Recommendations for a summer climbing destination that is not Squamish

I have the last 2 weeks of August off and I am looking at options for places to go for sport and/or trad climbing (no bouldering) that are within a 24 drive of Seattle.

So far I have come up with:

- Canmore, AB

- various places in WY (Ten Sleep, Lander area, Laramie area, Sheridan area)

- Spearfish Canyon, SD

Right now I am leaning towards Wyoming, with possible pit stops at Tieton River Canyon and the Salt Lake City area to break up the driving. Leavenworth and Index seem like they are too similar to Squamish so they are not up for consideration.

Any other places I should look at?

The High Sierra in general. Base out of/near Tuolumne and go to the Hulk, Whitney, etc.

The Bugaboos of course merit consideration.

I have a heap of possible suggestions, but first some important details to ask of OP:

- More info on preferred climbing. "Sport or trad" is hopelessly broad.  Any particular preference of style there? Multipitch/alpine rock of interest, or cragging focused?

- What grades do you climb? If you climb 5.13 I'd send you to Rifle. But not if you climb 5.10. Etc..

- What sort of camping / trip logistics arrangements?  Car camping? Are backcountry trips an option and of interest, such as a weeklong trip into the Bugs or the Winds? 

- Travelling solo or with a partner?

If you answer these, it should narrow down options a fair bit.

===

Lacking any further information though, my top suggestions if interested more in sport climbing would be Canmore or Ten Sleep. Both offer something very different from Squamish granite.  Canmore is a shorter drive, cooler summer temps, and better scenery, but the camping situation kind of sucks.  Ten Sleep is a longer drive but the camping logistics are super easy.  If travelling solo, Ten Sleep is the better option for easy partner finding.

===

Don't bother stopping at Tieton or SLC in the summer. Both will be very hot. SLC would be somewhat out of your way on the drive to WY anyway.

Hyder Alaska/Stewart CA

Although probably too similar to Squamish

Mike Steele wrote:

If you're going to Wyoming/South Dakota you would be remiss not to do Devil's Tower and a few spires in the Needles. Maybe skip Tieton and stay away from that mess called Salt Lake City. 

We spent a few days at Devil's Tower in 2019, so it is not a high priority for me right now. I haven't been to Tieton River Canyon since 2017 and I would be interested in checking out some of the new crags. I haven't heard a peep about the new guidebook for Tieton River Canyon since the pandemic hit...

JCMwrote:

I have a heap of possible suggestions, but first some important details to ask of OP:

- More info on preferred climbing. "Sport or trad" is hopelessly broad.  Any particular preference of style there? Multipitch/alpine rock of interest, or cragging focused?

- What grades do you climb? If you climb 5.13 I'd send you to Rifle. But not if you climb 5.10. Etc..

- What sort of camping / trip logistics arrangements?  Car camping? Are backcountry trips an option and of interest, such as a weeklong trip into the Bugs or the Winds? 

- Travelling solo or with a partner?

If you answer these, it should narrow down options a fair bit.

===

Lacking any further information though, my top suggestions if interested more in sport climbing would be Canmore or Ten Sleep. Both offer something very different from Squamish granite.  Canmore is a shorter drive, cooler summer temps, and better scenery, but the camping situation kind of sucks.  Ten Sleep is a longer drive but the camping logistics are super easy.  If travelling solo, Ten Sleep is the better option for easy partner finding.

===

Don't bother stopping at Tieton or SLC in the summer. Both will be very hot. SLC would be somewhat out of your way on the drive to WY anyway.

This is super helpful, THANKS!

1) Sport or trad, cragging and/or multipitch. I have yet to do an alpine climb that I thought was worthwhile after factoring in the approach.

2) For sport I can redpoint 5.11d/5.12a and onsight 5.10s. For trad I can onsight 5.9 and redpoint 5.10d/5.11a. Unfortunately I am not yet ready for Rifle.

