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Living in Chico?

Original Post
Darren Gemoets · · Albany, NY · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 0

What's life like as a climber in Chico? Curious about the moutain/road riding, boating, and skiing as well.

Stonebhikku · · boulder, co · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 221

There's actually a lot to do in the area . Bid well park is rad , I heard Gary fisher actually used it as his stomping grounds for his prototype mountain bikes . Myself and a few friends developed probably over 50 routes and variations in upper Bidwell park , up to 13- most top rope because of a no permanent gear sanction but some heady trad and a few scattered bolts if you can find um. Creek playing rock jumping millions of boulders to be climbed , a few really great established blocs .
Tahoe is 2 hours away , Shasta area has a ton of stone , established and not , lassen area has stone , I mean it's a pretty amazing little gem in Northern California and has close access to most of California's playgrounds.

Good beer!
Good smoke !
And a lot more hit me up if you want some more specific beta

Born and raised

Justin G88 · · Leavenworth · Joined May 2015 · Points: 230

If you are willing to drive an hour north to Redding there is a pretty sweet limestone sport crag there. If trad is your thing, keep going and hour north to the Castle Crags just south of Mt. Shasta its great adventure and alpine stile climbing. And there is the other Lovers Leap north of Shasta, but at the point you might as well go to Tahoe (closer and better climbing). If you ever want to climb in Redding or the Shasta area feel free to hit me up. 9o8-216-43 nine 3. or jgelb88@gmail.com

wsperry · · Lafayette, CA · Joined Aug 2014 · Points: 115

Chico was my college stopping ground. Such an awesome town/community. The outdoor scene there is greatm like mr. stone said upper bidwell has a lot of MTB/ swimming/ a little climbing. Grizzly dome is a little less than an hour way depending on how your driving and there are some pretty cool trad & sport lines there. Like Justin said, there is a spot in Redding called the shredding that has some steep limestone. Not to mention Sierra Nevade Brewery is in Chico. Its an awesome town.

Ryan Pfleger · · Boise, ID · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 25

So what is the best source for info on climbing in the area? Mountain Proj? Is there a guidebook? It is warm enough I imagine you can climb all winter if it stays dry, yeah?

Justin G88 · · Leavenworth · Joined May 2015 · Points: 230

For the Redding area MP is probably your best bet. If you go further north to the Mount Shasta Area, there is a Mount Shasta Area Guide Book by Grover Shipman. I have seen in larger stores like REI, so its around.

Steve Maxey · · Merced, CA · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 0
Ryan Pfleger wrote:So what is the best source for info on climbing in the area? Mountain Proj? Is there a guidebook? It is warm enough I imagine you can climb all winter if it stays dry, yeah?
Mountain Sports (a shop downtown) has good information, and I actually really miss the shop. They sell a pamhplet/guidebook for grizz dome, though I think most of the climbs are listed here on MP.

The shredding is mediocre, at best. Pigeon cliffs (I forget the other name for the place...little roadside crag)is mediocre. Bald rock is mediocre. Lots of undeveloped/kind of developed areas in the Feather River Canyon. Easy drives to truckee/tahoe areas.

Mountain and road riding has been covered. You will not get bored. Chico has some of the most beautiful terrain for riding of any type. Period.

Boating is damn near unbeatable. You've got two or three really good runs within a 40 minute drive, and way more beyond that. Good size boating community.

Fishing is top notch, and is probably what I miss the most.

It gets hot in the summer, but not unbearable. Winters can be wet, but have nice days in there to get out.

