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Bay Area Climbing Beta

Original Post
Lorenzo de Amicis · · Seattle, WA · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 15

Hey everyone,

I'm potentially moving to the Bay area for work if I land this job.  The job itself is in Berkley so I would be living around that area in order to keep my commute to a minimum.  I like all rock disciplines so I'm open to anything but I'm hoping to get some beta on where to climb locally and during weekends.  Not sure if this is helpful but I project v8/9, 13a/b sport, 12a trad.  Here are my questions:

-Are there any local crags worth checking out that are 30/60 minutes from the Berkley area that would allow me to climb a half day or after work? 

-Other than Yosemite and Tahoe, how far should I realistically expect to travel to climb at a high quality climbing area?

-Any suggestions on where to live that would make climbing outdoors more possible that's reasonably close to Berkley?

-What are the better climbing gyms and the gyms to avoid? 

I appreciate any info you can share.  Psych is high! 

Thank you!

Fail Falling · · @failfalling - Oakland, Ca · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 916
Lorenzo de Amicis wrote:

-Are there any local crags worth checking out that are 30/60 minutes from the Berkeley area that would allow me to climb a half day or after work? 

-Other than Yosemite and Tahoe, how far should I realistically expect to travel to climb at a high quality climbing area?

-Any suggestions on where to live that would make climbing outdoors more possible that's reasonably close to Berkley?

-What are the better climbing gyms and the gyms to avoid? 

- Bouldering is awesome (though crowded) in Berkeley with Indian Rock and Mortar Rock. There's a couple small crags in the Berkeley hills (Remillard and Cragmont) that are good for a couple laps before or after work. Depending upon your skill level, Mickey's Beach has stellar sport in the 5.11+ and higher range and Stinson Beach right next door has acceptable bouldering. there's a new area being developed in this area as well but still is under the radar. 

- 2 hours minimum (Pinnacles, St Helena, Mickey's Beach, Castle Rock State Park). Mostly the good crags are going to be around 3+ hours (Jailhouse, Lovers leap, Auburn Quarry (meh), Tahoe, Yosemite) The biggest thing is always the traffic. Anything Mon-Fri after 4pm is going to be gridlock that will add multiple hours to your trip. Morning trips either need to start driving before 6am or after 10am 

- No

- The two main gyms are Planet Granite and Touchstone. If you're in the east bay you go with Touchstone (gym in Berkeley, gym in Oakland, two gyms in SF, one in San Jose, andanother Oakland gym and another Berkeley gym coming "soon"). If you're in the south bay and SF you go with Planet Granite (Sf gym, a few down south bay, but nothing in the east bay). There's Bridges gym in Berkeley as well but it's small and (pretty much) only bouldering and has no reciprocity with any other gyms. 

Jamie Collins · · CA · Joined Jun 2016 · Points: 385
Lorenzo de Amicis wrote:

-Are there any local crags worth checking out that are 30/60 minutes from the Berkley area that would allow me to climb a half day or after work? 

-Other than Yosemite and Tahoe, how far should I realistically expect to travel to climb at a high quality climbing area?

-Any suggestions on where to live that would make climbing outdoors more possible that's reasonably close to Berkley?

-What are the better climbing gyms and the gyms to avoid? 

Just want to temper your expectations based on Kevin DeWeese's answer. 

1) Not everyone would describe Indian Rock/Mortar Rock "awesome", but there are a lot of diehard locals that love it. 

2) Remillard and Cragmont are very small. As in 5 to 6 30' TR routes, generally <5.10.

3) Mickey's is sweet and could be a good after work spot (~1 hr), depending on traffic and how much time you have before sunset

4) I would disagree that anything Mon-Fri after 4pm or weekends from 6-10am is going to be gridlock. This isn't LA.

5) If you're interested in 5.13 sport, Jailhouse is the best winter option and closer to 2 hrs from Berkeley.

Nkane 1 · · East Bay, CA · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 465

-Are there any local crags worth checking out that are 30/60 minutes from the Berkley area that would allow me to climb a half day or after work? 

