Grand Junction Climbing

I just got a job offer from a tiny town 40 minutes from Grand Junction. I'd have a 4 day work week....so I'm wondering about the climbing around GJ. Can you climb comfortably year round in GJ, Moab, or Rifle? How hard is it to find climbing partners? And how cold does it really get? Any ice nearby ( besides Ouray) Or alpine possibilities? Or moderate trad fun? Thanks in advance...such a tough decision to make ( my other option is VEGAS)

Do it!

Grand Junction is a great location to be based out of. For sport climbing, you have Rifle. For trad, aid, and ice climbing,there is Colorado National Monument, Unaweep, Escalante Canyon, Black Canyon, Fisher Towers, Moab, and Ouray. Oh, don't forget about "Things of Beauty" Towers off I 70. If you are into rivers, the Colorado River runs through town. . There is also the Gunnison. The Westwater section of the Colorado river is real close. I hear the mountain biking is great. I lived there for only 6 months and left due to the job market. The Grand Mesa offers great cross country skiing. There is a small liquor store in a strip mall that has one of the largest selection of beer in the country. If you have solid employment, go for it. What small town are you talking about?

tda

I am guessing Gateway.

The job is in De Beque. So not quite GJ but close. My other offer is Vegas, making the decision super hard. I'd hate to be in small town Colorado with no climbing partner!!!

Ouch. DeBeque would be a tough place to live as the town is fairly dismal but proximity to rad areas is high. Good luck!

I would say living in Debeque would probably suck.

If you were willing to commute 20-30 miles you could either choose living close to Rifle and closer to the mountains, or close to Palisade and closer to the desert and either of those options would be awesome.

yeah, i think Silt would even be an improvement over DeBeque which is pretty sorry.

Thanks everyone. The job offer came with free housing...IN DeBeque. And it just seems too small for me. Even Rifle seems too small, but bearable. So I opted for Vegas. Yeah its " just" Red Rocks. But I love sandstone Trad and I hear there's stuff to do in Vegas besides climb( although I have yet to discover the other Vegas amenities)

There is more than just sandstone. Mt. Charleston is amazing.

So how is the ice specifically around Grand Junction? If I lived in GJ could I get to the cliff in 30 mins? Let me know about any options so I can research areas. Would be a big help! And length of season. Out here in New England you can climb ice beginning of Novemeber to end of April if it's a good year and you're stretching it. What about around GJ?

Tom Sherman wrote:So how is the ice specifically around Grand Junction? If I lived in GJ could I get to the cliff in 30 mins? Let me know about any options so I can research areas. Would be a big help! And length of season. Out here in New England you can climb ice beginning of Novemeber to end of April if it's a good year and you're stretching it. What about around GJ?

Tom, the Ice season around Junktown is shorter, most years Dec-march (sometimes less, sometimes none at all), but there is back country Ice that can be had with a drive. Local Areas to look up would be No Thoroughfare Canyon in the Colorado National Monument and Schneider Falls in Unaweep they are the most consistent ice we have and one is a 15min drive with 30min hike and the other is a 30min drive with a 15min hike. Neither of these areas is world class but with a 2-4 hour drive you have a lot of options. That said if you're moving here strictly for Ice Climbing you will probably be disappointed but then again, I've never seen more than 8" of snow fall at one time in town.

Rschap, thanks for responding and for the info! I'll look into those. I am hoping to find a balance between both rock and ice. It would be great to have after-work spots to climb either, even if they weren't world class. GJ is very attractive in that you have a multitude of world class climbing areas within a 4hr radius, many within 2hrs... I'm hoping I can get out to visit soon and maybe relocate in the coming year.

What is the rock/ice scene around Aspen?

I've found GJ hard to beat for all-around climbing access. I enjoy rock, but would take ice any day of the week and really love it here. Not really after work ice pitches available, but with Ouray/Silverton/Vail all close no biggie. I spent the winter climbing 2-4 days of ice a week and flew to Canada for $400 round-trip for a week. We've got a great new gym in town with lots of good training for the post-work stuff. Tons of rock 10-30mins from town- sandstone splitters, towers, 1-5 pitch granite. Plus going ice climbing one day then mountain biking in shorts the next is pretty awesome.

No Thoroughfare, be it a single pitch or so, is pretty decent after-work, as far as I am concerned.

I currently live in Boulder but am considering the move to Grand Junction as well. Getting tired of the crowds, the prices and the people of Boulder. I hear GJ is changing for the better.

Over the last 5 years a great community of climbers has come together thanks mostly to the Western Colorado Climbers' Coalition. A lot of new development has been going on as well. This is a pretty great place to live if you're a climber.

yeah those crowds suck in the front range, especially without a climbing partner. I miss mine.