Denver Climbing City?

Doctor Chosswrote:

I live in Arvada and have been in the area for over 5 years. Was in Bend before that. I find Denver to be an amazing place to train, but not to spend all my time. There are a select few places with outstanding routes like RMNP / Lumpy, the Platte, Eldo, and The Black Canyon. And you are in striking distance of The Voo and and Moab. But i have found myself consistently on the road 4+ months of the year for the past three years so that I can climb in truly world class places. The climbing in Colorado simply does not compare to places like Yosemite, Squamish, JTree, Gunks, etc. Sure there are great routes here and there but for the most part it is of a different caliber. Where Denver really shines is its world class access to decent climbing, pretty much year-round. As long as you are living on the west side of the city or in a suburb like Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Golden, etc you can be climbing some pretty good stuff within 20-40 minutes of driving with minimal approach. And the gyms around the metro area are pretty dang good too. I've been mostly everywhere at this point, and I haven't really considered leaving Denver. There is a lifetime of climbing in different styles to train on. And when I'm craving real splitters or walls I just hit the road or get on a plane. Also, I can only speak to the trad climbing, but once you are climbing at the 5.10 level, crowds on routes are much less of an issue and I can pretty reasonably hop on what I want when I want. Even at busier crags like Eldo. 

FWIW I’m on the ‘dreaded’ east side of the city (5-10 mins from aurora) and on weekends I don’t think it’s ever taken me more than 40 minutes to Eldo or flatirons or 30 minutes to clear creek and under an hour to staunton.  I think living here only really impedes after-work climbs.

Calebwrote:

The debate between SLC and Denver being the better climbing city is irrelevant.  The comparison is Grass Valley vs Aurora.  Grass Valley is simply a nicer place.  Aurora is urban sprawl bounded by heavy industry and agricultural super-blocks.  There is TONS of climbing accessible from there. It’s awesome, varied, and high quality.  Don’t believe the haters! But the gauntlet of traffic and distance is perhaps the most significant of any city in The Front Range.  I wouldn’t make that move unless it offered major improvements in other areas of life.  Perhaps it’s a major financial promotion, alloys you to buy instead of rent, be close to family, escape a toxic work environment etc.

If you do go for it, you don’t necessarily have to live in Aurora.  Parker, Elizabeth, Castle Rock, and Lone Tree would all be viable commuter options that allowed more straightforward access to climbing.  

As for CoSprings, it’s definitely better than Aurora, but the local climbing isn’t.  Deeper into the mountains the South Platte and Shelf Road are stellar, but the foothill's of CoS don’t offer the goods.  

Personally, I would live in Colorado Springs before Aurora, and Grass Valley before either one.

Yeah, it really comes down to buying a house and getting a job that I would enjoy loads more than the one that I have, but I wanted to do my due diligence to ensure that I can still follow my passion of climbing in my free time!

I dislike denver very much

trailridgewrote:

I dislike denver very much

Elaborate? I moved away due to crowds and traffic. 

The traffic and the people.  The crime is rising like crazy. It is not a safe city. 

H Cwrote:

Yeah, it really comes down to buying a house and getting a job that I would enjoy loads more than the one that I have, but I wanted to do my due diligence to ensure that I can still follow my passion of climbing in my free time!

That makes it a harder call.  You will have to decide if you can live happily in the depths of suburbia.  Lots of people like that lifestyle.  
And the climbing is definitely available. I have lived in Reno/Tahoe, SLC and several other mountain cities. Denver is not my favorite city (I liked Reno the best) but the Front Range has the most varied and developed climbing and the largest climbing community. The gyms are awesome, and you can climb a huge variety of styles within 2 hr drive. Endless granite, other igneous rocks, limestone, extremely unique sandstone, and cobble are all right here. Climb overhanging sport one day, then crystal slab trad the next. Every canyon has nicely developed bouldering, South Platte and Vedauwoo have excellent splitter climbing, Alpine routes of all grades, ice, mixed and sport crags all over. Your long weekend options get even better. Indian Creek, Tensleep, Rifle and many other destinations are a simple drive.

The climbing is not the problem here.  It’s the lifestyle.  Come check it out.  Stay for a couple days and drive around, eat Vietnamese food out of strip malls, hit the gym, crank the tunes and sit in traffic, do some house shopping.  Decide if you can live here.  I guarantee you can climb here.

trailridgewrote:

The traffic and the people.  The crime is rising like crazy. It is not a safe city. 

Denver is very safe.  You sound like a conspiracy theorist

trailridgewrote:

The traffic and the people.  The crime is rising like crazy. It is not a safe city. 

The "crime" in Denver is nothing compared to cities on either coast. I frequent many areas of Denver for work and have not been anywhere that made me feel legitimately unsafe. Compared to most other US cities around the size of Denver, it's chill. If I leave my tools out in the open in my truck they may get snatched, but you're not gonna get robbed at gunpoint. 

