Best town/climbing community in PNW

I live in Eugene, and love it. But if you want all sorts of climbing year round, I'd reccomend Bend. Like under a half hour from smith rock, and under and hour to loads of cascade peaks for alpine climbing oh and did I mention the wealth of backcountry skiing to be had? If you don't like any of that there are still some awesome local central oregon crags and if you ever get hot there are plenty of rivers you can start running. Anything outdoorsy Bend probably has you covered.

JCM wrote:The best climbing town in the PNW, by a huge margin, is Squamish... The main downside is that is in Canada. If you need to find work this could be a significant issue, but if you are not looking for work this would be an inconvenience worth dealing with.

There's also this pesky thing called an immigration visa that you might need. Have a look at cic.gc.ca/ctc-vac/getting-s… if you'd like to do a reality check.

I dont think Canada considers BC "PNW". They have their own regional terms, is my understanding.

JCM wrote: With regard to the big cities (Portland vs. Seattle), you could debate all day which one is a better place to be as a climber (the correct answer is neither).

This made me laugh because it is so true! I pretty much quit climbing for a year when I moved up here because the climbing around Portland (50 mile radius) left so much to be desired.

Hey Pam,

Personally I see Ellensburg as a great area, small town however it is a college town. It's smack in the middle of the state so you are in the middle of everything. It's not too far from Frenchman coulee (vantage), north of tieton, an hour away from Leavenworth, about the same from bend area.

hood river is pretty sweet for outdoor activities,

and some of the better climbing oregon has to offer (outside of smith/trout)

close enough for day trips to smith and trout creek,

and several good local crags within 30 min drive.

great access to skiing resort and backcountry, if you are into kiteboarding its huge, mt biking,

good community too!

Joe Buxton wrote:Hey Pam, Personally I see Ellensburg as a great area, small town however it is a college town. It's smack in the middle of the state so you are in the middle of everything. It's not too far from Frenchman coulee (vantage), north of tieton, an hour away from Leavenworth, about the same from bend area.

When did Ellensburg move to about an hour away from Bend?

Didn't think of Hood River as necessarily a good climbing town, with that said HR is an awesome town besides the tourist. Quality of life their is pretty high if you can swing it.

mediocre wrote: When did Ellensburg move to about an hour away from Bend?

Assuming they meant "north" bend / exit 38, etc.

Mike Brady wrote:Didn't think of Hood River as necessarily a good climbing town, with that said HR is an awesome town besides the tourist. Quality of life their is pretty high if you can swing it.

Hood River has long since moved on to being a year-round community with an entrenched base of locals. The late 80's early 90's days of it being a small town that expanded by orders of magnitude in the summer are long gone. It still gets tourists, but it's matured and change in so many ways over the past 20 years. Definitely a multi-sport town as opposed to a climbing one.

There's also a long term trend of tech business moving into the area which will likely continue for the foreseeable future.

Back in the windsurfing heydays there was no local climber scene, just summering Boulderites and really no developed areas. Now there is a local climber scene and lots of small local crags have been developed and Trout Creek & Smith are relatively close at hand.

Pete Spri wrote: Assuming they meant "north" bend / exit 38, etc.

"North Bend: The Other Bend"

Healyje wrote: The late 80's early 90's days of it being a small town that expanded by orders of magnitude in the summer are long gone.

Not sure if you have not been going out there lately but the fall/winter is pretty mellow and the spring/summer is pretty much a zoo. In the summer it is a chore just to cross main street and don't even bother trying to eat anywhere except on top of the hill.

There is good access to decent climbing though. Klinger, Pete's, Bulo, Area 51, Lost Lake and Spirit World are all pretty damn close.

Mike Brady wrote: Not sure if you have not been going out there lately but the fall/winter is pretty mellow and the spring/summer is pretty much a zoo. In the summer it is a chore just to cross main street and don't even bother trying to eat anywhere except on top of the hill. There is good access to decent climbing though. Klinger, Pete's, Bulo, Area 51, Lost Lake and Spirit World are all pretty damn close.

I'm down in PDX now, but used to own the shingled ex-Luthren Church at the corner of 9th & State and another place down the street. Trust me, however bad it is now it pales compared to what it was in the late 80's / early 90's - it was a much wilder zoo and clusterfuck then.

I'm glad I never witnessed that :)

walk out da door n KLIMB

thats all the PHAT bear growled ...

;)

Jplotz wrote: "North Bend: The Other Bend"

Truth!

If I could move anywhere in the PNW and was going to pick a PNW town based on the climbing community then I would definitely move back to Colorado. Aside from that, if you just want communities that have climbers in them as well as access to all kinds of climbing then start with Leavenworth/Wenatchee and Bend/Redmond