Moving - Analyzing the options.

if you're a primarily a sport climber, Lander WY isn't on your list? Sinks and Wild Iris both nearby, TS canyon is about 2.5 hrs away and the Wind River range is in your backyard. it is a fairly small town, however. but good vibes and plenty of rock.

I have looked at Lander some. I am also adding Chattanooga to the list as I love Southern Sandstone more than just about anything. No snow sports to be had but the rock around there is amazing. Plus all my family live in south Alabama so i could climb with my brother at least every 4-6 weeks. Summers suck there, but I have climbed at the Red a many of times in August and it was tolerable.

Eric Carlos wrote:I have looked at Lander some. I am also adding Chattanooga to the list as I love Southern Sandstone more than just about anything. No snow sports to be had but the rock around there is amazing. Plus all my family live in south Alabama so i could climb with my brother at least every 4-6 weeks. Summers suck there, but I have climbed at the Red a many of times in August and it was tolerable.

Chattanooga is a great option, especially if you can replace snowsports with some kind of paddling. The only complaint would be somewhat limited length of the rock. For multi-pitch, one generally sacrifices rock quality in exchange for length. If you have a healthy affinity for choss, on the other hand, it can be awesome!

Another great thing about Chattanooga is the cost of living: it's pretty damn cheap. That means you can take trips to the Red/New/WNC/Beach more often. Oh and Sunset is great in the summer if you don't mind getting a little sweaty.

Chattanooga area (within say 1.5hr radius) has my favorite rock in the country. And I've climbed in about every "destination" area in the US. Cost of living is great. The town itself is much, much better now than when I was spending time climbing there in the 90s (I grew up in ATL).

But, and this is a big one. The weather sucks for climbing. Hot as hades in the summer, humid all the the time, rains a fair amount all year. Along with that humidity and rain, you get the bugs. I hate skeeters. No issues with them here in the desert.

You might look at Reno, Bend.

You could do alot worse than somewhere like Palm Springs. Wicked hot in summer, but you buy a Tram Pass and boulder up there at altitude during the peak heat where you'll find temps in the 60s. Also have the Big Bear areas (Holcomb, etc), Black Mtn for summer heat. Quarry is a decent sport area, New Jack. There's a new gym down there and couple more about 30min away. JT about 30min, Vegas is reasonably close, Bishop is weekend distance, as is Mt Lemmon. Plenty of good food and such for a small town. Lots of retirees, home prices aren't outrageous (especially for SoCal).

You could move to Minnesota. It's cold and there isn't much climbing...

Given the OP’s criteria (sport climbing within 30 min, climbing gym, good scene of local climbers, snowboarding, culture, food scene), I would give Bend a second look. It seems like the OP dismissed it summarily based on the lack of variety in climbing options. This is a fair critique; they have Smith, Trout, some local bouldering, and that is about it; it is a long drive to any other areas too. Still, this might be a downside worth accepting, since Bend meets the OP’s criteria brilliantly in pretty much every other way. Also, even though Smith is just one area, it is one really big, really good area. At a number of the other locations mentioned in this thread (Durango, Reno, etc.), the sum total of all the sport climbing within an hour of that place—even if it is at 10 different crags—doesn’t add up to be anything close to one Smith. Honestly, neither of those places (Durango, Reno) has much locally to write home about from a strictly sport climbing perspective—I wouldn’t move to either place for the sport climbing. Moving to Bend for the sport climbing would be something worth considering.

I’d also strongly consider just moving up the hill to Glenwood/Carbondale. They are small towns, but have quite a lot of culture and amenities for a town its size, especially when you include what Aspen offers. There’s also a ton of sport climbing very nearby on at least 3 different rock types, an adequately year-round rock season, good positioning for road-tripping, good ski/snowboard options, etc. The only piece of the puzzle missing is a climbing gym.

Or just skip out on the sad offerings of North America and move to Europe. If you want culture, sport climbing, and snowboarding all in one place, look at Grenoble, Innsbruck, and Trento.