Moving to wyoming

Hi all:

Once all of this crazy stuff has settled down, I was considering finally moving out West. I've been on the East coast my whole life, and really want to put myself in an environment where I have easy access to mountains and improve my alpine skills (I have some experience here and there, but I want more.) I also have no job or anything holding me back, so now is the time. This leads me to some questions I was hoping to get advice on: 

• I fell in love with the Tetons the one time I was there, and was hoping to become a regular there. Does the cost actually make it impossible to live in Jackson? Should I set my sights for somewhere else? Does Lander get snowed in and isolated?
• I'll be able to make the move October or November, which I know is not ideal and of course means no rock climbing for many months. My skiing is limited to resorts on the east coast. How accessible is the back country skiing, and how sharp is the learning curve? Is it reasonable for me to assume I'll move out there and learn? 
• What's the community like? I'll be making this move myself, and will need partners (and mentors.) Is that reasonable to expect? I know it's not the same as moving to the Red and having a ton of partners to choose from. Climbing gyms, etc? 

Any advice is appreciated! Hope everyone is staying safe and sane.

Removed by Moderator.

I’m sorry, what? 

Being a Californian I'm a LITTLE prejudice about the Sierra Nevada range.
But I love Wyoming. It gets cold real cold. Hwy 80 was closed something like 50 time this year.
Jackson & Lander are way different, both have their pluses. Lander probably has more climbing days if you boulder & will be less expensive. Jackson has Jackson Hole & the Tetons are right there.
I don't mind driving so I would pick Lander, you can always drive to the Tetons. It's more of a stable community with a lot less tourist. It has been discovered as a climbing destination so that is a bit of a drag, but there is a lot of climbing.
Whichever you pick will be great. Best of luck to you.
 

Don't rule out Laramie, either. You have Vedauwoo close by (and it's not all off-width), easy alpine access is an hour away in the Snowy Range, and places like Sinks Canyon and the Fremont Gorge (plus others) are within reasonable distances for weekend trips.

That said, I'd probably opt for Lander, but Laramie is worth checking out. So is Cody if you think you can tolerate the touristy stuff.

I lived in Wyoming for 8 years and dream of moving back. I would say look at Lander, Laramie and Pinedale. Jackson is very expensive. 

how do you feel about Meth?
How do you feel about extraordinarily cold and long winters? Low population? Guns? Wind?!
Having done some trips from Jackson to ten sleep to Vedauwoo the only thing I really believe is that Jackson is not like anywhere else in the state. I loved ten sleep, a very small cowboy town. I did not love having to stop in Lander. but the climbing was good. The skiing in certain areas might be more difficult to access easily.

check out Gillette, its awesome

Chet Powers wrote: check out Gillette, its awesome

That is just mean.  However Gillette does have a relatively awesome gym considering the community in general.

Honestly a lot of the advice in the thread is missing contextual information. A lot of the people are mentioning places they enjoyed going to for a couple days.

It is difficult to find a job in Wyoming unless you have desirable skills. Although you can move out West it is objectively more difficult to find certain jobs in Wyoming.  

• I fell in love with the Tetons the one time I was there, and was hoping to become a regular there. Does the cost actually make it impossible to live in Jackson? Should I set my sights for somewhere else? Does Lander get snowed in and isolated?

Yes it is prohibitively expensive in Jackson. You could live in Alpine and it's a bit cheaper (but not really) and I think Driggs, ID also. But before committing to living somewhere that gets a significant amount of snow every year you need to make sure you have the type of vehicle that can navigate multiple months of winter, especially since you are interested in alpine climbing.  

• I'll be able to make the move October or November, which I know is not ideal and of course means no rock climbing for many months. My skiing is limited to resorts on the east coast. How accessible is the back country skiing, and how sharp is the learning curve? Is it reasonable for me to assume I'll move out there and learn? 

Ill preface this by stating that I don't ski, but have friends who I've talked to about backcountry skiing. It is a steep curve and you will need to take Avy classes. I think you could learn, but it is non-trivial and it seems to make more sense to make sure you are a competent skier first before backcountry skiing.

• What's the community like? I'll be making this move myself, and will need partners (and mentors.) Is that reasonable to expect? I know it's not the same as moving to the Red and having a ton of partners to choose from. Climbing gyms, etc? 

Honestly it seems like you haven't done a ton of research about what living in Wyoming is like. Most communities are small, and you should be making decisions about what sort of jobs are in the areas in addition to what cool things are nearby. You can find partners in many places in Wyoming. There are climbing gyms in Lander and Laramie, and maybe some other towns.

The best rock climbing town is Lander, then Sheridan or Laramie. You can climb year round in Lander. Sheridan has the bighorns and has actually more mild winters than other parts of the state. Laramie is the windiest, has a university, is the closest to an airport, and has good climbing nearby.

You should expect a much different attitude and day-to-day life then any town on the east coast. Not a bad thing, it's just much different. 

Yes, bouldering in Lander is pretty good. This coming from a person that has the Buttermilks in my back yard.

