Have a chance to move to LA. How's the climbing?

If you surf and climb consider SoCal. If you don't surf there's much better places to live for climbing.

Tradibanwrote:

If we ban sport climbing they will stay in the gym, safer for them anyway.

We both know you’re a double agent, and truly a closet sport climber, and gym aficionado.  

https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/106667787

Grendles Modorwrote:

We both know you’re a double agent, and truly a closet sport climber, and gym aficionado.  

https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/106667787

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

           -Tradiban

Andrew Ricewrote:

Most people don't work 8-5 any more, gramps. 

Andy, People that are employed full time ( much of LA) do work about 8-6, even if they work from home. Maybe you’re unemployed or work for a few days a month or work the night shift. Maybe you’re retired or a student or trust funder or dealer. That’s not corporate America, blue or white collar. That’s not most adults aged 20 something to 60 something . Homeless people can’t afford to take road trips to climb . And if self employed you work 60 hrs a week . 

Guy Keeseewrote:

Karl…. I can drive 3 hrs one way and be in the middle of the southern sierra. FA’s everywhere to be found- the rope kind- and we walk through untouched boulder fields to get to them. If Boulders are your thing, why do you follow the crowds and go to Black Mt? It’s nice and all that but if you searched around for the spots- that smart folks do not post on MP- you might find some gems. You know that about 3 hours- due north from LA one can find probably THE finest bunch of pebbles this side of Utah! No lie. I have said enough, some of my friends might do me harm if I gave up the goods. A hint: knowing how big boulders are born and the fact that they roll down hill to valleys and google earth is your friend.
And heck everybody knows that LA has Stoney Point our shining jewel. :>) 

Be well 

Why do I follow the crowds? Because as a parent with a job I'd rather climb on established lines. Going out and spending what little time I have potentially developing something isn't worth the ROI. I've definitely searched around locally and the weird So Cal "you gotta be in my approved circle" vibes make it a pain in the ass. Your response just illuminates how stupid it is- how is one supposed to just magically get to this inner circle? I climb on my home wall or at the gym in the morning and there isn't exactly a ton of people present to just loop me into these hush-hush zones. In Nor Cal it was fairly easy to get access either by word-of-mouth or honestly half the time I would just cold call/message someone and say "Hey wanna go climb" and they would be down. In So Cal you see the same 5 people at the same 5 boulders 5 weekends in a row and unless you are an exact clone of one of their friends they will never actually loop you into the inner circle.

And honestly lets be real the rock quality at Black, Tram, Josh, the newer areas proximal to those 3 is quite poor compared to anything in the Sierras. Lets not pretend its actually as good as people down here sell it to be.

Grendles Modorwrote:

We live in a state with some of the greatest alpine rock and stable weather, with the Sierra. Throw the Needles and Yosemite, into the mix, and yet, your statement rings true.

Bring back Kevin Worrall and his rants against the gyms.  Actually, more people should stay in the gym.  The crags got trashed more during COVID when the gym crowd drifted outside. 

In the Bay Yosemite was 3.5hrs from my door to the bivy. A quick Google Map in Friday traffic shows that Yosemite is 8-9hrs. We left for Red Rock once at 1:30 from San Diego and got outside of LA at.... 5:30. Our friends that left at the same time got into dispersed camping near RR at 11 with a single stop. A week later we left at 8:30 and were there at 1:30, but you can't just take a day off every week to drive 10-11hrs roundtrip to climb. Bishop is the same story unless you live outside LA traffic.

I've seen just as many "experienced" climbers do pretty stupid shit at crags- stashing pads in the park at Tram, surface shitting, leaving tape and wrappers everywhere, acting like themselves in public- its endless!

Diego Climberwrote:

Andy, People that are employed full time ( much of LA) do work about 8-6, even if they work from home. Maybe you’re unemployed or work for a few days a month or work the night shift. Maybe you’re retired or a student or trust funder or dealer. That’s not corporate America, blue or white collar. That’s not most adults aged 20 something to 60 something . Homeless people can’t afford to take road trips to climb . And if self employed you work 60 hrs a week . 

My name's not Andy. Thanks for telling me how work works, Gramps.

Karl Walterswrote:

In the Bay Yosemite was 3.5hrs from my door to the bivy. A quick Google Map in Friday traffic shows that Yosemite is 8-9hrs. We left for Red Rock once at 1:30 from San Diego and got outside of LA at.... 5:30. 

Just curious, why would you go to LA on the way from SD to LV?

Karl Walterswrote:

After living in San Diego for 2 years, I feel the So Cal climbing (at least bouldering) is extremely overrated. Black Mountain was heralded as World Class, but it is basically the chossier version of South Lake Tahoe. Joshua Tree is cool if that's your thing, I particularly find the sharp and crumbly rock as well as weekend crowds anything but relaxing. LA does have SD beat in that there is less traffic to get to LV or Bishop. One can blow through most of the accessible climbing fairly quick and the sheer quantity of rock is far, far smaller than Nor Cal.

Frankly, the cost of living isn't lower than up north either. I did drive slightly further to climb, but it was worth driving 3.5-4hrs to Yosemite vs traffic and 3.5 to get up to Black. There are for sure worse places in the country to move for climbing and I'm a bit jaded at how oversold LA/SD were.

Well thats because if you're only bouldering you're truly missing out on all the climbing SoCal has to offer.

Taylor Neffwrote:

What is the climbing community there like? Is it open and friendly?

