English climber with a possibility of moving to Sacramento - advice please.

Good evening all,

I may, in the not too distant future, have the opportunity to move to Sacramento. 

I am writing to inquire about:

1) the local climbing community > specifically if there is a community of people who climb outdoors a lot, driving from Sac? 

2) what Sac is like as a place to live? Are there any particularly appealing areas for a 25 year old to live? 

Thank you in advance,

Conor

Lots of climbers in Sac, on the weekends they drive east and climb around Tahoe. Or head south, and you're in Yosemite Valley in 4 hours.

I don't live in Sac so I don't know the 'community' there per se, but I live in Tahoe and half the people I meet at the crag are from Sacramento.

Thanks for the quick reply kendalt! 

Hey Conor,

Sac has a large climbing community situated at the crossroads of two major highways through the Sierras that both have great trad crags all up and down them. I wouldn't say it is sport climbing heaven, but there are some worthy crags for that too.

As well, it is a very reasonable ~2.5hrs to Yosemite from there for larger objectives and if you are interested in exploring there are still many lifetimes of FAs to do all over the place.

Pipeworks is a world class gym in mid-town Sac, Granite Arch is in Rancho Cordova about 20 minutes away....neither will hold the committed back and provide great training.

Sac is also a very friendly town, without the snobbishness (lool) of SF which I find comical as I grew up there. Nothing funnier to an SF local than an out-of-town trendy transplant that thinks he's cool.

Drawback to Sac is VERY hot summers. :(....and the gyms bake a bit....but there is always a high altitude option within a few hours for real climbing and ideal temps.

Living close to your work is always ideal, imo. All else will follow from that. Basically the Downtown/Midtown area is pleasant if you like urban-scapes (and associated trade offs) further out either hwy 80 or 50 is suburbia but with the attendant commute to work (but not horrific like LA or SF though you might think so...)....good news is if you live outside of town you can be cragging within about an hour on world class stone which will make getting out of Sac that much easier.

Welcome.

Conor Shepherd wrote:

Good evening all,

I may, in the not too distant future, have the opportunity to move to Sacramento. 

I am writing to inquire about:

1) the local climbing community > specifically if there is a community of people who climb outdoors a lot, driving from Sac? 

2) what Sac is like as a place to live? Are there any particularly appealing areas for a 25 year old to live? 

Thank you in advance,

Conor

Personally, I wouldn't want to live in Sac Town.  It's just too far from the mountains for me.  Yes, it's just a couple hours away, but far enough that it would be a pain for me.  For some people it's not a problem at all, but just realize that although you are relatively close to some amazing climbing, you're not that close to any climbing.  

Ken Noyce wrote:

Personally, I wouldn't want to live in Sac Town.  It's just too far from the mountains for me.  Yes, it's just a couple hours away, but far enough that it would be a pain for me.  For some people it's not a problem at all, but just realize that although you are relatively close to some amazing climbing, you're not that close to any climbing.  

Commuting to the mountains beats commuting to work 5 days a week, imo. :)

I live in Sac. It's a pretty cool little city. Lots of bars and brewerys, some nightlife, growing food scene. I recommend living in the city itself, not an outlying area where things can be sketch if you don't know your way around. It gets hot as balls in the summer but we have the river, and the coast is just a couple hours away. If you're used to a big city it might feel quiet to you, but if you're from a small town it's probably just right. You can find a good time if you want to.

The climbing is excellent up the two main highways into the mountains, 50 and 80. Lovers leap, donner, and a bunch of other climbing areas are all within a couple hours of town. Lots of skiing etc as well in winter. I don't know that there's a specific local climbing scene as such, but we do have a lot of climbers so it won't be hard to make friends. There's a decent climbing gym in town, Pipeworks, and plenty of friendly people go there.

It's a cool place to live. I moved here a few years ago and found exactly what I was looking for between the chill city life and access to outdoor sports. Good luck. Let me know if you do end up here and I'll buy you a beer.

King Tut wrote:

Commuting to the mountains beats commuting to work 5 days a week, imo. :)

I totally agree with you there!

Infinite outdoor fun to the east.  Climbing, mountain biking, skiing...

Nothing redeeming to the west, unless you go all the way to San Francisco.

