My list of best cities/towns to live as a climber (feedback appreciated!)
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Hey MP! |
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Don't limit yourself to Rumney when looking at northern New England towns. The White Mountains have a lifetime's worth of sport and trad climbing (although the season is short). |
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Albany- As mentioned, right between Daks and gunks but there is not local climbing at all. Driving to the Daks is cool but most of the areas at around 3 hrs drive not 1.5. If you do ice the Catskills are 45 min away. Most of Albany is in the getto. |
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Rating Western Mass (Amherst) below Boston and NYC is bananas. I lived there for a few years and there's a great climbing community. Farley is a good local crag and was literally 30 min from my door. On long summer days I was climbing outside on weekdays after work. Try that living in the city. On weekends it's 2-3h from both the Gunks and the Whites. |
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You're missing Fort Collins. |
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What is your area of research? There are many good labs and doctoral programs based in regional comprehensives. |
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+1 to adding Tahquitz. You can also throw the E Sierra and Red Rocks on your SoCal list in the 3-4 h range. It's pretty nice to be able to get to the E Side year round in the same amount of time when Bay Area folks are struggling with winter pass closures. |
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Just in skimming here's what comes to mind |
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Flagstaff should top the list for Arizona cities, and it's not close. The climbing in the Phoenix metro area is not close in quality, and the access to the Moab region is key. Also, there are truly year round options. I didn't love living in Arizona, but the climbing in Flag is top notch. |
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as much as Fresno, CA (and surrounding areas) suck ass, |
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Haha, Albany NY should be no where near Boulder CO or Salt Lake UT - meaning not even on the same page :-) I lived in albany in the 90s and been in Boulder most of my life and they are two different animals |
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You didn't say what type of research but you missed OSU, BSU, and Utah State. OSU is the same distance to Smith Rock as UofO. BSU has some local climbing at Hells Canyon and in Twin Falls as well as City of Rocks. Utah State and BSU are relatively close to the Tetons. Your list misses all of Washington. |
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Be Esperanza wrote:I second the recommended downgrading of Pacific northwest locations as the weather eliminates the possibility of going rock climbing for more than half of the year. I also think that living in Boulder or Utah comes will plenty of associated negatives that may be worth considering. You may find you occasionally do things besides go climbing, and it may be nice to be in a place that accommodates other needs.What kind of things can't you do out of Boulder (and nearby Denver) that you could do in other climbing friendly cities? I can understand the drawbacks associated with a lot of the state of Utah. |
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Bill Czajkowski wrote: What kind of things can't you do out of Boulder (and nearby Denver) that you could do in other climbing friendly cities? I can understand the drawbacks associated with a lot of the state of Utah.I just left Boulder due to high traffic anytime you want to do anything. The front range is insane, and although there is a ton of climbing, there are more people. |
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Eric Carlos wrote: I just left Boulder due to high traffic anytime you want to do anything. The front range is insane, and although there is a ton of climbing, there are more people.Yeah, that's true. I was more curious about the activities besides climbing that you might want to do that the Front Range doesn't have available. |
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San Diego isn't a bad option either. |
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No mention of North Conway. I climb classics before 9am work, weekdays. |
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christoph benells wrote: I am pretty stoked on north conway NH climbing scene. Amazing variety and quality. |
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Wow. Placing Madison, WI as a 7 is crazy talk...I should know because I was born and raised there. I mean comparing Madison to Davis, CA?!? Really? Davis has Tahoe, Shuteye Ridge, the entire high Sierra, the Eastside crags, the Valley, Tuolumne, the Needles, etc. etc. and Madison has Devil's Lake and and Jackson Falls and then Devil's Tower 12 hours away. Not exactly equivalent. Living in the midwest is like climbing purgatory. I know that sounds harsh, but all I remember about living there was long road trips to get OUT of Wisconsin. |
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Did I miss it? Las Vegas. Red Rock. UNLV. |
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Be Esperanza wrote:I second the recommended downgrading of Pacific northwest locations as the weather eliminates the possibility of going rock climbing for more than half of the year. I also think that living in Boulder or Utah comes will plenty of associated negatives that may be worth considering. You may find you occasionally do things besides go climbing, and it may be nice to be in a place that accommodates other needs.The is what happens when you count to potato. |