Moving to Bellingham in April

I'm hoping to climb lots of long alpine routes this summer and was wondering what areas are good to go in the spring. Index and Darrington look excellent. I am also interested in climbing around Squamish and the North cascades.
I'm also looking to meet climbing partners who are relatively easy going but also have a high level of stoke. Hit me up!

I live in Bozeman but am happy to travel to climb, especially if destinations include Index and Squamish and good friends ;)

Hey Ben!!

most of index is south facing so it's pretty great for cragging in the spring. look for the facebook group "Climb Index!" A lot more Seattle folks than B'ham folks go there. squamish is great to get fast on longer routes as there are more moderate routes that would better simulate moving fast on alpine rock.

i'm in grad school now, and getting married in august so time is somewhat limited, but index trips are high on the list of things i like to do. feel free to PM me.

I also used to live in bozeman, and i think i climbed once with B-Mkll at scorched earth, but i can't remember from the pics!

Local crags - in descending order of all-season climbability:
Erie, Index, Squamish, Darrington, WA Pass, North Cascades.

Leavenworth tends to be somewhere in the middle, depending on which crag - Peshastin highest (longest season), Snow Creek Wall lowest.

Weather dodging is a crucial skill around here!

Curtveld wrote:Peshastin highest (longest season)!

Except Peshastin is closed throughout much of the late fall to early spring, I believe.

If you're a sport climber climbing 5.11 and up, your options for rainy day climbing branch out quite a bit in Squamish and a few local crags around Bham. Chek Canyon in Squamish makes great rainy day climbing (with fixed draws, so you can lower off if upper parts of routes are wet). Climbed there several weekends in October and November this past year, sometimes in a total downpour.

Be ready to drive a little bit and build a wet rock tolerance and you'll have a good time. If you're also a backcountry skier, mountain biker, or trail runner, you couldn't be in a better location. The North Cascades and Coast Mountains have character building weather for sure, but more long adventure routes, traveses, and epic potential than you could do in a lifetime. Make friends at Vital Climbing Gym. Enjoy!