There are climbers everywhere these days.

Where are you moving FROM, Conor? And what do you like? 

Don't confuse Sacramento with a big city like London or NY or Los Angeles. But it's a nice mid-sized city that you could make a nice life in. It's the center of the State government of California, which is why it's a bit more sophisticated than other Central Valley towns. 

Sacramento is a very nice mid-sized city in the middle of farm country. The weather can be oddly harsh. The heat has been mentioned, but winter has terrible cold fog. The main thing is you WILL be leaving town to get to rock. If your work requires you to follow normal hours, you'll be competing with a lot of folks on the highways. The secret to living in California without undue suffering is to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Heading east on Friday night with every other outdoor enthusiast in northern California is ... unpleasant.

For a closer climbing option, don't forget the Cosumnes river gorge. Also there's mosquito coast. These aren't crags to write home about, but they are serviceable and about 40 minutes closer than anything else on the way to Tahoe. 

caughtinside wrote:

Nothing redeeming to the West? Like the coast??

I lived in Sacramento for several years and thought it underrated as a climbing town. It is true, there is nothing local, but the amount within 1-2 hours is pretty good, and it's a good jobs center with and airport.  

Summers are hot... so you go to Tahoe.  It is important to have access to swimming during July-August, a local pool is ideal, but there's the river too. 

Anyone moving to Sacramento that believes they are going to enjoy the ocean is going to be severely disappointed.

You may want to live on the east side of Sac because it's closer to the mountains.

You don't want to live on the west side of Sac because it's closer to the beach.

A Johnson wrote:

For a closer climbing option, don't forget the Cosumnes river gorge. Also there's mosquito coast. These aren't crags to write home about, but they are serviceable and about 40 minutes closer than anything else on the way to Tahoe. 

You've also got the Auburn quarry which IMO is much better than either of those crags, but again, not great, and probably a bit too far for an after work session with most jobs.

Sac itself is pretty okay, but the proximity to Yos and tahoe make it an ideal place for trad climbers. Granite arch is a great and unique gym, they have tons of cracks, and even have a chimney.. No a/c tho! Summers in sac are too hot for me unfortunately. 

caughtinside wrote:

That's a weird way to look at it.  Yeah, you're not going to the ocean every day but it's an easy day or weekend trip.  As to what side of town to live on, I would make that decision based on where you'd work and the neighborhoods you like.  I lived in midtown and loved it.  Living farther east doesn't get you that much closer to the mountains. 

I'm referring to the suburbs east and west of the city.  I lived in Roseville and regularly mountain biked in the Auburn hills after work.  The Quarry wasn't developed at that time but now that's a likely a great summer evening spot.  In the winter I would occasionally bail from work early and ski at Donner or Boreal for an afternoon.

On the other side, there's Davis.  A nice town but pancake flat farmland and nowhere to go play in the hills without driving east through the city.  Weekday evening destinations are very limited.

Northern California beaches are beautiful but are not what many people expect.  More like England than Baywatch.

caughtinside wrote:

Well its all opinion I suppose. I would live in Davis over Roseville any day. I also don't consider Davis a suburb of Sacramento, despite the proximity. 

Davis is to Sacramento what Santa Cruz is to San Jose. Definitely not a sub-anything to Sacto.

Dave Kos wrote:

Infinite outdoor fun to the east.  Climbing, mountain biking, skiing...

Nothing redeeming to the west, unless you go all the way to San Francisco.

There are climbers everywhere these days.

I have to disagree there, the Vacaville boulders are hardly 40 minutes west of Sac and they're pretty sweet. 

Thanks for all the advice and discussion. Plenty to think about.

Another question: where would your ideal US location be for year round climbing, with decent social life possibilities? Work is not a huge issue as it is largely remote. 

Conor

Define "decent"?

A SF Socialite would consider Denver beneath their notice.

A Londoner would find SF "quaint".

There is no urban area that has good climbing so close year round in the states that isn't a bit of a backwater....

Top climbing "towns" with a young and active population would be Boulder/Denver...Salt Lake City....Sacramento....Austin...Portland has a commute to world class climbing....but nothing is truly in a real "city"...despite what most Americans (especially in the West) might think.

You gotta realize Conor is that the American West is basically empty by Euro standards....