Berkeley bouldering is fun but limited. Anything else is probably too far to drive after work. Castle Rock, Mickeys, and St Helena look close on the map but weekday traffic make them largely infeasible. Maybe for a few weeks in May/June when the days are long and if you can skip out of work early.

-Other than Yosemite and Tahoe, how far should I realistically expect to travel to climb at a high quality climbing area?

I think of Bay Area climbing as having three tiers - local stuff that's not that fun, day trippable areas that are quite worthwhile, and overnight trips that are world class.

The second tier contains lots of options within 2.5 hours, including jailhouse/Sonora, the closer Tahoe crags (loaf/leap/spires), Emeralds, Castle Rock. Emeralds, Sonora area, and the Leap get morning shade and are a reasonable daytrip if you leave early. You can be back for dinner if you climb early and leave when the sun hits. Between all of those options there's something to climb all months of the year unless it's really wet.

After 4 hours, you get to world class options like Yosemite and other westside sierra areas. These are doable as a 1-night 25 hour trip. After 5 hours, you can get to more world class stuff in the Eastern Sierra.

-Any suggestions on where to live that would make climbing outdoors more possible that's reasonably close to Berkley?

I'd advise optimizing your commute to work rather than commute to climbing. You'll do it more often and the marginal difference in access to that second tier of climbing probably isn't worth it. Berkeley and Oakland are great places to live if you can find your spot. If you can take transit or bike you'll be a lot happier than if you're dependent on a car every day. If you're working in the East Bay I would not recommend living in San Francisco as a climber - escaping the City over the Bay Bridge can add 45 minutes to an hour to your drive time.

-What are the better climbing gyms and the gyms to avoid? 

The gym scene in the east bay is going to change dramatically soon with the impending opening of Pacific Pipe in Oakland and the slightly less impending opening of the Oaks in North Berkeley. Many of us now have backyard walls too :)

I've really enjoyed living in the Bay as a climber. The good stuff is so good that I don't mind sitting in the car a little. And don't sleep on the absolutely world class trail running in the East Bay hills and Marin.

Danny Herrera · · Sebastopol · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 562

mt diablo, more specifically pine canyon is not too far, its the most wild stuff in the area for sure.

Lorenzo de Amicis · · Seattle, WA · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 15

Well, I wrote a long ass response but mountainproject keeps dropping the ball. Second time this has happened today! Gotta remember to copy before posting.    

In summary, thanks for all the suggestions! I'm pumped on Mortar for being so damn close to my potential work even though it's a bunch of eliminates. The other areas will be a nice training ground for endurance and getting out on a busy weekend.  Jailhouse looks sick and like a good place to get pumped out of my mind.  

Is the 4+ hour drive to Yosemite or Tahoe that folks keep mentioning because of traffic issues and the extra distance to get to the actual climbing area?  Gmaps states 3 hours. 

It's nice that more gyms are opening in that area!  The ultimate goal is to build an adjustable moonboard at home if the housing situation allows it but we'll see.  One can dream   

Thanks again for all the suggestions. These were extremely helpful and needed. Please feel free to continue adding to this list as I'm sure there are others that can benefit from this post.  

Nkane 1 · · East Bay, CA · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 465

I think my all-time record for Valley to Berkeley is on the order of 3:25. That would be starting from Reeds or something else down-valley, no traffic, probably a quick gas/pee stop, but no La Estrella or El Agave or Big Dipper or Priest Grade Station. I'm sure others have bested this. Someone told me they did sub-5 from Mammoth to the Bay but I have a hard time believing that's advisable.

Tahoe is much closer and there's a higher proportion of freeway driving. You can do sub-3 hours if you hit it right. I found, at least pre-covid, that leaving the Bay at 6-630 is the best balance of missing most of the worst traffic while still getting to the mountains early enough to get plenty of sleep.

Maidy Vasquez · · Bishop, CA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 402

 -Are there any local crags worth checking out that are 30/60 minutes from the Berkley area that would allow me to climb a half day or after work? 