I think petty theft drives up those crime numbers. I have never felt unsafe anywhere around Denver, but then again, I grew up around New Orleans which is actually dangerous. 

Denver is going to catch some hate and isn't for everyone. That isn't exactly a hot take

those above promising you won’t be the victim of a violent crime just haven’t been one. Educate yourselves about what happens in your communities.

“The metropolitan area's violent crime rate was higher than the national rate in 2022. Its rate of property crime was higher than the national rate.”

Calebwrote:

That makes it a harder call.  You will have to decide if you can live happily in the depths of suburbia.  Lots of people like that lifestyle.  
And the climbing is definitely available. I have lived in Reno/Tahoe, SLC and several other mountain cities. Denver is not my favorite city (I liked Reno the best) but the Front Range has the most varied and developed climbing and the largest climbing community. The gyms are awesome, and you can climb a huge variety of styles within 2 hr drive. Endless granite, other igneous rocks, limestone, extremely unique sandstone, and cobble are all right here. Climb overhanging sport one day, then crystal slab trad the next. Every canyon has nicely developed bouldering, South Platte and Vedauwoo have excellent splitter climbing, Alpine routes of all grades, ice, mixed and sport crags all over. Your long weekend options get even better. Indian Creek, Tensleep, Rifle and many other destinations are a simple drive.

The climbing is not the problem here.  It’s the lifestyle.  Come check it out.  Stay for a couple days and drive around, eat Vietnamese food out of strip malls, hit the gym, crank the tunes and sit in traffic, do some house shopping.  Decide if you can live here.  I guarantee you can climb here.

For sure, I'll have to come check it out. I honestly hate suburbia, but I think I hate my job more. I'll have to go test that assumption.

j mowrote:

those above promising you won’t be the victim of a violent crime just haven’t been one. Educate yourselves about what happens in your communities.

“The metropolitan area's violent crime rate was higher than the national rate in 2022. Its rate of property crime was higher than the national rate.”

According to whom? 

I've lived in Denver for 30 years and never felt unsafe. Before coming here i lived in New York,  and i for feel unsafe there sometimes. 

I’ve never been hit by a car. Therefore road cycling is super safe.

Type it into your Google machine and see how Denver ranks in violent crime. 

Using a single crime metric for an entire city is a fool's errand. 

Violent crime in cities typically affects the poverty stricken areas, where the victims of said crime are members of the local community. In most cities you aren't going to get shot or stabbed just walking down a random street minding your own business. If you've ever spent time in a city, it is usually painfully obvious where the "dangerous" areas are and when you are in one. Put your phone away, keep your head on a swivel, and avoid people arguing.

Denver is not safe. You may feel safe and that is fortunate but between the stolen cars and mass homeless problems it is not a desirable place to live. The suburbs are OK but really they are just urban sprawl on a massive scale. Track homes in corn fields. 

trailridgewrote:

Denver is not safe. You may feel safe and that is fortunate but between the stolen cars and mass homeless problems it is not a desirable place to live. The suburbs are OK but really they are just urban sprawl on a massive scale. Track homes in corn fields. 

Sure Klan. Sounds mighty white of you

Dont assume my gender 

trailridgewrote:

Dont assume my gender 

Where did anyone assume your gender?  Genuine question.

trailridgewrote:

Denver is not safe. You may feel safe and that is fortunate but between the stolen cars and mass homeless problems it is not a desirable place to live. The suburbs are OK but really they are just urban sprawl on a massive scale. Track homes in corn fields. 

Kind of.  

Parts of Denver are not safe.  Parts are.  

All suburbs are the literal definition of urban sprawl.  

So funny this discussion has the climbing within proximity to Denver as second grade quality. It's not that I want to see more people here, because the Front Range is getting crowded, and has been for all of the nearly four decades that I've lived here. But that is the inevitable result of population increase. Name one halfway decent place in the West that hasn't seen massive growth in recent years.

And for you folks like the SLC dude saying the climbing is REI-quality, what do you consider first grade quality? Little Cottonwood?? Ferguson Canyon?? The sheer number of serious climbers that have made the Front Range their home for decades completely contradicts the statement that it is not for serious climbers.

Sure North Table Mountain is a snake infested pile, but areas such as Eldo, Lumpy Ridge, the Platte, RMNP: those are truly world class areas in terms of quality and quantity of routes. Serious climbers travel from all over the world (without exaggeration) to climb in these areas. 

The quality of life here to live and work is certainly a different (but related) question. So I'm definitely not saying everyone will be able to find that in the way they want here. But I also don't suffer fools very well, and some of the comments here are really laughable. . . but carry on.