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Moving to Maryland - Rock Climbers Suicide?

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911
claty wrote: i think people in the DC area are too focused on their jobs and careers that no one has time for hobbies.
you nailed it besides the drinking hobby. if I lived there again I would probably take up kayaking as my main hobby, squirt boating below great falls is great
Miguel31 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 0

For frame of reference: I life in the North East right now where, luckily I have several great climbing areas around. Rumney is 2h, Pawtuckaway bouldering is a little over an hour, the Gunks are 3.5h.

Thank you all for your great, great responses. Starting with Jake's post it really started to seriously make me think.

What really got me (negatively that is) was claty's post.

claty wrote:[...] lack of partners. [...] trying to pick up partners, and have met a ton of people who either don't climb outside, who can't climb harder than 5.10, or think that one "big" trip a year to seneca or the gunks makes them a climber. it's dire here. [...] i'm not averse to driving 6-8 hours for a weekend of climbing, but it's like pulling teeth finding a partner who is willing to do the same thing. [...] i think people in the DC area are too focused on their jobs and careers that no one has time for hobbies.
That actually puts me off the most. Where I am right now, there is a great community of climbers who take it seriously and for whom "climbing outside" is what really counts and climbing in the gym is really just a necessary evil. Here I have no shortage of people who are willing to go on a climbing stint shoveling through 2 feet of snow and freezing our assess off, projecting a single move on a V10. And I love that!

Even if I decided to go trad climbing (I do have a trad rack): would there be any 5.13 trad? It doesn't sound like it.
Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616

Claty, there's more to climbing than numbers.

Robin Close · · Columbia, Maryland · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 81

Okay, I know I already posted here once (and had a separate conversation with the original poster), but I'm still amazed at how strongly people believe that there's no good climbing here.

Claty, your post more than others made me feel the need to respond again because I think you're right that there's a cultural aspect at work. As a local, I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience here, and would be happy to get out climbing with you if you're lacking in partners. You're absolutely right that many people in the DC area tend to focus on jobs above all else, making recreation an afterthought. It makes sense too, since career advancement is one of the main reasons people move to DC from elsewhere, just like people move to Boulder for their outdoor pursuits or to LA for their dreams of acting. What's important to realize though is that the job-first mentality is really centered around DC itself, and fades as you get further away. I live in Columbia (30 minutes north), where although many people commute to DC for work, it's far enough out to have an identity of its own and escape a bit of the DC craziness. We have a great climbing gym 10 minutes up the road from me, plenty of small bouldering spots within 20 minutes (and a few short route areas). We also have one of the best beer scenes around, since we'd all be lying if we said that our drinking and climbing pastimes are mutually exclusive. Really the only people I'd tell to absolutely stay away are those with a strong preference for sport climbing, since I think it'll be a long time before that really takes hold here.

In addition to the DC culture, the climbers here also have much more of a gym culture than in areas with more visible rock. Most people get into climbing through gyms, and unfortunately the more experienced climbers there are talking about the lack of local climbing, the more the new people believe it and never bother to look. The prevailing mentality is to train in the gym during the week, and then escape to the "good" areas in WV or PA on weekends. I can't tell you how much time I've spent over the last couple years trying to convince people to come out to some of the areas we've been developing within an hour of here, and time after time people prefer to drive 2-3 hours to areas that have basically turned into outdoor gyms. Meanwhile, half the strong climbers from those areas have been coming here to work on projects in our little spots that most locals can't be bothered to check out.

As for meeting people, I've found that to be a little harder when I'm at the Rockville gym than in Columbia, not that there aren't plenty of awesome people there. For anyone on Facebook, the Climb Maryland page is a great resource for meeting people and finding partners, and I know there are other similar groups around. And as bad of a reputation as Northwest Branch has as a bouldering area, I've recently found that to be a great meeting place too and have met new people every time I go out. People are already outside so you don't have to convince them to leave the gym, and unlike in route areas where people tend to compete for space, almost anyone who's out bouldering is always glad for an extra spotter. Obviously we don't have the climbing scene you'd find somewhere like Boulder, but places like that only have it because enough people of like mind were there to create it. Rather than feeling like you've fallen in an abyss, just think of yourself as getting in on the ground floor.

