Climbing destionation in January?

I am planning on completing my qualifying exams in December and I figure I'll need a break from studying and the upstate NY cold whether I pass or fail (hopefully the former). As such, I'm looking to spend a week or two climbing Jan 3- Jan 16. I'd love to do a bunch of sport and maybe some crack climbs on trad. I can lead 5.11 sport and feel comfortable up to 5.9 on trad. Any suggests as to cheapish climbing destinations for this time of year? Thanks!

California ...

vincent L. wrote:California ...

Cheapish? I think weather is going to dictate where you climb. Camp 4 in Yosemite is $5 a night, lots of trad, duh, not much sport. One of my favorite times to be there...weather permitting.
J-tree is where the old Stone(d Masters would retreat to when the weather dictated to them. Problem is it can get really crowded, IE no camp spots.
Smith Rock is awesome in January, has 4,000+ routes (?...lots) and the saying in Smith is..."if the pavement is dry, climb on". World class sport, duh, but what most people ignore is how good the trad there is. Just north of there is some of the best splitter basalt ever, Trout Creek. Camping is $5/night.
SO, how do you plan on getting to your destination, how you plan on traveling around once here, etc, will dictate cheapness. And yes, California.
And if you hit me up when time gets closer, i lead 11+S/11T, know some stuff around, have time, etc. Good to start thinking about it, keep your mind on what's important...CLIMBING!!!

+1 for J tree.

Smith Rock+Trout Creek seems like it would be pretty much perfect. I have friends a few hours north of there who might be able to help out with transportation. Otherwise J-tree is a good option too. I'm a bit wary about crowds, but suspect that either location will likely be pretty packed given the season?...

Also, what would you say the "styles" are at Smith and J-tree (RRG is to overhung and juggy as Smith is to ________)?

Styles...man oh man.
Smith: With literally 1'000's of lines to choose from, choose your pleasure. Multi pitch 5.3 (really) to multi pitch 11+ sport, knobs, steep, technical, etc. It is usually about finding the sun/shade you want. Mostly the sport is knobs and edges, the basalt trad is about thinness and steepness.
J-tree, which is about 18 hrs from Smith is about rough quartzite (i think it's quartzite, too late at night to remember) and steeper, thinner, slicker, more run-out as the grades get harder.
Smith is a lot more compact, many great climbs are literally 3' from each other, whereas J-Tree you can walk an hour+ for one climb.
I've been to each countless times.
But just to throw a wrench, if you have never seen the Valley, and the weather is right....nothing better, or like it. And lots of moderates.

Thanks Muscrat. It sounds like Smith+Trout is going to be the place to go give conditions, crowds, and style, unless anyone comes up with any better options. I have been to the Yosemite several times, and while it is always tempting to head back to my favorite place on earth, I think I'd like to try something a little different this time...

Smith is cool but can be a shit show in terms of crowds. It can feel inescapable due to the nature of the geography. The routes are fun but a lot of the rock is manky.

Josh can be quite cold but has potential for perfection. The crowds are much easier to avoid. The climbing is much different. The bouldering is excellent. And haven't you always wanted to sample some kitty litter slab climbing.

No trad, and it depends on what you mean by "cheap", but January is a great time to go...

www.climbcaymanbrac.com

Cochise stronghold

DoN you beat me to it by 8 min...

Cochise...

Great minds Nick, I spent two weeks there in January. Weather was all time. Went to ISO after that, finished in lime kiln canyon and St George. Great way to chase good weather and climbing.

Didn't have to pay for any camping. + 1,000,000 for verde hot springs rest days!

If you're ok with just sport -- then El Potrero Chico, in Mexico, is an excellent winter sport destination. Lots of single and multi-pitch sport climbing in your range. Good climber community, too, so often you can find climbing partners down there.

What about Red Rocks?

scienceguy288 wrote:Thanks Muscrat. It sounds like Smith+Trout is going to be the place to go give conditions, crowds, and style, unless anyone comes up with any better options. I have been to the Yosemite several times, and while it is always tempting to head back to my favorite place on earth, I think I'd like to try something a little different this time...

Once you pay for the plane ticket, Portrero Chico is cheap and a blast.

And if you are looking for gear routes, there are a lot of long, challenging ridges down there..........

Joe Forrester wrote:Once you pay for the plane ticket, Portrero Chico is cheap and a blast.

Yikes, Smith in January? I mean, Smith can be climable in the sun in the winter...or it can be frigid and snowy and windy and awful. It would be very risky to fly across the country to try to climb there in January; you could very well get shut down and not be able to climb anything. Even if it was warm and sunny enough to climb during the day, nights would be very long and very cold in any case.

Red Rocks is decent for sport climbing and bouldering in Janurary, but if long trad routes are your objective you will be limited. The best trad climbs are mostly in deep shade in the canyons, and are often too cold/shady/windy in mid-winter. The sport climbs tend to be lower in elevation, get a lot of sun,a nd are more wind-sheltered, so they can be quite nice in January. The camping might still suck, though.

Cochise and J-Tree are probably the best options for mid-winter trad climbing in the southwestern US. In the southeast, Chattanooga is a good mid-winter choice with boulder, sport, and trad options. Still, any of these places can still be pretty cold if you hit the wrong week. Wind can be a big issue in J-Tree in the winter; the old joke is that Patagonia is good training for winter in J-Tree.

The summary here is that there really is no destination in the United States that is guarunteed to be good in mid-winter, except maybe Hueco. Go to Mexico. Potrero is awesome, and dirt cheap. You get to climb 10-20 pitch routes with just a rack of draws. The weather will be really nice. The cartels probably won't bother you. What's not to love?

Don't forget about east coast options, especially if you're trip turns out to be on the shorter side. East Tennessee can have (but definitely not always) great weather in January. I've spent plenty of winter days climbing sunny walls at the Obed (sport), Castle Rock (sport), and T-wall (trad). Plus easier logistics and cheap camping. It could also be cold and rainy, so just watch the weather.