Moving to Ridgecrest (Possibly)

Hello community,

I currently live in Fresno and really enjoy having a climbing gym at any given moment of the day. I was currently offered a good job in Ridgecrest and may be moving out there in a few months. How is the climbing/slacklining community there? I do quite a bit of trad, sport, and bouldering but would like to continue to do so throughout my life.....

 I really do want to take this job but I will not do it if my quality of life is going to be shattered by moving here.

Thank you all for the help!

You're going to be a lot closer to the eastern Sierra. That should be worth quite a bit.

It's a small town, so don’t expect much in terms of culture.
 
However the access to outdoor rock is quite good, your roughly equal distance(+/- 1 hour) between Jtree, Bishop, and Red Rock, And the High Sierra is even closer. There’s a life time of under-documented bouldering 10 mins out of town, plenty of sport climbing on the mountain sides above the 395 corridor, and a tiny indoor gym on the base.

If your goal is to spend as much of your free time as humanly possible pursuing outdoor activities, then Ridgecrest makes a nice base camp, especially if you’re getting paid to be there.

Thanks for the info guys! It seems like a pretty good place to be and it's definitely at the top of my list at the moment.

Can one of you guys elaborate on what you mean by "a tiny indoor gym on the base"?

Again I really appreciate it!

Alonso Rodriguez wrote: Thanks for the info guys! It seems like a pretty good place to be and it's definitely at the top of my list at the moment.

Can one of you guys elaborate on what you mean by "a tiny indoor gym on the base"?

Again I really appreciate it!

I would guess he is referring to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, which is right next to Ridgecrest.

Hello! I might currently be in the same position- considering a job but also wondering about quality of life- definitely thrilled to be so close to sierras !!! Any additional insight? if you made the move/ others thoughts? I just finished up work in las vegas and really appreciated the access to red rock/ mount charleston while also having a gym and somewhat of a community! i realize vegas is not too far from ridgecrest :) 

Erin Fitz wrote:

Hello! I might currently be in the same position- considering a job but also wondering about quality of life- definitely thrilled to be so close to sierras !!! Any additional insight? if you made the move/ others thoughts? I just finished up work in las vegas and really appreciated the access to red rock/ mount charleston while also having a gym and somewhat of a community! i realize vegas is not too far from ridgecrest :) 

Were you in Las Vegas in the summer? Ridgecrest is similar in the summer, so keep that in mind if you move there.