Best College for climbing

if you want to stay east bound plymouth state university in NH really cant be beat. 10 minutes away from rumney with endless quality sport routes of all grades that alone could keep you busy for 4 years. Cannon cliff is only 20 minutes away with some of the longest quality alpine routes in the east. 40 minutes will get you to conway with cathedral ledge and whitehorse with dozens of awesome ignored crags in between scattered along tne kangamangus. Just go climb sandstone splitters in UT during spring break and you got everything covered.

Im amazed nobody has mentioned Utah State University in Logan, UT. lots of limestone, and FA potential. It even was rated as one of the top party University's to attend in Playboy magazine...... back in the 70's

Joe Forrester wrote:Without a doubt, The Colorado College is the best combination of education, location, and high concentration of dedicated climbers. Check out the CC Alpine Journal. Garden of the Gods, Turkey Rocks, the Black, the Park, you name it, and CC has crushed it. coloradocollege.edu/campusa… -Joe

Hands down!!! A no brainer. With the block plan, there is plenty of time for climbing too! Not to mention block breaks!!! Pretty prestigous school though and not so easy to get into, but definitely the best combo.

Chase Yarbrough wrote:Stanford (good education, good climbing, and great climbing community) -- hey you have four years to get your grades up =)

Definitely do not come to Stanford and expect good climbing. The climbing within 2 hours is actually pretty lousy (the bouldering is good but don't really like bouldering). You aren't that far from places like the Valley, Tahoe, etc., but you probably won't have much time to road trip during the school year.

Kevin,

There are lots of great choices listed here. A couple of things to think about:

1. A school's academic reputation only goes so far. You still have to do the work. A motivated person at a less reputable school will learn more than an unmotivated person at the school with the best reputation. Remember, this is first about school.

2. A man can not live on bread alone. You will need to recreate while in school and climbing is the perfect release. But, your tastes may change in four years and climbing may not always be your number 1 activity. My advice would be to choose a school/location with a variety of outdoor activities to engage in. Climbing, trails for running or riding, paddling, skiing/snowboarding, etc. You get the idea.

3. Cost will become an issue. Tuition, room and board, books and a little spending cash add up real quick. Debt is easy to accumulate while in school. Even though student loans are cheap, they will limit what you can do once you leave school. Many of my friends stayed in state to go to school, saved money, and went on climbing trips during their school vacations. They walked away from their college days with little to no debt.

4. As the years pass by and your college career gets a little closer start asking your parents to start hitting some college towns while on vacation. It will at least give you a taste of what each town will be like.

5. All of the choices this thread have listed are pretty darn cool. Start a list, fire up google and start looking.

My own bias will always be to The University of Arizona in Tucson and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Both are great schools. U of A is always in the top 20 of all public universities in the country. NAU is one of the best "Mid-Majors" in the country and is loaded with opportunities in a wide variety of degrees. (Hiking the Grand Canyon to learn Geology is pretty awesome...) Both schools are surrounded by several lifetimes of rock, trails, and adventure.

Good luck, have fun, and in a few years let us know which school won out.

Western State College in Gunnison Colorado. There is a great community of climbers and great uncrowded climbing nearby. Taylor Canyon is only 15 minutes away and offers all sorts of trad climbing all the way across the board. We also have the black canyon an hour away which offers unrivaled alpine style big wall climbing. Plus we are close to major climbing destinations, Indian Creek, Castle Valley, Escalante Canyon, Unaweep, etc. etc. Plus the ice climbing scene in the winter is sweet with alpine climbs and an ice park in Lake City and Ouray.

Erik W wrote:Nevermind college picks right now (since it's 4yrs away), go be an exchange student for a year with some family out in the Chamonix valley. Or somewhere in the Dolomites, or really anywhere in the Alps. Wish I would have done that during high school.

Going to germany in 1-2 years, near munich I think, any good climbing there?

Russell Holcomb wrote:Hey Bro, I'm a pimp for Boulder

Need I say anything?

Dusty wrote: Need I say anything?

beat me to it.

You make it back to the Rincon? Jenn and I left some draws up there on Surf's Up. Hope they're still up there...

University of Georgia in Athens, Ga has to be one of the most well kept secrets in terms of climbing.

There is a bridge with a route on it.
There is a world class bouldering area 20 minutes away
There are two world class granite crags within an hour and a half
3 or 4 hours get you to all of that crappy stuff in NC, but I am not sure why you would bother when Sandrock is just as close
Tallulah Gorge looks cool in pictures, but in reality, the climbs are all low angled, softly graded, and chossy.

Lauer wrote:The University of Arizona has a lifetime of climbing in the area and probably the best climbing weather during the school year of any place I can think of.

NAU is great for climbing.

JohnWesely wrote:University of Georgia in Athens, Ga has to be one of the most well kept secrets in terms of climbing. There is a bridge with a route on it. There is a world class bouldering area 20 minutes away There are two world class granite crags within an hour and a half 3 or 4 hours get you to all of that crappy stuff in NC, but I am not sure why you would bother when Sandrock is just as close Tallulah Gorge looks cool in pictures, but in reality, the climbs are all low angled, softly graded, and chossy.

I can't tell if this is a joke, or not. Either way it's pretty damn funny! Sandrock, crappy NC ... I practically peed my pants.

Whitman College should be noted. Not necessarily the best climbing in the immediate are (Spring mountain, Frenchman's coulee) but among the best outdoor programs in the country. Fantastic instruction in rock and mountaineering as well as rescue and medical stuff. They have a brand new climbing wall too. Add to this a very high quality education. Downside = $$$$$$

U of A (where I am now) has FANTASTIC rock in all directions. However, the quality of general undergrad education seems a bit suspect to me...

alpineclub.stanford.edu/

COLORADO COLLEGE!

jarthur wrote: I can't tell if this is a joke, or not. Either way it's pretty damn funny! Sandrock, crappy NC ... I practically peed my pants.

With all of that being said. the SE is the bomb...

Bishop Community College.

You should go to BYU...

You should probably get baptized first though, if ya want a chance at the ladies...

Erik W wrote:Nevermind college picks right now (since it's 4yrs away), go be an exchange student for a year with some family out in the Chamonix valley. Or somewhere in the Dolomites, or really anywhere in the Alps. Wish I would have done that during high school.

Seriously do this. Go through Rotary exchange, and pick a country like France or Italy. You get to write down your interests, and they match you with someone based on that. So write down your three top interests as rock climbing, scrambling, mountaineering, hiking, etc.

I did Rotary short term exchange in high school before I was a climber. I went to Sweden and it really opened my eyes. It's a good experience even if you don't end up in Chamonix. Not to mention, it's a great thing to write down on college applications when that time does come.

I can't believe with all of the engineering talk and the hate towards boulder, no one has mentioned Colorado School of Mines in Golden. 20 mins from Boulder, and located on I-70. Don't get me wrong, I am a CU Alum with an engineering degree, and wouldn't trade it for anything, but Mines has great programs, including a bunch that are not available anywhere else in the country that I am aware of. Heads up though, gotta go to Boulder or Denver to find many women.