Bachelor Party Ideas

Here's my predicament. I'm helping to plan a bachelor party and there are going to end up being between 10-15 of us. Six of us including the groom want to get some climbing in. So we're planning on getting in a few days early to climb then meet up with everyone else for a long weekend. We're currently thinking June so I'm on the hunt for locations. Good climbing (sport or trad) relatively close to a large city as people will be flying in from all over the country. The wrench is the groom lived in CO and wants to go somewhere else so I'll throw it out to the community. Best locations to climb in June that are within 2-3 hours of a large airport and not located in Colorado? Any suggestions?

City of Rocks. Hot springs in town! Throw your party up in Ketchum.

Best, OLH

Canmore? Downsides: potentially expensive flights and assuredly expensive beer. Could try to work it around Calgary Stampede.

Squamish bc , Canmore ab, Leavenworth wa

Usually these threads just feature folks shouting out for their most familiar, local climbing areas, so I'll do that.

Come to the New River Gorge!  Plenty of cabins to rent, great food and live music scene, whitewater rafting and mountain biking for rest days.  Only drawback is that it's not near any major airports.  Charleston WV is about an hour away but can be pricy to get to.  Nearest international is Pittsburgh, a bit over 3 hrs.

I vote Vancouver! Club scene and tity bars rock (OK so it’s been 10 years since I’ve been to a strip club or a bar) An hour and half to Squamish. Another hour to Whistler. The problem with BC is June’s a crap shoot for rain. 

Consider Mallorca?  Not that expensive, the climbing is amazing, lively party scene (if that's your thing), good beaches, easy to get to, and June is perfect. 

Vegas is too obvious?  Or go to Tahoe instead. 

Forever Outside wrote:

Vegas is too obvious?  Or go to Tahoe instead. 

Never been to Red Rock but guessing its pretty toasty in June?

Leavenworth.  Seriously.

June?  I guess Red Rocks is out.  I have not climbed there, but there is climbing in Southern Utah, which is an easy reach from Vegas, so you could meet up there, drive to St. George (90 in June) climb for a few days then back to Vegas for the rest of the time.  May is a bit cooler, so maybe you pull it back a few weeks?

I'd second Tahoe/Reno. The climbing is great, the lake will be great. Reno airport is relatively big and Reno has some fun stuff in town. 

Chattanooga TN! ~1-1.5 hours from ATL, multiple climbing disciplines (not much multipitch however), and tons of stuff to do downtown such as the distillery, kayaking/paddleboarding, and tons of bars and restaurants! It'll probably be humid but a lot of crags are well shaded, and Foster Falls has swimming as an option at the end of the day.

Related- Little Rock City/Stone Fort bouldering is a boulderfield on a golf course, so if any would rather golf, they can do that while others boulder, all at the same place!

Nick Sweeney wrote:

Leavenworth.  Seriously.

++++++

Peter Sullivan wrote:

Here's my predicament. I'm helping to plan a bachelor party and there are going to end up being between 10-15 of us. Six of us including the groom want to get some climbing in. So we're planning on getting in a few days early to climb then meet up with everyone else for a long weekend. We're currently thinking June so I'm on the hunt for locations. Good climbing (sport or trad) relatively close to a large city as people will be flying in from all over the country. The wrench is the groom lived in CO and wants to go somewhere else so I'll throw it out to the community. Best locations to climb in June that are within 2-3 hours of a large airport and not located in Colorado? Any suggestions?

San Francisco is within 3 to 3.5 hours of Yosemite...

Make it in May and go to Vegas! 

depends on what everyone--including the non-climbers--want to do on the actual long weekend. If your group wants to rent a cabin and hang out, Tahoe is an obvious choice... good climbing in the summer at >~6.5k elevations, houses are cheap to rent in the summer (relative to the winter), the lake is obviously great where you can rent a boat or something similar, and if you're feeling some city activities, Reno is only ~45 minutes away.

If all you want to do with the non-climbers is nature hangout or some dive bars, Bishop and the high Sierra would be a great choice. If a bar like Rusty's is all you need, you can easily hang out, fish, shoot guns,  or off road after some days of climbing at higher elevations in the Sierras. It'll be hot in Bishop, but you can always go for a swim and flights to Mammoth airport can sometimes be found for cheap.

Chris Small wrote:

Squamish bc , Canmore ab, Leavenworth wa

Regarding these three PNW options:

Canmore: June can be rainy there; statistically it is their wettest month. Say "June Monsoon" in your best Canadian accent. Otherwise, Canmore could be a fun place for this trip if you like sport climbing and don't mind hiking. But you'd be better off there if you can push the trip to July.

Squamish: Also a nice location, but also a risk of rain. If you are going in late June or later it would likely be good. Early June would be a bit more risky. In recent years June weather up there has been spectacular, but that is not always the case.

Leavenworth: The climbing is mediocre, and the weather can be hot in June. Not worth it.

My vote would go to Tahoe. Good climbing, nice scenery, good food/bar/party options, and pretty reliably awesome weather in June. You could easily fly in to either Reno or Sacramento and have a pretty short drive to get there. It'll be a fun destination for both the climbers and non-climbers.

Pnelson wrote:

Usually these threads just feature folks shouting out for their most familiar, local climbing areas...

Wow you called it! 

June? Disregard the Chattanooga suggestion completely. And while Red Rock is climbable, its certainly not the season to visit Red Rock.

I'd cast my vote for Tahoe or Squamish.

Ten Sleep