How is Tuscon?

Raytheon just announced plans to build a facility in Tuscon. I want to apply. How good are the climbing opportunities there?

What about other activities, biking, hiking, camping, weekend trips, and airports?

I'm not from Tucson, but have spent time there. Pretty darn good place, but gets really hot in the summer. Look up Mt Lemmon and Cochise Stronghold. Quite a few other AZ locations within a day's drive, but Lemmon and Cochise are pretty major.

Joshua tree or Vegas 7 hours, Indian Creek 8+.

Mountain hick summed it up pretty well. You'll be hating life a bit from April or so through October or so--maybe a good time for a vacation to northern climes. But you can actually still climb in summer if you drive up to the top of Mt. Lemmon (summit is around 9,000') and stay in the shade. Road and mountain biking are pretty good. Several pro teams usually spend a few weeks in December and January down there to get in some miles. Check out the "Shootout" ride from UofA on Saturdays at 6a.m. or so--I think they have a couple of different groups who go at different speeds now. Plenty of racing teams and more casual group rides. For camping and weekend trips you have all the little mountain ranges across southern Arizona ("islands in the sky") which have elevations between 7,000-10,000 feet...Chiricauhuas, Mt. Graham, etc. Spring and fall would be the best camping seasons. Flagstaff and the SanFrancisco Peaks (7,000-12,000')is only four hours away or so and there is good summer climbing around there (Paradise Forks, Sedona Overlook). Baboquivari Peak, within a distant view to the southwest, is a fun adventure climb and even has big wall potential. Then there's the already mentioned Cochise Stronghold, of course. For airline flights, I love the Tucson airport because it is so small and easy to navigate--but, you may not get the direct flight you want from there. Sometimes, for price and/or convenience, it is actually easier to drive up to Sky Harbor in Phoenix and fly in/out there. Spend some time on the travel sites to find what works for you. So, it is a nice place--have fun!

Large, crowded, traffic, hot.

It's hot for about 9 months out of the year. June, July, and August are REALLY hot. But even on the hottest days, you can go to a shady crag at the summit of Mount Lemmon (just north of the city, 1-1.5 hour drive) and almost be chilly. This time of year, you can climb at the lower elevation crags, which are only a 20-40 minute drive from the city. Mount Lemmon has enough routes by itself to keep you busy for years, but there's a lot of different climbing within 4 hours of Tucson if you want a change of scenery. Most crags on Mount Lemmon are a 15-30 minute hike, but a few are practically roadside.

Also check out The Dry Canyon and Milagrosa. Milagrosa is 5.11 heaven and the Dry has stuff up to 5.13s.

Daily life in tuscon:

Kevinmurray wrote:Large, crowded, traffic, hot.

Haha. This ^^^

Metro area of 1,000,000,bumper to bumper traffic on I-10 at rush hour,45 minutes to get anywhere.certainly not as bad as the valley of the inferno or L.A but large and crowded. I lived in southern AZ. for 14 years and only went to Tucson when I really had to. Hell the first time I went to Tucson in 1971 I didn't like it then.Saw no redeeming value to a city with a main street named Speedway.

where's tuscon?

City of Tucson website says metro area 650k+ with Pima Co. 1.2M. But who's counting.

Tucson sucks in every way possible and I only live here because I have masochistic tendencies.

So yeah, don't move here.

Lemmon has great climbing, and lots of it. Cochise is supposed to be another great destination. Southern AZ also has a pretty good climbing scene. That said, I wouldn't move there, and driving from Phoenix 9 out of 10 times I go north to climb instead of south.

I lived there for about 8 years and the climbing is pretty great if you don't mind the heat. In the winter, Mt. Lemmon and Cochise have a great number of options. There is a little bit of bouldering around and a few smaller crags like The Dry. Further north you have great climbing near Sedona and Flagstaff. In the summer you can head up north or go to the top of Lemmon for less hot climbing. Like others have said, a lot of other places within an acceptable drive such as Vegas, Joshua Tree, Hueco, Moab/Indian Creek, etc.

I'm originally from Nogales, and visit family sometimes several times a year.

Yes, traffic sucks, but you can choose to live closer to where you work or play.

Biking is a big deal, I just this weekend participated in the Tour de Tucson, 10,000 people on five or six different groupings for different distances. Saw people from all over the U.S., and everyone was very friendly.

The Sonoran desert is the most beautiful in the world, and actually records lots of rain, especially during the monsoon season in June-July, hence the flora is gorgeous.

That being said, it does get hot, but so does L.A., where I live, and you can't climb in J.T. in the summer either, and Taquitz and other destinations like Alabama Hills get pretty burly too. However, the climbing season from October to May is pretty awesome, Mt. Lemmon is world class and only one hour drive to most destinations, and Cochise has great climbing that will take you years to discover, also only about one hour from the City.

Restaurants and night life have improved tremendously, so the quality of life is pretty good.

And, most importantly, here's your chance to improve your Spanish and eat REAL Mexican food. Chupa tus dedos on that.

jg

Though I'm biased in favor of PHX over Tucson cuz I live in PHX, Tucson offers lots of fantastic climbing. Mt Lemmon, as folks of said, has over 3000 routes and you can find comfortable climbing up high in the summer. June-Sep will be literally hot as hell, with temps usually cooling down mid-Oct. Cochise, Babo and Mendoza Canyon are great places, but you won't want to be there in the summer. You have a four or five hour drive to get up to northern AZ to beat the heat. Lots of folks like the area and it has a strong, close-knit climber community.