Montana is gorgeous, I've heard the outdoors are uninhabitable the majority of the year. If LOTS of snow is a plus, awesome, but I hear it's a constant winter over there.

2. Humboldt State University. I personally went to HSU for one year of college. While I wasn't into climbing then, I know that there are some great outdoor areas (assuming it's not raining) up near Trinidad. Their sciences, particularly their Environmental Engineering program, are renowned, but if you aren't going for science or the arts I would reconsider. Indoor options in Arcata include a climbing gym in town as well as the recreational center on campus. I can vouch that their climbing scene is fairly tight knit and together, as I saw them at two CCS comps this year. Despite being the furthest of the other participating colleges, they had nearly the most representation of any school.

3. UCSC is a beautiful campus with plenty of trees and great science programs. Your best bet for outdoor climbing around that area would probably be Castle Rock State Park. I can't speak for the sport climbing there (though I know there are ample amounts of it), but the bouldering is an absolute sloperfest- talk about a humbling climbing spot.

I personally spent most of my undergraduate career at CSU Sacramento. The gym features the tallest rock wall of all CSU's, the bouldering is good for a university wall, and the tuition is very affordable. I worked at the rock wall there and can vouch that they are a great group of people. The advantage of Sacramento is that you are essentially in the hub of all things outdoors. Tahoe has TONS of climbing (Crack, bouldering, sport, you name it) and is about an hour and a half drive away. Yosemite is 3 and a half hours out. Bishop is 4 and a half hours away. I couldn't ask for better access to a wider variety of outdoor climbing.

Western State Colorado Univerisity in Gunnison is cool. Gunnison is a really nice town. It's small, got good climbing, yoga, excellent mountain biking, hiking, skiing, etc, a good community of active people, and the school itself is nice.

Fort Lewis in Durango would also be cool. Durango is a great town too, a bit bigger than Gunnison. Really good climbing, mountain biking etc, yoga, good scene with good people. I don't know much about the school itself.

I think you'd be really happy in either of these towns. I've spent a lot of time in both over the years, lived in Durango and have a brother who lives in Gunny. Check each out to figure out which you like more. Both really great small towns and have their own unique charms. Both have good climbing near and are within driving distance of even more excellent climbing.

I really wish I could live in one of them now, but I'm stuck in medical school on the front range for a few more years. One day I'll move back up there!

Good luck with your decision and it seems like you can't go wrong with any of the great schools mentioned on this thread.

uhhhhhhhhh. no votes for UW in seattle yet?! Great gyms, weekend/ day trip available. Hours from alpine, squam, and leavenworth. I would also add a few obscure ones in there; OSU ( good gyms and 3 hours away from the red and new), UK (an hour away from the red if you drive like a grandpa), Appalachian State (do a little research and it will sell itself)

I know you specifically mentioned Western US (that's why I said UW) but take a close consideration as to which schools have the best program relative to climbing (and east coast has some of the best sport climbing in the country without a doubt)....after all you are going to making a living off of your major, not hobby most likely.

MSU bozeman is great if youre into ice climbing or skimo. Theres also an awesome climbing community and a good gym

^^^ New Mexico Tech may not have snow, but it has great programs in earth and environmental sciences and a very friendly and active climbing community with great rock very close by. I have gone to both CU-Boulder (for my masters) and NMT (currently working on a PhD there) and while I can't speak to undergrad life at either, I'm enjoying NMT way, WAY more than CU. Check it out!

You can still get out skiing at Santa Fe and Taos as a day trip. Wolf Creek is even doable for a weekend trip from Tech.

Western Washington U

The school with the best climbing and best acedemics can be summed up in 2 words: Northern Arizona University.

A 4th reason to attend is their excellent mathematics department.

They're Grammar department is top notch also.

I'm going to put in another vote that you look at Fort Lewis College. In my opinion, a grossly underrated school with a great environmental ed. program, teachers that want to live there and who share outdoor passions with students. Sandstone (trad), limestone (sport), and granite (mixed) nearby, and only 3 hours from Indian creek (if you go the speed limit). 3 hours from Penitente canyon and 5 from some great climbing in New Mexico. Plus skiing, mountain biking, a lead gym for all students, and an awesome outdoor program. Pretty awesome...

marty funkhouser wrote:They're Grammar department is top notch also.

Brent Larsen wrote:4 words. Black Hills State University.

There are a lot of great schools and many places to climb. I would narrow the scope by putting some constraints on what you plan to major in and what type of climbing you like, sport, trad, cragging, multi pitch, bouldering, water ice, alpine ice, mountaineering and so on

I, like you, went to CU and didn't really fit. But the climbing was good so I made it work. I visited a lot of schools in the west for grad school and had pretty much the same criteria as you. I'll be applying to CSU, Idaho State, Utah, UNLV, NAU and Fresno State. UNLV and Fresno State don't have the greatest settings in town, but having RedRocks/Yose right around the corner make up for it. Montana State is worth checking out as well, I'd apply there if they had a program for me.

In decending order

Reno
Colorado College
Utah
Wyoming

The two first schools are going to get you a job in an area where you can enjoy life after college. CC is a bad ass school. You may want to check out Colorado School of Mines in Golden CO as well. You'll be in a very good situation for gainful employment with a degree from that institution.