The Bay Area totally blows for outdoor climbing IMPO .  Anything close is chossy, short, crowded, uninspiring or torched Diablo/Pine Creek has bird closures part of the year (when temps are tolerable of course). If you boulder you have a lot more options.

-Other than Yosemite and Tahoe, how far should I realistically expect to travel to climb at a high quality climbing area?

You will have a 3-4 hour commute (1-way) to anything decent. Seasonal weather hinders climbing in most of the mountain areas.  

-Any suggestions on where to live that would make climbing outdoors more possible that's reasonably close to Berkley?

Bishop?- (as the crow flies:)

Edit to add- the gyms in the Bay area are generally good to great - if they are finally reopening them. I havent been to enough of them to rate them.

 

Fat Dad · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 60

I find the Bay area really underwhelming for climbing.  There's some but I have a long time partner who grew up in the City who used to get really pissed (in his words) when folks described the area as a climbing hotspot.  However, having just returned from a long weekend in the Bay area, it is a wonderful part of the State to live.  Good food, vibe and lots of convenient access to the outdoors, the least of which may be the outdoor climbing.  Still, having Tahoe and the Valley 3-4 hours away respectively really opens the doors to a ton a good climbing if you're willing to drive.  It's one of the few places (I think) where the pros of the area outweigh the convenient access to outdoor climbing.  Sorry if this offends anyone but I'd rather have that than live in a rednecky climbing stronghold.    

A C · · Your moms house · Joined Mar 2014 · Points: 180

Jailhouse sucks dont go

JaredG · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 17

Get used to spending time in the car.  It can be a real grind for some of us, but others don't seem to mind.  East Bay has it a little easier though.

Lorenzo de Amicis · · Seattle, WA · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 15
A C wrote:

Jailhouse sucks dont go

Damn...I guess I won't go   

Lorenzo de Amicis · · Seattle, WA · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 15

Thanks everyone for the continued suggestions and advice.  All in all, it doesn't sound like high quality midweek climbing is all that possible given the traffic in the area unless you really plan for it.  It's mostly similar to what I'm currently used to in Seattle though the issue is weather rather than proximity.  There's world class climbing near by but the seasons are v short.  Looks like things won't change too much for me other than the added sunshine which I'm pumped for.  170 days vs 260....I'll take the latter. Cheers!

Clint Cummins · · Palo Alto, CA · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 1,738

When living in Berkeley or nearby:

After work:   boulder at Indian / Mortar, and visit the gym.

Midweek winter (Nov - mid-April) day trips:  Jailhouse is one of the best in the US.

Weekend 1-2 day trips:  Donner Summit, Yosemite, Table Mountain.  You just drive out on Friday night or early Saturday morning.  By starting in Berkeley, you at least miss the bridge traffic coming from SF.

Probably worth a day trip to check out the Castle Rock bouldering - interesting sandstone.

Matt Miccioli · · Lander, WY · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 1,896

Just to be a little more optimistic, I'll say that I had a lot of great before/after work sessions while living in the Bay. If you're psyched about getting on rock, you can definitely work around traffic and get some quality time on fun training projects that will have you feeling dialed for Tahoe/Yosemite/Sonora on the weekends. 

I think people get discouraged by the local options because a lot of the best climbing clocks in at 5.12-/V5 or harder and takes a bit of research to identify. People go to Mickey's at high tide, realize they can't get to the hard routes, toprope the 5.10b corner once, have a bad time, and never go back. Or, they show up to Mortar Rock on a scorching hot day, tear their hands open on The Ramp, and never go back. 

Many climbers in the Bay are stuck in a routine of hanging out at the gyms during the week and underperforming on the same Yosemite/Tahoe/Sonora classics on the weekends. Each weekend they will fail to realize that having just put down the purple dualtex V6 in the corner helped them way less toward accomplishing their outdoor goal than putting in some mileage on local choss. They have plenty of power and raw fitness to spare, but they lack technique and redpointing skills. Unfortunately the transfer of gym fitness to outdoor success is way lower here than a place like The Red. You'll see this everywhere from The Nutcracker to the 12- finger cracks at Donner Summit. Even a place like Jailhouse is full of weird beta-intensive, smeary feet and funky kneebars. (That said, OP, you're likely an experienced enough climber to avoid falling into this trap.)

