vancouver as a climber/ outdoors person?

Hey folks, looking for a bit of advise... we have a great opportunity job wise in Vancouver and are looking at renting in the kits area. Mostly would love to hear how it is to get out mountainbiking, trail running and climbing while living in kits,west end or even near ubc?
In the summer are there areas close enough to climb after work? How about trails?
Any info about van would be great.

...yes we know winters are super grey! But grey and green are my favorite colors. We both have lived in pnw before .

Thanks.

Ok. I know this may not help you much as I can not attest to the benefits of any one neighborhood but... Vancouver is awesome. You are a day trip away from Squamish with many other smaller crags to choose from in the area. Louis Lake has awesome sport climbing. Mountain Biking is awesome but get a downhill bike if you don't already have one. Trail running, sure. You might want to consider trying to sail when your there. The people are really nice. Fuck I'm jealous. I think one of the bigger challenges of living in west Vancouver is that you have to drive through the city to get to the highway 1. But with all the parks, ocean, urban trails, good food, and other cool stuff going on that is a small price to pay.

There isn't any real rock climbing that I know of in Vancouver proper. The closest would be lighthouse park which is out in West Vancouver, (not to be confused with West End which is downtown, and West Point Grey which is by UBC) and there isn't really that much there. That would be a pretty long drive from Kits after work depending on traffic.

Downhill Mountain biking you can go to the North Shore or SFU. Probably some other places too. Neither are particularly close to Kits.

For trails, there's the endowment lands which is right between Kits and UBC. It's not a huge wilderness area, but there are lots of trails for running. Also the beach trails around UBC are good if you want to do some stairs.

Go for it!

I've been living here for 7 years or so after while on the east coast and like every other city, it has it's flaws. But that said, Vancouver has a lot of easily accessible stuff on it's doorstep, not least of which is Squamish.

During the summer months, I usually can arrange an early finish from work, leave at 3 and be up in Squamish to make the most of the long evenings. On the north shore there's lighthouse park and the Seniors Centre (topo tinyurl.com/4yx4f2w). Plus you're a short drive away from Leavenworth and Skaha.

There's no shortage of trail running - Rich Wheater, a Squamish local has just published a guide - tinyurl.com/3pbb7wp - it's a great book to get you going.

I don't do much mountain biking or kayaking, but you'll not have much problem finding areas to get to.

Like you mentioned the only thing that can get you down a bit is the rain, but you just put your rain gear on and go! Houses are expensive if you're buying, but to be honest, I rent and find it cheaper living than Halifax, NS!.

Ed

I moved to Van from Boulder nearly 7 years ago and live in Kits. While I miss Boulder (mainly the sun and 5 min drive/walk to climbs), Van is pretty sweet. I usually time my drives to Squamish to avoid traffic and can make it in 50-55 mins on the weekdays. I don't bike, but loads of mtn biking in Squamish, though I hear the great x-c stuff is north of Pemberton (2+ hrs north). Plus you can take float planes into remote lakes for epics rides out. The North Shore (20 mins again to avoid high traffic) has more trail running and DH mountain biking then you'll ever want. But In my mind the biggest aspect Van has over Boulder is backcountry skiing/ski mountaineering...

Thanks for the info everyone. I've been warned to be careful renting places with BED BUGS!

I picked up bedbugs while I lived in Vancouver, and they seriously suck, but they are very good for motivating you to declutter. I stripped my room down to a bed, a metal table, and a bunch of plastic bins. I did laundry 2 or 3 times a week and got rid of the suckers eventually, but you can never really be certain.

I would not recommend Kits as a place to live if you want to get out into the Mountains or Squamish quickly. Kits is sort of over-rated IMHO(no offense meant to any Kits folks). In the winter, light is at a premium and cross town traffic across the bridges is a headache, particularly on the weekends.

If you have to be in the city from 8-4 during the week, consider the West End as close as you can get to Stanley Park. It's a quick drive, bus, Sea bus, bike ride to the North Shore. Living on the North Shore is also a good option as it faces South and you're close to the North Shore ski hills and trails. It's a quick ride across to downtown on the Sea Bus from Lonsdale Quay. If I had to be downtown every day, I'd not think twice about the north shore.

I regularly commute from Squamish, where I live when I'm in the country, to Downtown via Lonsdale. There is rarely any traffic on the Sea to Sky, except weekends, but I do work at home quite a bit. There are also lots of carpool groups that go to various locations downtown from Squish, so you don't even need to drive if you don't want to.

More and more people are realizing that the commute is no worse (actually it's usually better) than from the southern part of the lower mainland, and you can't beat the location. If you climb, you'll understand once you spend some time in Squamish. There are actually quite a few days where you can get out for a few pitches in the Bluffs or in the Boulders between storm systems in the winter, but you have to live here to take advantage of the windows.

Anyway, just my opinion. I don't know your story. Regardless, you'll love it. The summers are amazing.

Hope you get the job!

Having lived in both Boulder and Vancouver I have to say that each has its benefits. Having lived for many years in Kits and then moving to the North Shore it's hard to imagine moving back to the other side of the water. The North Shore places you almost 30 minutes closer to climbing, skiing, mtn biking and better trail running than Kits. The North Shore also provides a quicker exit to outdoor points East and South.

The commute into say UBC will be longer but it's practical to bike commute about 50 weeks per year. I haven't done a UBC commute but I can hit downtown in about 20 minutes. The freedom associated with the easy access to the mountains makes it very worthwhile.

Good luck!