you have a month off in Feb or March where to go

Well i'm looking to possibly take a month off of work this time of year as its usually slow this time of year for me. I would like to stay in the U.S and am currently climbing 5.9+ -5.10b's on sport lead. I havent done any trad leading but have seconded a few times.

Main things i'm looking for are potential to find someone to climb with.

place to camp for up to a month, or place that is not far from multiple climbing areas to get some variety.

preferably decent weather i do ice climb but this would be for rock climbing.

open to your suggestions. work sucks i need to climb more

I'd put in a plug for southern Utah, down by saint george. I was there in May/June, and found a good variety of bolted routes. definitely lots of really cool stuff and lots of areas.

I had a tougher time finding camping, although i bet if you looked harder than i did you could find some good stuff.

I dont know about any other areas specifically, but i think you'd probably have to stick to the southwest. maybe look into red rocks and j-tree although i'm not sure whats there in terms of sport climbing.

If you felt like leaving the US, Potrero Chico in Mexico is close, and would probably be in prime season.

Maybe Joshua Tree?

JJNS wrote:Maybe Joshua Tree?

A 5.9 sport leader that doesn't climb trad isn't going to have much fun at Jtree.

You're kind of limited that time of year. I can't speak for "The South", but there's not a lot of destination sport in the southwest. Unfortunately Southern California really isn't known for it's sport climbing, and even so, you're going to be severely limited if you max out at 10b in Sport. Perhaps Red Rocks would be your best bet and with some luck you could meet up with someone who has gear and experience that'll take you up some longer stuff, for a change of pace. Camping kinda sucks though, and I have no idea how the social scene is there as far as meeting partners.

Edit: you should look into Arizona, lots of little crags and some decent sport.

I'd guess that the best way to go someplace that has sport climbing, decent weather, and find people to climb with would be to participate in the Red Rock Rendezvous

mountaingear.com/events/def…

But that's just the third weekend in March.

Quick search of sport routes 5.6 to 5.10b at Joshua Tree found 171 results. Just saying. I was more thinking about weather. I would agree that Red Rock might be a good suggestion but I think camping for a month might be a headache.

If you are driving/camping, I would come south on the I-15 through St. George, Utah (Black Rocks, Snow Canyon, Crawdad Canyon, Prophesy Wall), then hit Las Vegas (Red Rocks), continue south to Barstow, CA (New Jack City), then head for JTree (Plenty of sport routes, you just need to look/ask around a little). From JTree, you are within a couple hours of numerous other sport areas (Apple Valley, Riverside Quarry, Echo Cliffs, Malibu Creek, etc...).

You can usually find a partner at JTree just by hanging out at the Hidden Valley Bulletin Board (competency is hit or miss) and there are enough climbers in SoCal that you would probably be able to find partners through the "Partner Finder".

JJNS wrote:Quick search of sport routes 5.6 to 5.10b at Joshua Tree found 171 results. Just saying.

Perhaps you know the area better than I. There are still plenty of areas and routes I've never been to or done there, but I can only think of a handful of sub 5.11 climbs that I would consider "Sport".

JJNS wrote:Quick search of sport routes 5.6 to 5.10b at Joshua Tree found 171 results. Just saying. I was more thinking about weather. I would agree that Red Rock might be a good suggestion but I think camping for a month might be a headache.

It's worth bearing in mind that many "sport" routes at Josh are merely ones you may not need to bring gear on. However, compared to a typical sport area like Williamson, Malibu Creek, many of them are NOT going to feel like sport routes any more than many of climbs at Suicide Rock would.

Eric Foltz wrote:If you are driving/camping, I would come south on the I-15 through St. George, Utah (Black Rocks, Snow Canyon, Crawdad Canyon, Prophesy Wall)

Having been to several of these areas, they superb in the summer heat, so probably better in the winter temps! Snow Canyon has great camping, but is fairly pricy, and has a maximum of 7(?) days you can stay during peak season. However, they do have drinking water, showers, power (if your RV'ing) and spectacular views. and if you plan on climbing in snow canyon, camping there gets you around the park fee!

Red River Gorge for sport climbing. You can find partners on their climbing forum:

redriverclimbing.com/

Edit: Ok, I take that back. I think it is too cold to climb in KY then.

just out of curiosity, how cold does it get in the RRG in March?

El Potrero Chico, Mexico. You will love it at the grade you are climbing. Weather should be pretty good as well. There are more pitches of moderate, well protected sport climbing there than I have every seen anywhere else. You probably would be able to find a partner as well.

Smith Rock (OR)can be good that time of year, but it can also be bad.

Southern Utah/ St. George area, where others have suggested, is also a good bet.

If you have 4 wheel drive, there is Homestead in Southern Arizona. But there are also a lot of other great places in that area as well. Jacks Canyon can be super nice at that time (although cold at night)- and that is a moderate mecca, and super protected - great sport climbing, and a great place to test your limits!

Mt. Lemmon

Owens River Gorge out side of Bishop would also be good in March for sure. It would be possible to do this and Red Rocks in the same trip, 4 hrs apart and another 4 hrs from Red Rocks to J-Tree, hit all three.

Fat Dad wrote: It's worth bearing in mind that many "sport" routes at Josh are merely ones you may not need to bring gear on. However, compared to a typical sport area like Williamson, Malibu Creek, many of them are NOT going to feel like sport routes any more than many of climbs at Suicide Rock would.

A lot of the old school "sporty" bolted routes at Josh seem to be classified as trad routes in the database.

PRRose wrote: A lot of the old school "sporty" bolted routes at Josh seem to be classified as trad routes in the database.

Exactly. I've seen 5.11 sport climbers back off 5.9 face climbs at Josh. While that probably says more about those particular climbers than the routes themselves, it does give you an indication that most of those routes (at least the easy to moderate ones) aren't going to be clip and go type stuff.

Hey everyone

Probably pushing this trip back to the month of January, so i have a few questions.

I was thinking of Starting out in J tree WIth a buddy of mine who is a guide and is willing to teach me as much as he can for a few days so i dont want to pass that up. But what is the weather like in Jtree this time of year.

Also was thinking of driving up to bishop to do some bouldering after this. Is it going to be cold and covered in snow? HAve no idea what weather is like that time of year. Would love to hit Yosemite also but from pictures i've seen looks to be covered in snow in January.

If I were to start out at J tree then work my way back east Stopping at Red rocks and St George, what are my chances of finding a partner to climb with, and what is the camping situation likeand is there any free camping anywhere.

Lastly, how do you go about finding a partner and then knowing if there competant enough to not kill you.

Thanks

I know that you said US, but I am going to put in another vote for El Potrero Chico. I could go on and on about how cool the place is, but you can do a search and find 100's of other trip reports that talk up the place better than I ever could.

For sport climbing in the range you are talking about and finding partners, EPC cannot be beat IMHO. BTW, it is also relatively cheap and a very short drive south of the border. If you stay in Hidalgo, you will have no problem with the violence that is plaguing other parts of Mexico...

Wherever you go, I hope you have a great trip.

Queen Creek Canyon. Super fun, was there last year in February.

I don't know why only 1 person has mentioned Owens River Gorge! Like he said 4 hours from J-tree and 4 from RRG. Not to mention tons of climbing there, good weaather, good food and lots of camping. Also several other smaller areas nearby. J-tree is great, but not for a sport climber. Good luck.

• edit* You want more options? Learn to trad!