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Best sport climbing regions/states
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In your opinions, what are some of the best sport climbing regions/states in the US, and by what justification? For instance, Oregon could get in probably just by it having Smith as its claim to fame, whereas southern CO has several areas, none of which really reach the level of Smith, but collectively offer lots of options. Weather and season length are, of course, concerns, so feel free to focus on it or just the climbing itself. Feel free to opine about other factors, like how much of a shitshow the areas are, as well. |
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What scale are we looking at for regions? An entire state (all of CO) vs. smaller sub regions. In terms of functional geography, CO sport climbing could be reasonably split into various different sub regions, depending how you finely you slice it. Can we group the greater Las Vegas - St. George region together (despite spanning 4 states)? Probably should, in terms of functional geography, and in that case it is #1 by a wide margin. Or perhaps split Las Vegas and St George regions into two separate areas? Just a matter of how large a catchment area we are allowing. |
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Yeah, from a sport climbing perspective it would be really hard to beat Vegas/St. G in any categories. Lots of different rock types/terrain/4 seasons/grade spread. But I guess if you're a climber who likes just one specific way of climbing, like limestone and pockets and aren't interested in anything else then you could just do Lander? It's all opinion but I would guess the majority of opinions would land in the Vegas/St. G area. |
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Sport climbing is good in neither states nor regions. |
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I don't even get how this is a debate: Chattanooga area. Tons of amazing local cragging. Weekend distance from RRG, Obed, and the New. Bullet hard sandstone and steep! I truly feel bad for you if you haven't sampled the climbing out there. |
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La is near a lot and a great variety; Holcomb pinnacle, lake arrowhead pinnacles, frustration creek, NJC, Fairview , horsemen’s, JT, Malibu park, sphinx rock, and tons more laying under the radar. Of north cali wasn’t singing its siren Song to me, la would be a strong contender |
J Ewrote: I have love for NJC, but it is objectively bad climbing: sharp, chossy, slippery, uninspiring. Also JT doesn't really have good sport climbing either. Malibu creek is good, but a colossal shit show every weekend. |
Tristan Pwrote: It’s more the quantity and variety, both in terms of scenery and rock type, which makes it stick out to me. Yeah not the best rock in the world but I had heaps more fun around LA then I did around Vegas. I also like NJC’s rock type but I climb primarily in the 10s |
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I would assume that the region around Slade, KY would be a contender? But as others have said, the answer will depend on whether you’re looking for sheer quantity of routes, diversity of rock types/styles, a particular grade range, etc. |
JCMwrote: Let's say a 3-4 hour driving radius for a "region" and ignore state lines. As far as grades go, I'm thinking a good spread that would allow both beginner and advanced climbers to have some solid fun. |
El Duderinowrote: Reno, LA, Puerto Rico, Vegas Oh and Asheville or chat |
Tristan Pwrote: Does Knoxville have decent climbing? I know obed isn’t far … |
David Mileswrote: 45 min from the Obed, 2 hours from chatt, 4 hr from New, 3 hr from RRG. Also close to North Carolina, but that is mostly trad |
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Definitely not Asheville. But Tennessee in general, and West Virginia, should both be in the running. |
Russ Keanewrote: Ash is equidistant from a lot of famous climbing , only weekend trips though |
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Despite loving my southern sandstone which numerous others have mentioned, Mt Lemmon and AZ should be high on the list....Mt Lemmon alone you can climb all year round and be comfortable doing so...Sorry guys July at the New or Red sucks! |
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Asheville is on the list for one of the best trad regions, not sport though. |
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Time for a tier list. Fodder for debate. US and Western Canada. What would you change here? S tier: Vegas - St George A tier: RRG; NRG; Central WY (Lander, Tensleep, etc); Southern Sandstone (Grouping together East TN and North AL); Western CO; Bow Valley B Tier: Northern UT, Eastern Sierra; West/Central OR (Smith, etc al.); So.AZ; Front Range; Squamish/Skaha C Tier: Northern New England (Rumney, et al.); Southern ID; Western Sierra; Western WA; Eastern WA and Idaho Panhandle; North/Central AZ; Greater Los Angeles; Southern NM; Northern NM; NW Arkansas; Redwood Coast; Western MT; Black Hills D Tier: NY state, southern New England, MN/WI, SoIll, NC, Bay Area F Tier: Nebraska, Florida, and such Takes weather into account, but doesn't weight it too heavily. Over-emphasizing weather and season could lead to ranking Mt Lemmon above RRG, which I can't abide. Higher weight place on quality, quantity, variety, grade spread, etc. Deliberately grading on a harsh curve here. The B tier regions still are major destinations. The C tier regions are still very good. Several of the D Tier regions offer good climbing, just not sport climbing. I didn't rank the Eastern Canada crags, due to lack of familiarity. There's a few other spots like Southern NM and SW VA I didn't know where to place. |
JCMwrote: Florida to S tier and agreed
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JCMwrote: Honestly, I don’t think that you are really familiar with NM. I’d say that Southern and central NM have better sport climbing than the Northern part of the state. It is where the limestone is. Otherwise, you are right…I’d never recommend NM to anyone for a destination trip. |
Frank Steinwrote: You are correct that my NM familiarity is lacking. Have climbed a bit in Northern but not in Southern. Didn't even add Southern to the list first time around since wasn't sure. What tier is Southern NM? Also C Tier? C Tier seems to be a pretty broad catch-all for places that have some great climbing, but aren't quite a major destination. Maybe C tier is getting too big. --- Making some edits to list based on comments. Any of the C tier regions that should be bumped up to B Tier? Or B tier to A tier? |
