Moving to Salt Lake City

Howdy!

So as the title states, I am moving to Salt Lake City in June after graduating from Texas A&M.

I am looking for a climbing partner who will be willing to show me all the great climbing areas. I can lead 5.10s but have very little experience in crack climbing. I want to get into trad and I'm starting to build a little rack but I have not had the opportunity to find a mentor and really learn what I need to know.

I am also still looking for a place to live so if anyone has any suggestions for an apartment (or needs a roommate) near West Jordan it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Jason

Hey Jason,

As for partners, find them when you get out here and are available to climb. With so much local rock available, people don't plan months out here; many don't plan further than hours out. SLC has tons of climbers so it is not a problem to find partners if you have gear and are motivated to get out.

As for housing, again pretty far out to line up a room rental. I will say that I would recommend Sandy or Cottonwood Heights near the mouth of Little Cottonwood or Big Cottonwood. Otherwise you might want to live more up toward the University of Utah around the area of Sugarhouse Park. I would say the highest concentration of climbers are in these areas. Also with housing given this is Utah you often need to state whether you want to live by LDS standards. It can help to say your budget too, with utilities rooms can often be found between $350-$650/month.

Hope that helps.

Cheers!
Ken

Thanks for all the info Ken! After calling a few places I have found that most places will not say availability until much closer to June.

One other odd SLC quirk is many things which would normally be on craigslist are on ksl.com classifieds. Still free like CL. Only big difference is people seem to interface with text and phone calls more than emails.

Jason,

Finding climbing partners shouldn't be a problem once you get there (to your local gym), but your living situation could make things harder or easier.

Why did you pick West Jordan for living? If you have never been to Salt Lake, I would recommend exploring the area in person before you commit. It would be worth the trouble to spend a few days driving around the city. You could even consider looking for a summer sub-lease from a UofU or Westminster student until you get your bearings.

Do some internet research to figure out the grid system. It's pretty useful once you get the hang of it.

Most (all?) of the local climbing is on the East side of the city, and you will have much better access if you are on that side of town and close to I-215. All of the climbing gyms are east of I-15 (though some just barely), and I think the climbing community is predominantly on that side also. I found the culture to be quite polar depending on religious affiliation, so be upfront with yours to find a good fit for housing. In general, the northeast part (east downtown, Univ of Utah) is younger and more diverse, and the culture becomes more family-oriented and LDS as you move south towards Sandy. Personally, I think Sugarhouse or north Millcreek is a good compromise. I am a single, twenty-something, non-LDS male, and I would not enjoy living in Sandy or the Cottonwood areas due to cultural differences (but the cottonwood canyon climbing access would be prime!).

Enjoy the climbing! There's volumes of it and a lot of variety.

Definitely use KSL classifieds over craigslist for housing.

Fantastic information! Thank y'all very much.

I chose the West Jordan area because that is where I will be working and so I was going to try to minimize the morning commute.

I did not know the difference in culture varied that much. I am not LDS but I have mostly been looking in the southern portion. It would be nice to get up there and explore before I move up there.

Thanks for the advice!

Jason,
I used to live in SLC in the late 90s, and would look hard at the south sugar house area., commute would be minimal, better culture ;)

Well, I finally made it up here! I ended up getting a place in Midvale. I like it so far.

So if anyone wants to head out to the canyon let me know! I work until 5 on weekdays but after that I'm free for the most part.

im up to climb , im in layton 9315486724, schoolroom in ogden is closest to me