Poor Taylor.  I think by now, after 7 pages of this hilarity, there is no chance in her lifetime she will ever move to LA.  And even less chance of her ever moving to San Diego.

Dan Nguyenwrote:

Well thats because if you're only bouldering you're truly missing out on all the climbing SoCal has to offer.

Shitty old school runout stuff? Do pray tell inform me of this epic climbing that is NOT attached to some narrative such as "well back in the day" OR "you just gotta find out where the stuff that isn't online is" like its a fucking treasure hunt.

Andrew Ricewrote:

Just curious, why would you go to LA on the way from SD to LV?

Because that's where the 15 goes. You don't go through LA, but anywhere around Temecula will be backed up and 215 is often a fucking mess. You hit traffic from Temecula to Murrieta, and then again in the Riverside clusterfuck, and then once more before getting on the 215. You can take the 247 to Barstow, but that only cuts off one potential traffic hotspot and isn't actually faster unless shit is really bad East of Riverside.

This is all much shorter if you live in Riverside, but then you also have to live in Riverside.

Karl Walterswrote:

Shitty old school runout stuff? Do pray tell inform me of this epic climbing that is NOT attached to some narrative such as "well back in the day" OR "you just gotta find out where the stuff that isn't online is" like its a fucking treasure hunt.

No, not even close haha. There’s safe, easy, fun sport climbing. There’s safe, easy, fun, gorgeous trad climbing. There’s fun multi pitch places and single pitch crags.

Judging a whole region off of its bouldering is just plain silly. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

And excuse my ignorance here, but I honestly don’t know any region of the country that is completely renowned JUST for its bouldering (that Joshua Tree can’t compete with).

How anyone from San Diego can complain about L.A. traffic or L.A. being a dump is as unself aware as can be. 

As Guy has said you make what you make of what you have. L.A. like most other large cities & many small ones is a shit hole. Its saving grace is it has a thousand diamonds if you look for them.

Karl Walterswrote:

Shitty old school runout stuff? Do pray tell inform me of this epic climbing that is NOT attached to some narrative such as "well back in the day" OR "you just gotta find out where the stuff that isn't online is" like its a fucking treasure hunt.

You’re right. Who could ever enjoy Tahquitz, the old stomping grounds of Royal Robbins and Yvonne Chouinard, and home to epic adventure trad? Even worse, there’s an entire other climbing area with a vastly different style from the same parking lot — the gawd awful Suicide Rock. JTree is definitely horrible…I climbed there for 20 years and barely scratched the surface. New routes are added monthly - way too much climbing…really sucks. For lazy or abbreviated days, Malibu Creek, Big Bear, and Texas Canyon were just horrible for their wide range of sport options. Red Rocks and Southern Sierras are within striking distance for a longer weekend, but those areas suck too.

To add to the suckiness, I once was subjected to a perfect 5,000 foot snow/ice couloir on the Snow Creek route on Mt. San Jacinto…2 hours from my Simi Valley house. So effing shitty.

Yeah. LA really bites. Texas is where it’s at.

Bottom line is you are going to have more good climbing close to Tucson, within 2 hours, while LA is going to have more world class climbing within 5 hours. LA is the second biggest city in the US after NY, so you have to be okay with that.

Although entertaining to read, this thread is absolutely ridiculous. For some people Los Angeles works and others it obviously won’t.

The locals have known for decades that the Santa Monica Mountains running through Los Angeles ( Purple Stones, Tunnel Boulders, Saddle Peak, Piuma Pinnacle, Malibu Creek State Park, The Slab That Time Forgot, Point Dume, Black Flower, Corpse  Wall, Tick Rock, Calabasas Peak, and Echo Cliffs to name most but not all of them ) and the areas north of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley (Still in Los Angeles such as Stoney Point, Martians Landing Aka Garden of the Gods, Box Canyon, and Rocky Peak ) provide many areas to enjoy excellent bouldering and rope climbing. I have now been climbing  in Los Angeles for 50 years in addition to traveling to many climbing destinations all over the world and find the local climbing and weather excellent.

David Katzwrote:

Although entertaining to read, this thread is absolutely ridiculous. For some people Los Angeles works and others it obviously won’t.

The locals have known for decades that the Santa Monica Mountains running through Los Angeles ( Purple Stones, Tunnel Boulders, Saddle Peak, Piuma Pinnacle, Malibu Creek State Park, The Slab That Time Forgot, Point Dume, Black Flower, Corpse  Wall, Tick Rock, Calabasas Peak, and Echo Cliffs to name most but not all of them ) and the areas north of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley (Still in Los Angeles such as Stoney Point, Martians Landing Aka Garden of the Gods, Box Canyon, and Rocky Peak ) provide many areas to enjoy excellent bouldering and rope climbing. I have now been climbing  in Los Angeles for 50 years in addition to traveling to many climbing destinations all over the world and find the local climbing and weather excellent.

Don't bring experience, and logic, to this discussion!

Diego Climberwrote:

Guy, no you can’t. The outbound drive is ten hours on every holiday and every weekend and returning from anywhere on any road is ten hours. Stop making up fantasies. And you’re in a distant suburb. Not all of so cal is distant suburbs. Enough with the delusional cheerleading. People who work 8-5 live in the real world. 

Not My… you are dead wrong my friend, I live 8 miles from the City of Angels. Holidays can be and are an issue to be sure. But personally I find San Diego to be far worse driving wise. I feel for my SD brothers and sisters when I head south and see the sign- by Mammoth. San Diego 405 miles.
So keep spewing BS if it makes ya feel good.

later