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Suggestions of places to live with access to the Eastern Sierras or other high quality long trad routes.

Original Post
your mom · · Reno, NV · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 60

Hello All,

Yeah, I know its kinda lame to throw these threads out there but…
So what I am looking for is to be close (20 mins for cragging, 1-2 hours for longer route climbing) to quality climbing AND be within 20-30 mins of a metropolitan area with decent hospitals for work.
I'm a nurse to support my crack addiction and feel I need some Yosemite in my life.

I don’t want to live in a big area, rather a smaller town with like-minded, beer drinking mountain folk. Ocean area wouldn't be bad either.

Lately, I’ve been pondering Truckee CA and working in Reno. Any one do this too? I’ve lived in Gunnison CO, Missoula MT, and now SLC, UT.

Help me out folks! any and all suggestions are really appreciated!

bergbryce · · California · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 145

The Eastern Sierra unfortunately aren't 1-2 hours from Truckee.
~3 hrs will get you to Lee Vining which is where most of the eastern goods start.
Good cragging around Truckee. I've heard that a fair amount of people who do the Truckee -> Reno commute end up moving to Reno due to not wanting to deal with the snow.
Reno's not a bad choice either, good access to lots of good stuff, great climate, jobs, cheap, lots of climbers there too. Not exactly an earthy mountain town though.

d e · · Reno, NV · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 10

Minden/Gardnerville, NV. Cheap real estate, no state income tax. 20 minutes from Woodfords Canyon, 45 minutes to Lovers Leap, 1 hour 45 minutes to the Incredible Hulk trailhead, 3 hours to Bishop. Nice, almost new hospital 25 minutes away in Carson City.

Brice Harris · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 0

Vegas. Red Rocks in your back yard, j-tree next door, and eastern sierra across the railroad tracks. If i liked hot weather and bimbos I'd move there.

vivid2012 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 0
Brice Harris wrote:Vegas. Red Rocks in your back yard, j-tree next door, and eastern sierra across the railroad tracks. If i liked hot weather and bimbos I'd move there.
I don't like hot weather.
Chris D · · the couch · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 2,230

My guess is you're going to have to compromise a little more than you had hoped. I don't believe that the place you describe exists.

You could try a lot of places in Southern California. Where I live, for example (Redlands) I'm:

Less than 30 minutes drive from Big Rock, Mount Rubidoux, some lesser bouldering, and if you drive really fast, some of the lower crags in the San Bernardinos.

Extend that to an hour drive and you're at Tahquitz (up to 700' or so multi-pitch) Suicide Rock, many places in the local mountains, and the entrance to Joshua Tree NP. For your ocean and metropolitan area fixes, Redlands is also an hour from LA and the closer Orange County beaches (i.e. Newport, Crystal Cove)

An hour and a half will get you anywhere in Joshua Tree, tons of sport climbing (Holcomb Valley Pinnacles, for example), and high desert crags (New Jack City, Apple Valley). The local climbing really is pretty much endless.

The southernmost Eastern Sierras are three hours away. Same drive time for Red Rock in Vegas. Yosemite Valley is about a 5 hour drive. Cheap, short flights from the Ontario airport to Stockton, Reno, etc. abound, shortening your drive time to Tuolumne, Lovers Leap, etc.

There's two hospitals in town here, and lots of doctor's offices, and with 18-million odd people around the LA area, I think there's ample opportunity for nurses here, though many employers will want you to speak Spanish.

Pretty hard to beat, IMO.

your mom · · Reno, NV · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 60

Hell yeah, thanks for the advice so far.

It appears that I am not the only one that picks their next moves based on route plentification.

I guess i should add that I need to be close to snow in the winter, whether it be riding lifts or touring.

Salt Lake has had a majority of what I am looking for, but as I used to say a few years ago ~ "I would move to Utah in a heartbeat if it didn't suck" ~ some how I ended up here for a couple year stint, and its been good, but the people and logic here is driving mad.

Any Truckee People find the drive to Reno in the winter on I-80 Unpredictable?

Thanks so much all and please keep it coming!

Mike V · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 0

There are hospitals in Bishop, Mammoth, and Lone Pine. Wouldn't this be the obvious place to look for work?

Fat Dad · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 60
Mike V wrote:There are hospitals in Bishop, Mammoth, and Lone Pine. Wouldn't this be the obvious place to look for work?
Bingo. Lots of crotchety old pooters in Bishop in need of medical care. The town's an interesting mix of young outdoorsy folks who do I don't know what and older retiree types who make sure you in the medical field will never want for employment.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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