3) We can car camp or wilderness camp. The more backcountry areas like the Bugs or the Winds are not of interest to me for this trip.

4) With 1 other person, maybe 2

If we went to Canmore then we would probably get conventional lodging. For WY we'd be camping when we're not crashing with friends.

For Tieton River Canyon in August we'd just be climbing at Dream Wall and any new crag that has reasonable temps due to being at higher elevations.

City of Rocks

Tuolumne Meadows and surrounding high country

Khoiwrote:

2) For sport I can redpoint 5.11d/5.12a and onsight 5.10s. For trad I can onsight 5.9 and redpoint 5.10d/5.11a. Unfortunately I am not yet ready for Rifle.

Go to Ten Sleep and you'll be climbing 12s easy (and having a great time doing it). Easy camping and a beautiful spot. I had to chase shade last July, but that's easy due to the orientation of the canyon. Just depends if you want morning shade or afternoon

Khoiwrote:

This is super helpful, THANKS!

1) Sport or trad, cragging and/or multipitch. I have yet to do an alpine climb that I thought was worthwhile after factoring in the approach.

2) For sport I can redpoint 5.11d/5.12a and onsight 5.10s. For trad I can onsight 5.9 and redpoint 5.10d/5.11a. Unfortunately I am not yet ready for Rifle.

3) We can car camp or wilderness camp. The more backcountry areas like the Bugs or the Winds are not of interest to me for this trip.

4) With 1 other person, maybe 2

If we went to Canmore then we would probably get conventional lodging. For WY we'd be camping when we're not crashing with friends.

For Tieton River Canyon in August we'd just be climbing at Dream Wall and any new crag that has reasonable temps due to being at higher elevations.

Based on all this, Ten Sleep or Canmore. Both are great. Look at areas on MP, and go to whichever one sounds more appealing. Both areas deserve a full two weeks; I'd recommend choosing one an not getting sidetracked with too many other stops. I.e. if you want to go to Ten Sleep, just go to Ten Sleep and don't try to visit Lander also (which is too hot and sunny in the summer anyway). Two weeks is just barely enough time to get a proper taste of one of these mega-destinations.

If I had to suggest one, I'd probably say Ten Sleep just for all the great super-soft 12a's that will feel good to add to your tick list. Only kinda throwing shade at Ten Sleep here - the 12a's are plentiful, fun, and approachable. Lots of good 10s for onsight mileage also, if that is your preference.

===

A third area that is a valid contender is Mammoth Lakes, CA. This is a good option if you want a mix of sport and trad. Mammoth as a home base, with ability to make excursions to Tuolumne, Pine Creek, Rock Creek, etc. Downside is that it is largely granite, so not as big a departure from the Squamish climbing you are used to (as compared to Ten Sleep limestone pockets).

===

Many of the other places people are suggesting are backcountry / alpine rock areas, which sounds like it's not your thing.

===

Re: Spearfish. I would not drive past Ten Sleep to go to Spearfish. Not that there is anything wrong with Spearfish, but Ten Sleep is closer to you, a larger destination, and will have better summer conditions.

Canmore is the only place I have spent with more days pants under harness than pants over harness. It was that cold in September. The beta on the internet isn’t great for sport climbing there, there is maybe 10x more listed in the guidebooks.

Terry E wrote:

Skaha, but that might be too close to Vancouver....

I'd go to the Eastern Sierra and do some routes in Vitaliy and Roger Putnam's new guidebooks.

Skaha in August will be blistering even with chasing shade. 

Close to your home, lots of quiet lesser known climbing that are quite good

1) Vancouver Island -- Horne Lake, Crest Creek Crags, Saltspring island, Quadra island, Wapiti valley

2) Powell River - Eldred valley and crags near the city (there is some 5 star climbing here, and lots of new development not reported on the internet, both sport climbing and trad. I HIGHLY reccommoend this place if you like to escape crowds)

3) Bella Coola 

4) Valhalla range

The Bow valley does have pretty fun sport climbing, If you haven't climbed in the Canadian rockies I would suggest that more than heading down to Wyoming or California in August. In the US much of the mountain west will be very hot in August and/or on fire. I personally always head to Canada to climb for August, because I find it simply too hot here (I'm a Canadian ex-pat).

