Considering a trip to Joshua Tree early January -- Looking for Partners!

Hey there! I am taking a peek around for a potential climbing & scrambling focused trip to Joshua Tree this winter. Flights are not booked, so the date is not set, but hoping to leave January 7th-ish and stay for around a week in and around the park. I'm hoping to lead some moderate sport but would follow higher grades. I also love scrambling and am stoked to touch rocks no matter what we're doing. I want to camp in the park for at least part of the trip, but may be (okay, definitely would be lol) swayed by a cute Airbnb somewhere for the last night or two :) I'm looking to climb and chill with some fun rest days of exploring the artsy town. 

If you like supportive, positive partners, stargazing in the desert, checking out cool artsy spots, and chilling on some amazing moderates, let's be friends! I would love to chat and get to know you more. Ideally I would be climbing with another lady, but I'm not ruling anyone out as long as we get to know each other a little bit. :)

Hi! I'll be around Josh this winter, but just for day/weekend trips and mostly on gear. Sport there can be a little sketchy, so most people head to other crags (New Jack, Alabama Hills, Bishop...)  for a wider range of more well-protected moderates. Most of the sport in Josh is pretty run out so it's best to be comfortable at the grade, and you do need to know how to rappel to get off a handful of them as well. But it's absolutely beautiful and the bouldering is fantastic too! Feel free to PM.

Hey I’ll be in Jtree Dec26 til Jan9.

A bit curious how you decided on Joshua Tree for this trip?  There is 100x more moderate sport on sandstone and limestone in the Las Vegas area. And the weather that time of year will be equally good , or bad, as the case may be, in either place. Plenty of rock scrambling in RR too.
J Tree is a beautiful place with great climbing and a little true sport climbing. but the last thing I’d call the nearby towns is artsy. PS does have an excellent modern art museum. 

phylp phylp wrote:

A bit curious how you decided on Joshua Tree for this trip?  There is 100x more moderate sport on sandstone and limestone in the Las Vegas area. And the weather that time of year will be equally good , or bad, as the case may be, in either place. Plenty of rock scrambling in RR too.
J Tree is a beautiful place with great climbing and a little true sport climbing. but the last thing I’d call the nearby towns is artsy. PS does have an excellent modern art museum. 

Honestly I've just always wanted to go. But I'm hearing maybe Bishop or RR would be better for my plans. Do you have any other suggestions for beginner-friendly sport climbing in the desert?

Emma Slyker wrote:

Honestly I've just always wanted to go. But I'm hearing maybe Bishop or RR would be better for my plans. Do you have any other suggestions for beginner-friendly sport climbing in the desert?

Alabama Hills in Lone Pine has a lot of pretty well bolted routes on Granite. But that is only an hour from Bishop so it’s easy enough to go between the ORG in Bishop and Alabama Hills.

Let me know here when you decide. I go to both places regularly (RR and Bishop) and would be happy to head out for a day or two with you if the weather looks decent.

Red Rock is easier logistically because the airport is right there. But if it rains or has rained, you’d be restricted to limestone. Most of the sunny limestone in the harder grades but there is some sub 5.10.

There’s tons in the 5.7-5.9 range in Bishop and Lone Pine that gets winter sun. 

If you booked a flight and rental car via LAX, you wouldn’t have to make a choice between J Tree or Bishop until the last minute. LAX to Lone Pine 4 hours. LAX to JT 3 hours.