Stacy Polyakova wrote: Once all of this crazy stuff has settled down, I was considering finally moving out West. I've been on the East coast my whole life, and really want to put myself in an environment where I have easy access to mountains and improve my alpine skills (I have some experience here and there, but I want more.) I also have no job or anything holding me back, so now is the time. This leads me to some questions I was hoping to get advice on: 

• I fell in love with the Tetons the one time I was there, and was hoping to become a regular there. Does the cost actually make it impossible to live in Jackson? Should I set my sights for somewhere else? Does Lander get snowed in and isolated?
• I'll be able to make the move October or November, which I know is not ideal and of course means no rock climbing for many months. My skiing is limited to resorts on the east coast. How accessible is the back country skiing, and how sharp is the learning curve? Is it reasonable for me to assume I'll move out there and learn? 
• What's the community like? I'll be making this move myself, and will need partners (and mentors.) Is that reasonable to expect? I know it's not the same as moving to the Red and having a ton of partners to choose from. Climbing gyms, etc? 

Why Wyoming, specifically? It is an amazing state with great mountains, but for most of the state you need to be prepared to live in a small, remote town. For the things you are looking for, there are some other areas that may serve your interests better. I'd take a good look at Bozeman. It offers the mountain access you are looking for, and would be a great home base to develop skills for alpine climbing, ice climbing, skiing (lift and backcountry) etc. And it is also a larger community than the Wyoming mountain towns, so it provides more jobs options and amenities like climbing gym, larger partner pool, etc.

If you find that living in a proper city is necessary for you (career options, or other city amenities) but still want the mountain access, strongly consider Salt Lake or elsewhere in the Wasatch. Although it does have some notable downsides, the climbing and skiing access is great.

If you decide that small-town Wyoming life is what you want, Lander is the place to be for the best balance of rock climbing, other outdoors access, a good community, and avoiding the resort-town insanity and cost of living that is Jackson. Main downside is the skiing access (but you can climb rock almost all winter there!). 

How about 10 mins The Sinks.

Julian H wrote:

Please do share this great bouldering areas. Let’s say within 30 min or 1hr drive 

There is an entire guidebook, y'know. I've enjoyed the bouldering in Sinks, both on the granite and the various traverse problems up on the Dolomite Band, and although I never made it to this place it looks pretty cool.

I wouldn't describe any of the bouldering around Lander as "great", but a lot of it is reasonably good.  I wouldn't cancel your Joe's Valley trip to go to Lander. But if looking for somewhere to live that has a diverse range of climbing, Lander has that. Move there for the sport climbing, of course, but the bouldering adds variety.

Bozeman is no longer Montana, Jackson has not been Wyoming in 50 years (see: the Federal Reserve).

Lander is remote small town, like nothing on the East Coast. I love it, but it's too small and remote for me. I'll repeat, why Wyoming? Have you thought about Washington or California? If you like alpine climbing, those are the places to be. Sierra granite is great, and the North Cascades have more glaciers than every other state in the US (other than Alaska) combined. The skiing in the Cascades is criminally underrated by everyone outside the PNW.

Jackson’s a beautiful place, if you’re smart with your money you can make it work. 

I live in a small town in Wyoming, about 100 people. We regularly go to Jackson for groceries and other errands, but rely mostly on our "neighbors" for things that we can't regularly get into town for. I HATE Jackson, but it sounds like it would be a good fit for you. The community aspect of a small town in Wyoming is the reason I stayed all these years, but it is NOT for everyone. There's a reason that the per capita suicide rate in Wyoming is second in the nation; navigating long winters in isolation is hard on most people.

Where I live has the title of "Icebox of the Nation"; the average winter temperature is 10* F but most of our January days start out at -25-30* F. Winter lasts for about 6-7 months. 

My fiance's commute is 45 min. to Jackson through a canyon that is regularly shut down because of avalanches. My commute is 40 minutes to a town of 2000 residents.

Last winter, our power was out for a week in February. I just bought a $250 battery that has the cold cranking amps to turn over the engine in January/February. I plug my engine block into an outlet during those nights so that my oil doesn't freeze. 

I use my snow machine to get my mail in the winter. And to go to the bar!

I have some of the best backcountry skiing in the lower 48 literally right outside my back door. In the summer I can fly fish and gravel bike to my heart's content and see no other people.

If you want a real Wyoming experience, Jackson will not check that box, but it will give you access to a stoked, young population base, one of the most accessible winter alpine climbing destinations, a town with more than 1 bar, outdoor shops, restaurants, a night life and jobs (no housing though!). Lander will give you those things minus jobs and alpine climbing. Laramie just plain sucks; prepare yourself for a lot of wind and biting cold with little snow. The Snowies are terrible (shit rock too); Vedavoo is the only redeeming quality. Sheridan is cool and the Bighorns are badass (good luck finding climbing partners). Cody is rad.

All this is to say that you need to think about what you value in a living experience, and if you don't mind working 3 jobs then Jackson will be a good fit.

It's not that windy in Laramie.  

DavisMeschke Guillotine wrote:

Where I live has the title of "Icebox of the Nation";

Um, that would be International Falls, MN.

I lived in Cody, Wyoming for 7 years.   The community as a whole is pretty "independent".  My wife had a hard time breaking in and making friends.   The whitewater is absolutely fantastic.   The bouldering is good.   The climbing is livable but it gets pretty baked in the summer.  Skiing is 1 to 2 hours away depending on weather. The ice climbing is world class.  When the wind blows there it really blows. It can be -20f or 50f in February.  The job market is challenging depending on your skill-set/ training.  The rent for an apartment was incredibly cheap.   We like Rapid City, SD much more.  Just a friendlier and receptive community.  The climbing is absolutely amazing.

My most recent experiences with jackson , summer 2016 and 2018 is that most of the employees were living on the same forest service land that we were camped on. that was getting too busy and the rangers tightening up...