Travis Senor · · Cary, NC · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 60

Hmmm...I actually started climbing period while living in DC, so I'm not *necessarily* inclined to think it's so bad. Then again, ignorance can be bliss I suppose.

As someone else said, get in touch with the Potomac Mountain Club and that'll be your best local resource. You can find good climbing, but you have to be willing to travel a little bit. But the upside is that you get to escape the DC atmosphere fairly often.

That being said, I know I'd kill for the chance to move out west if I could afford to make climbing my #1 priority at the moment. So consider what your priorities are before you move out this way.

...oh yeah, and not *everyone* gets bombed and thinks about work all the time. Just try to avoid that crowd (very doable). It gets old fast.

Robin Close · · Columbia, Maryland · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 81

For the question about 5.13 trad, my answer would be not yet. There might be potential out at Maryland Heights, where a couple of my friends have put up several lines up to the mid to upper 5.12 range recently. Just for context, this is in an spot that most people thought was relatively climbed out, with nothing hard to offer. I think most of our areas actually have potential for harder climbs than have been done, and it's only a matter of having someone strong enough and willing to look beyond the guidebook.

Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480

Claty, you're probably having a hard time finding a partner because you're an pretentious asshole.

There's lots of climbers that climb above 5.10 at Rocks, Illchester, MD Heights and Annapolis Rocks.. even some at ET Timonium. There were a few of them at Rocks last weekend. You could make friends there I'm sure if you were cool Going to the gym to find an outside partner is like finding a wife at a bar!

Miguel.. If you want to keep climbing at 5.14 range and live in DC.. you're screwed. You could still get some 5.10-5.12 action within an hour of DC though.

Chris Kalman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 651

What is the VGR?

camhead · · Vandalia, Appalachia · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 1,240
Kirby1013 wrote:Miguel.. If you want to keep climbing at 5.14 range and live in DC.. you're screwed.
I dunno, it worked for Matt Bosley.

I've never lived in the DC/Baltimore area, but have climbed with a lot of people who have or still do live there. First off, I would not think that you'd have a hard time finding partners. I meet a LOT of hard, committed climbers at the NRG from DC area. Furthermore, that area probably has the greatest concentration of good gyms in the nation, with the exception of the Bay Area.

Basically, if you want to train like hell on plastic, stay really strong, and then are able to make committed weekend trips to WV during the Spring and Fall, you can keep climbing in the 13+ range. And, the sport at the NRG is WAY better than anything in the Northeast, but I'm just biased like that.
Charles Kinbote · · Brooklyn, NY · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 5

Claty gives an honest opinion about how hard it is to find talented outdoor climbing partners in DC and people get butthurt. How predictable. The critics' insecurity is thinly veiled.

The scene in DC sounds similar to the scene in NYC. But worse. I'd run away. Fast.

Derrick W · · Golden, CO · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 868

You won't find anyone in the Potomac Mountain Club who pushes the grades. Great resource for finding gumbies, though.

Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Jake Jones wrote:You may find a few people that climb at that difficulty, but my guess is there won't be that many.
What percentage of all climbers do 5.13? I'm guessing the "top" 5-10%? Think it may be a problem anywhere he goes.
chuffnugget · · Bolder, CO · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 0
Kevin Heckeler wrote: What percentage of all climbers do 5.13? I'm guessing the "top" 5-10%? Think it may be a problem anywhere he goes.
Have you been to Boulder or SLC? 13s are the new 12.
Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
David Sahalie wrote: Have you been to Boulder or SLC? 13s are the new 12.
I suppose it makes sense where people can almost climb all year 'round that there will be more people climbing harder. It's one of the reasons I want to be out West. Weather here is pretty lame and greatly hinders outdoor climbing, especially when limited to just weekends.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
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