I miss it a lot...
Stonebhikku · · boulder, co · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 221

Steve has some good info on the river fishing boating , however, the climbing which he claims as being mediocre is actually really fucking stellar if you find the right climbing crowd to get you there (if you wanna know ...ask me) bald rock is great .. Lots of boulders , the dome itself boasts 1300 foot routes still being put up... (So much development in the NorCal area right now) the upper park area like I had mentioned is so chalked full of stone that with an eager eye and some work would still probably yield another 50 routes on top of the 50+ there. The pigeon cliffs that Steve mentions is actually really amazing sandstone, bullet hard. Trad from 5.6 to 5.12 and sport all the way up to 13c or so. The shredding is still seeing development and it hosts some other great NorCal test pieces and quality routes , (even Todd skinner made it out here to this spot in the 90s , it's special ) In other words if you want to come here for climbing, you can find that .. I learned to climb 512 here and easily could have found my share of 13s and everything in between if I put the work in.
It's adventurous and exciting, and it's waiting to be taken advantage of, find the crowd and your in.

Ryan Pfleger · · Boise, ID · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 25

Thanks for the info. Moving down there first week of May to be with the girlfriend. I knew the pedaling and paddling were good, but she is more of a climber and she just started work there on Tuesday. Still looking for a place to live. I am catiously optimistic. She is coming from Tahoe, with high standards, so not sure she will be impressed. On the other hand, I am coming from Boise, home of polished basalt columns that fall down every spring. If it's not total choss, I will probably like it. I know this is the wrong place, but would a narrow 13' raft be fun to have down there? I have an Aire Super Puma which is great for Idaho, but wasn't sure if the water is big enough there, or if it is kayaks only. Looking forward to the pedaling for sure. If you don't mind, I'll message you for more info Stonebhikku. Thanks again for the info everyone.

Stonebhikku · · boulder, co · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 221

Send me a pm I'll tell you what I know .

Muscrat · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 3,625

Ok, i'm a little biased, i put most of the beta for the area on MP, climb here a bit, etc, BUT that said, this is the book to get
amazon.com/Locals-Guide-Cli…
And Bald Rock Dome has an amazing amount of potential, this last year a couple of us put up an 11 pitch 5.11a route out there, with potential for literally dozens of lines, scores of lines. It is an hour out of Chico +/-, stellar granite, etc. And empty and quiet. And no, it is not on MP, yet.
Upper park is great all year, really only top rope, the rock is very friable, and very enforced no permanent gear (the park service regularly checks).
Lassen, six months out of the year, has some great routes, sport and trad, 5.7 to 5.14 projects, with more potential, and again, almost always empty.
Friend has put up 40+ new lines at the shredding, well worth some time. There is a regular (weekly?) crew which comes up from Chico to work their projects.
And rain for all of it is an issue, of course.
Hit me up if you want to talk.
Stone Bhikku! Youz d'man! (Peace and love)

Steve Maxey · · Merced, CA · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 0

It's been a few years for me....I was probably too dismissive of the rock quality -- the other guys are right.

I was part of an "early" shredding group, and there wasn't a lot there at the time. The "new" crowd that moved in made the place less fun/safe, at the time. I'm sure it's fine now.

They are also spot-on in that BRD is excellent, but you're going to have to work for it. Same goes for the FRC and how much really excellent rock is up there. There are a number of classic lines up there well beyond Grizz...there's a lot of fun to be had in the area bordered by 99/70/32/Almanor...Plumas Co. is just straight underrated in the State...

I stand by my comments on Pigeon Cliffs (what the hell was it called? Hazard Zone? Loading Zone?)

There are a couple of bolted lines (or maybe just anchors?) in upper park that AFAIK have been there for years...?

Bring the raft. The feather has a couple of really good runs inside of a 1.5 hour drive that are good for rafts. Nothing really sketchy. Easy striking distance to the American runs, too.

splitclimber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 18

So much good stuff in that region. Get Bernard's guidebook and you will see all the goods. I never talk about the bc skiing and boarding. :)

Ryan Pfleger · · Boise, ID · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 25

In Chico this week, looking to climb Sunday the 20th through Wednesday. Any of you locals getting out? I'd love to tag along.

Josh Hutch · · State of Jefferson · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 90

The weather isn't looking so great for Sunday/Monday....

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northern California
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