In my opinion, one Mickey's sesh and one Mortar Rock sesh a week will give you a huge edge approaching your weekend projects over just climbing the random new set at the gyms 2-4x a week. Throw in one sesh a week on plastic if you have the time and energy, but I'm a fairly similar level climber to you and saw big improvements when the gyms closed and forced me to spend more time during the week on real rock (even if it's local choss). 

Owning a good headlamp for routes and some rechargeable lights for bouldering, packing a dinner, being willing to climb late, and monitoring the tides at Mickey's compulsively will unlock a lot of possibilities. Being able to drive against the direction of traffic after work (i.e. driving toward Marin from Berkeley) will also be huge for you. Several of my harder redpoints last year were at Mickey's by headlamp during or after sunset. Watching the sun slip down behind the Pacific while clipping bolts is 100% worth the hour drive. You'll see seals and whales and laugh at the suckers crowded into Ironworks.

Off the top of my head, I just counted up about 35 sport routes from 5.11b to 5.13b in the greater Mickey's Beach area (Main Rock, Emperor Boulder, The Egg, and Surf Safari). Most of these are 40-70 feet in length with bouldery cruxes and/or surprisingly technical movement. About 10 additional routes 11c-12c have gone up in the last year at new crags in the Mickey's area (not yet on the Proj) and will be in the new guidebook (shouts out to Noah, Lucho, and Jim). 

Being in Berkeley, Mortar Rock and Grizzly Peak should be 10-15 minutes from where you work. Both of these crags have countless variations on boulders that are great for training power endurance. Climbing at the V8/V9 level is a perfect place to be for these boulders. The good crews and ample Youtube beta mean you can really dial in on limit projects. There are also hard boulders at the Mickey's Beach Main Rock and on the Are You Experienced boulder at Stinson with nice sandy landings (for half the year at least). Mt. Tam also has quite a bit of hard bouldering and should be about the same distance as Mickey's. 

Finally, I just want to reiterate that Jim Thornburg's guidebook is an amazing resource, and the new editions will be coming out soon. 

Richard Randall · · Santa Cruz · Joined Jun 2016 · Points: 0

I've been really happy with the outdoor climbing here since covid, especially Mortar and Mickey's. Mortar has been great for fingery limit bouldering, and Marin has a lot of neat sport routes ranging from slippery & technical to steep & juggy. While the Marin rock is so-so, the setting is pretty unique even among the more 'exciting' climbing spots I've traveled to - it's pretty neat watching the sunset over the ocean from partway up a climb and realizing that in normal times you'd be waiting in line for a route in the gym at that same time. Getting out after work is reasonable in the months with long days, especially if you live in Oakland/Berkeley and/or can game the traffic to have a fast drive someplace. 

Local cragging aside, the east bay's 3-6 hours from dozens of amazing climbing areas, a handful of which are "world-class" spots that people base entire vacations on. It's pretty awesome to have access to so much on the weekends. Instead of spending a few hours on Friday night watching netflix, you spend it listening to podcasts in the car, and then you wake up in Yosemite/Tahoe/Needles/Bishop/Shuteye/etc. It can be a lot of driving, but those kinds of places make it worth it.

Nkane 1 · · East Bay, CA · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 465
Matt Miccioli wrote:

Many climbers in the Bay are stuck in a routine of hanging out at the gyms during the week and underperforming on the same Yosemite/Tahoe/Sonora classics on the weekends. 

I feel seen.

Lorenzo de Amicis · · Seattle, WA · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 15

Matt and Richard, this is gold.  I appreciate you sharing your thoughts along with all the others on the local scene. It's clear that taking advantage of the local crags during the week can take some extra planning but is well within the realm of possibility.  This is exactly what I needed to hear in order to have realistic expectations while maintaining a certain level of psych.  Thank you all again for all the info and I'm sure this will help others that find themselves in similar situations.  

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northern California
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