Maybe moving to Pittsburgh - Is climbing legit?

So I might be getting a job in Pittsburgh but wanted to hear from some of the folks on the forum how things are in the area?

Is climbing pretty good? Being from North Carolina I'm at least 2 hours away from any climbing and about 4 hours away from the good stuff in the western part of the state. It seems like there might be some fairly close climbing to Pittsburgh, how is it? or should I just put in the extra hour and go to the New?

Any thoughts or ideas for or against living in Pittsburgh from perspective of climbing and out doorsman's perspective?

Do drivers suck as much as they do in the Raleigh area because I swear it's everyone's personal goal down here to cut you off right before getting to a red light and if they're on the interstate it's their mission to fill up all 4 lanes side by side and go the same speed as the person in the adjacent lane. i.e. is traffic a huge cluster fuck in the area?

What about ticks at the crags? seems like PA is the 2nd in the nation for lymes disease, is that a big problem for climbers since we tend to be in wooded areas that ticks like?

Cheers from Northern Cackalacky

the pitt climbers mostly hit morgantown crags and the new. morgantown crags are mostly closed. great bouldering around you but cragging limited unless 40 ft topropes are your style. I have beta to some secret areas around morgantown that will keep one fit on the steep if you pm me.

You're about 3-3.5 hours from Seneca Rocks in WV, if I'm not mistaken.

I know there are a large number of boulders around, but they are not well documented. I was talking with some locals at the gym when I was there visiting in-laws over christmas. Not much tall stuff but maybe something decent in Ohiopyle

The SWPA bouldering is pretty unreal. Tons of stuff, really good rock, and tons of development currently underway. Seneca is about 3.5 hours away, the new is about the same. The daks and the red are long weekend trips.

It's not a terrible place to be honestly. I go to school at Pitt.

Mountain biking scene is pretty good as well if that's your thing.

Look up Explorer's Club of Pittsburgh.

best real climbing is at Seneca and the New - both 4 hours away. There is some day trip stuff closer - Coopers and McConnells Mill. Also look at the Laurel highlands - lots of crags there. Don't overlook Cumberland either. Most of the local stuff is just short 40-60 foot boulders...

Plenty of outdoor stuff to do in Pittsburgh, and the climbing is not bad if you are willing to drive. Drivers aren't too bad, but traffic does suck from the tunnels and bridges. If you are staying there long-term I recommend renting for a while until you figure out which side of the river/tunnel you want to be on.

Climbed there for 10 years and never had problems with ticks. Can be a lot of poison ivy.

If you have more questions let me know. There is a definite climbing scene in Pittsburgh. It centers around the Explorer's Club (and the local university clubs) and the Climbing Wall. They are usually pretty welcoming.

Stagg54 wrote:Look up Explorer's Club of Pittsburgh.

Second this. I've run into plenty of EC folks in WV and even as far out as Rainier. Seem like a good group that gets out.

Nice thanks for the comments guys, glad to hear it's not too terrible. Right now that doesn't sound too different in terms of travel time, from raleigh you're looking at 4 hours to get to the glass and bald areas on the west side of the state.

Yeah the job I'm looking at is at Carnegie Mellon, after commuting in Raleigh for 3 years I wanted to live within bicycling distance to campus because interstates and traffic lights suck.

How are the winters, I've heard it can get pretty cold up their, but on the flip side, that lends itself to potential ice climbing so that could be a plus.

Mr.Andreson wrote:Nice thanks for the comments guys, glad to hear it's not too terrible. Right now that doesn't sound too different in terms of travel time, from raleigh you're looking at 4 hours to get to the glass and bald areas on the west side of the state. Yeah the job I'm looking at is at Carnegie Mellon, after commuting in Raleigh for 3 years I wanted to live within bicycling distance to campus because interstates and traffic lights suck. How are the winters, I've heard it can get pretty cold up their, but on the flip side, that lends itself to potential ice climbing so that could be a plus.

There's some local ice. Most of it is mediocre. but it's good for a burn. There's at least one really good place, but it's kinda a well-kept secret, but if you hang around the Explorer's Club long enough, you could probably talk someone into taking you. Kinzua Dam is probably the best local ice at 3 hours away. There's a bunch of smaller stuff down by Ohiopyle.

Best bet for ice is heading to the Adirondacks. I hear the Catskills are also good and a little closer, but I never made it there.

Western PA is gods gift to rock climbing. No need to cross borders.

matt snyder wrote:Western PA is gods gift to rock climbing. No need to cross borders.

Depends on what you like. For bouldering its supposedly pretty good (I'm not a boulderer). For single pitch sport it is ok. For single pitch trad it is passable. For long multipitch trad, it is non-existent.

For good single pitch sport and trad best bet is the New. I am partial to Cumberland for that as well.

For multipitch trad, Seneca is about it within a 4 hour radius. I hear good stuff about Harper's Ferry and Delaware Water Gap, but never been to either...
Chickies Rocks is also in PA and is ok for multipitch.

Good to know. I was checking out Seneca and that looks pretty impressive, definitely going to have to check that area out sometime.

Yeah I'm spoiled here in NC in terms of multipitch trad options, only problem is they are 3 to 4 hours away but you can find 3 to 4 pitch routes all over stone, glass, rumbling bald and linville gorge.

I'm not too much of a boulder'er but that's actually how I started climbing was doing outdoor bouldering in New Mexico. Maybe time to invest in a crash pad.

What about area gyms, looks like theres only one in pittsburgh but it seems ok based off their web page.

