Winter living locations?

After 32 years up here, 5-6 month long winters have gotten to be too enduro. I don't want to have to plow snow from November into May any more. We are considering migration spring and fall to some other location.

Gotta have good rock climbing and trail running.

Somewhere reasonably warm, but not an arid desert environment. Some freezing temps at night fine, but average daytime temps allowing rock climbing essential.

Treed/forested and ideally somewhat mountainous or at least hilly is ideal.

Rural or small town, no city or suburban environment.

Within an hour or two drive from major airport is a big plus.

Low cost of living is very desirable.

Culturally more laid back/live and let live rather than uptight moral high ground tea party.

Brevard or Fairview, NC....Asheville is too crowded

goatdavemac wrote:Brevard or Fairview, NC....Asheville is too crowded

Thanks, what are the main climbing attractions?

Wow, tall order...I'm thinking Flagstaff (expensive), Los Alamos (expensive), Durango (expensive), maybe Moab (arid desert)? Espanola, NM could work, but is poor, not really liberal, and overrun by heroin. Tough combination of qualifications. Maybe check out Grass Valley, CA. Liberal, not really cheap, but cheap for CA, close to Truckie, Donner, Tahoe, etc.

Err, I have been to all during winter:

flagstaff... cold
los alamos... cold
durango... cold

Warm in winter is foremost criteria.

Don't know grass valley, I'll have a look. But donner truckie as well are high and cold in winter.

I am wondering about Idyllwild CA, climate data looks OK, but I am seeing many snow pictures as well. Also locations along west side of southern sierras, but wonder about winter crag access.

Sure they are cold, but you can get out and climb every day. Grass Valley is only at 2,000', and stays pretty mild.

John Wilder wrote:Not to be too obvious with it, but if you want warm in the winter, you pretty much have to go with arid desert-

Not so, but the challenge is finding climbing in conjunction with warmer climate. e.g. CA coast has warmer weather in winter, but rock climbing... not so much.

Yeah Kentucky is warm all winter haha

I climb and camp around Kernville, CA all winter long.

If I could I would spend the winter in Cochese... if you get snow just waite a few days and its gone...

it gets cold everyplace east of Salt Lake City....

Bishop is the bomb.... not to $$$$$ if your gage is LA. or SF

A friend is moving to Oakhurst, tons of climbing around, Africa Hot summers, mild winters....

so hard to choose.

El Chalten. The commutes going to be a bitch though.

I have been looking at the greater Oakhurst area. Wondering about climbing access in the colder months. Definitely not a summer location for me!

Re: Kernville, is it subject to the horrible Bakersfield smog?

snowrestler wrote:El Chalten. The commutes going to be a bitch though.

Has to be US until our dogs pass. Can't see international migration with them.

5.samadhi wrote:Yeah Kentucky is warm all winter haha

weather data shows Chatanooga looking best of eastern recommendations.

mountainhick wrote: I am wondering about Idyllwild CA, climate data looks OK, but I am seeing many snow pictures as well.

I spent a winter in Idyllwild. The weather varies wildly, from warm and sunny to cold and snowy. You can expect a reasonable amount of snow and cold weather, though; it is not a warm winter escape by any means. You can climb sporadically between storms up there in the winter but for the most part climbing in the winter involves driving down to J-Tree.

Returning to your original request, the "treed/forested", "not an arid desert" and "warm in winter" combination will be very difficult to find in the Western U.S. Finding a nice warm winter area in the West with climbing means desert or semi-desert areas. Full stop. Places in the west that have real forest will have snow in the winter. If you want forested/warmish, the Southeast has various good options, particularly the Chattanooga area. The climbing is top-notch. Rain (lots of rain) can be an issue there in the winter though.

In the west, there are many good options, so long as you can handle desert. If you don't want to go too far from your current CO location, Canon City would be a perfect place to post up for the winter, so long as you like Shelf Road.

In California, Bishop and various towns around Joshua Tree would be perfect. Real estate is Bishop is pricey for how remote it is. On the west side of the Sierra, the town of Sonora would be my pick as a good spot for reasonably warm temps and good access to climbing in a range of seasons.

Southern AZ, Southern UT, and Southern NV all have a lot to offer in terms of warm winter weather, but again, be prepared for desert.

Your requirements are next to impossible to meet fully but I would say Durango or somewhere in SW CO. I currently live in Dolores (close to Cortez) and the winter has been mostly climbable with maybe 20 days that were too cold/too wet.

Climbing in Dolores Canyon is 45 minutes away and almost has the potential of Indian Creek but also has tons of trees/plants. There is also lots of climbing in Durango which is accessible if it is a dry/warm winter. In the summer there are crags in Rico and Ophir which are about an hour. It is also only 2 hours to Moab and 1.5 to IC.

Sounds like you need to pick a place in the 4500-7000 ft elevation range somewhere in SW CO, New Mexico, outside of Flagstaff, or California. But why would you want to move to California from CO?

Could do Southern California, San Diego way before LA, and get out to JTree, Tahquitz, needles, not just warm but ocean to, Escondido isn't too bad

What's wrong with arid desert in winter????

So, this is a little out there, but how about Fredricksburg TX? Warm in winter, somewhat hilly, and has trees. The climbing is only okay (E Rock and Reimer's), but it is also driving distance to Portrero. On the other hand, it is Texas.

Winston O'Boogie wrote:Could do Southern California, San Diego way before LA, and get out to JTree, Tahquitz, needles, not just warm but ocean to, Escondido isn't too bad

This is where the idea of Idylwild came up. San Diego has IDEAL climate in winter, but I don't know much about more rural, townsie kinds of places in the area. I have been having a look at Palomar area and Descanso as well.

Happiegrrrl wrote:What's wrong with arid desert in winter????

For us, there is comfort and a feeling of home with trees and forest that does not exist in the desert. Great to visit, do it several times a year, but it is not home.

Chris Schmidt wrote:Your requirements are next to impossible to meet fully but I would say Durango or somewhere in SW CO. I currently live in Dolores (close to Cortez) and the winter has been mostly climbable with maybe 20 days that were too cold/too wet. Climbing in Dolores Canyon is 45 minutes away and almost has the potential of Indian Creek but also has tons of trees/plants. There is also lots of climbing in Durango which is accessible if it is a dry/warm winter. In the summer there are crags in Rico and Ophir which are about an hour. It is also only 2 hours to Moab and 1.5 to IC. Sounds like you need to pick a place in the 4500-7000 ft elevation range somewhere in SW CO, New Mexico, outside of Flagstaff, or California. But why would you want to move to California from CO?

Due to life circumstances, moving within CO is a very strange can of worms. I would do it in a heartbeat for the right place, but my wife is too attached to this home that we built with our own hands. As such, we are looking at seasonal migration and still living here in the summer. To only migrate a few hours drive away seasonally is not going to happen. The elevation aspect is indeed a huge part of the motivation to migrate.