Cory Bwrote:

Close to your home, lots of quiet lesser known climbing that are quite good

1) Vancouver Island -- Horne Lake

Worth noting is that horne lake wont be allowed in August unless the wildfire policy has changed.

, Crest Creek Crags, Saltspring island, Quadra island, Wapiti valley

Is the guidebook out for the rest of the island or where do you get beta for these places. 

The Bow valley does have pretty fun sport climbing,

Bow valley has some absolutely amazing climbs but if your coming from squamish it just be ready for absolute garbage quality rock. Grassi Lakes and ?Cougar Mountain I broke a hold on almost every route. Grassi lakes even has signs and fencing about people who died from rock fall. Absolutely mega classic routes though. 

JCMwrote:  

Re: Spearfish. I would not drive past Ten Sleep to go to Spearfish. Not that there is anything wrong with Spearfish, but Ten Sleep is closer to you, a larger destination, and will have better summer conditions.

I actually find the summer conditions better in Spearfish (and there's also the VC). But its pretty marginal and not worth the 4 hours past Ten Sleep which just has more options, longer climbs, better camping, and a better vibe. 

I do Spearfish from Minnesota on 4 day trips, and will just continue on to Ten Sleep if I'm doing a week or two.

Lander is also great although there is less shade than Ten Sleep.

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:

Is the guidebook out for the rest of the island or where do you get beta for these places. 

Yes - guidebooks available from this publisher,

 can probably pick them up at MEC in Victoria,

It's a bit of a stretch on range, but make your way over to Minnesota's north shore (maybe stop 1-2 places along the way).  It's probably not worth a whole week but there are 4-5 crags worth checking out, the weather will be gorgeous, most crags are in a great setting overlooking the lake, and nothing is more than a 15 minute approach on a good trail.  If it's during the week you won't sniff crowds.  

Math Bertwrote:

It's a bit of a stretch on range, but make your way over to Minnesota's north shore (maybe stop 1-2 places along the way).  It's probably not worth a whole week but there are 4-5 crags worth checking out, the weather will be gorgeous, most crags are in a great setting overlooking the lake, and nothing is more than a 15 minute approach on a good trail.  If it's during the week you won't sniff crowds.  

Don't do this. Nothing in Minnesota is worth leaving wyoming for.

Math Bertwrote:

It's a bit of a stretch on range, but make your way over to Minnesota's north shore...

You're joking, right?

Marc801 Cwrote:

You're joking, right?

We can probably give him a little slack, he's probably operating on Midwest driving standards. We love to drive long distances apparently.

Cory Bwrote:

Close to your home, lots of quiet lesser known climbing that are quite good

1) Vancouver Island -- Horne Lake, Crest Creek Crags, Saltspring island, Quadra island, Wapiti valley

2) Powell River - Eldred valley and crags near the city (there is some 5 star climbing here, and lots of new development not reported on the internet, both sport climbing and trad. I HIGHLY reccommoend this place if you like to escape crowds)

3) Bella Coola 

4) Valhalla range

The Bow valley does have pretty fun sport climbing, If you haven't climbed in the Canadian rockies I would suggest that more than heading down to Wyoming or California in August. In the US much of the mountain west will be very hot in August and/or on fire. I personally always head to Canada to climb for August, because I find it simply too hot here (I'm a Canadian ex-pat).

Beyond Cory's suggestions, I would include Kelowna and Vernon which have areas adjacent to creeks (KLO creek, Rose Canyon) or at higher elevation (Aberdeen Columns, The Boulderfields) to beat the August heat . Revelstoke is another place which is less known but highly appealing.