Mr.Andreson wrote:Good to know. I was checking out Seneca and that looks pretty impressive, definitely going to have to check that area out sometime. Yeah I'm spoiled here in NC in terms of multipitch trad options, only problem is they are 3 to 4 hours away but you can find 3 to 4 pitch routes all over stone, glass, rumbling bald and linville gorge. I'm not too much of a boulder'er but that's actually how I started climbing was doing outdoor bouldering in New Mexico. Maybe time to invest in a crash pad. What about area gyms, looks like theres only one in pittsburgh but it seems ok based off their web page.

That one is alright. It's definitely the best in town. There is another one up North and theres a YMCA one down south. There's also a wall at the university.

UPDATE!

I have accepted the offer in Pittsburgh and will be moving there at the end of May!

Well in the infamous words of Tenacious D ... FUCKALUCKADINGDONG

If anyone has any tips on the city let me know, I'll be working at CMU in Oakland, I'm thinking about what neighborhood I should be looking at living, it's such a short time frame though it could be hard for me to find a place, I'm leaning more towards doing a short two month sublet and then once I'm up there finding a place that I actually want to live at in terms of buying / renting a house.

For those in the Pittsburgh area, Please drop me a line if you want to meet up once I get up there, would be awesome to meet some climbing friends as I make this transition into a new city.

If you're living in Pittsburgh, do not waste time your driving all the way to Chickies in SE PA. In the same amount of time you can be at Seneca or the New, and Chickies does not compare. And while you might break up a couple of the climbs if you wanted to, I'd hardly consider it a multi-pitch area.

As long as you like the idea of city living Oakland is a good spot - lots of apartments to rent and a lot going on due to so many students living in the city - you not only have CMU, there's Pitt, Carlow University, Robert Morris University and many others. If you would like to live still close to CMU but nearer The Climbing Wall, check out "Point Breeze" neighborhood. Shady Side and Squirrel Hill are also nice neighborhoods in that area of the city. The Climbing Wall is much heavier on bouldering than top roping but it's a great gym worth joining.

You already got plenty of good pointers for local crags in this thread. Plenty of great single pitch gritstone climbing within an hour or so of the city. Closest is 45 mins north of the city, known as "The Mills." Ohiopyle also has some tall, hard sport routes, but all single pitch. Coopers Rock is a big bouldering destination with enough bouldering to keep you busy for a looooong time. Also some top roping there.

Ticks fer days in Western PA. For sure. I've spent a fair amount of time in the woods throughout my life and never had a tick until moving to Western PA. Been here since 2007 and I've had probably 5 or 6, and got Lyme disease once. Good times. Long pants and deet are a good idea when off trail.

So welcome to the area. Coming from the South you might find Pittsburghers a little abrasive and direct, but they are usually pretty friendly if you can get used to the style. Drivers suck everywhere, but I do have to say that I have seen much crazier driving down in the Raleigh, NC area where my parents live. People will cut you some slack here and don't honk as readily as some other places.

Don't worry about the weather too much. We get Lake Erie weather so we have almost as much rain and gray days as Seattle. Snow is actually hit or miss. Some years we get almost none and get slammed the next one.

One other fun fact is that for vertical rise and fall we are only second in total to San Francisco... great city to be a runner if you want a good work out. Nothing flat in Western PA. :)

Breakneck is a good little crag close by to get some quick laps. I'd pick it over the Mills or Ohiopyle. There's lots of truly good bouldering in SWPA. Your best bet for a close destination is probably going to be the New.

Pittsburghese

Tons of great bouldering if you are into that, a lot of it is not very public, but once you get to know some local climbers they tend to fill you in on some of the low key hot spots. For crags, what ya see is pretty much what ya get.

Check out the Southwestern Pennsylvania Climbers Coalition on FB. Not a ton of updates on the FB page but it can put you in contact with other like minded climbers that don't hang out on the boards much.

Drivers suck the city is packed never parking but there's a decent climbing gym called the climbing wall also there are a lot of spots about 3 hrs from Pittsburgh either in WV,Ohio but also some decent climbing out in OhioPyle and i heard breakneck is also great I have yet to be there yet

Jared Suppo wrote:Drivers suck the city is packed never parking but there's a decent climbing gym called the climbing wall also there are a lot of spots about 3 hrs from Pittsburgh either in WV,Ohio but also some decent climbing out in OhioPyle and i heard breakneck is also great I have yet to be there yet

Yeah I gathered that parking was sh!t from the one night I spent in Pittsburgh. On a Sunday afternoon not a single place to park in down town and on Sunday night not a single place to park in Oakland within 3 blocks of where I actually wanted to be. I'm going to try as much as I can to just bicycle everywhere when I can. Working at CMU if I can live within 3 miles of campus I should be good and if you take into account traffic and parking it would probably be about the same amount of time as driving. The roads do remind me of Atlanta in terms of being bombed out with mortar rounds ... err pot holes.

I'm actually surprised that there would be anything in Ohio worth driving to, any specifics about where in Ohio that would be good? I thought it was pretty flat and boring.

Hey Mr. Anderson,

"Ohiopyle" is actually a town in PA, not OH. Ohio indeed has very little vertical terrain that I know of. The climbing is quite fun at Ohiopyle, and park also has excellent whitewater rafting on the Upper and Middle Youghiogheny river, as well as good fishing, hiking, biking and nice little touristy town. The main falls are impressive and the reason George Wahsington looked elsehwere and settled on the Potomac for a river route back East in the 1700's. It's big and impressive when water is high.

But be advised - the park and town are one of, if not the most visited state parks in PA, so it's pretty packed out on Spring, Summer and Fall weekends.

Climbing access is pretty easy using the riverside trail. You can bike to the crags along the trail in pretty short order, depending on which one you are going to. A lot of good beta on the crags here on MP. Google Tim Anderson's Ohiopyle guide for more local beta - he's got a lot out there.