Destination Recommendations!?

Hey everyone, I am taking a brief trip to San Diego from South Carolina at the end of the summer. I will have 10 days in between and want those days to be as packed with climbing as possible. I would love to go through Colorado and Utah and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations? I climb 11+ and love sport and trad, so no limitations there. However, since I don't have a lot of time, it would be great if I could steer clear of the crowds and hit some multi-pitch classics. Thanks in advance!

Bouldering? Stop by HP40 for an ego check but a must see rock formation. Red Rock is also nice (little bit higher on the map). Joshua tree is like climber porn. Most of those places are big enough that in the middle of the week your not likely to run into anyone if you don't want to. Zion isn't to far up as well likely to be very alone there.

ViperScale wrote:Bouldering? Stop by HP40 for an ego check but a must see rock formation. Red Rock is also nice (little bit higher on the map). Joshua tree is like climber porn. Most of those places are big enough that in the middle of the week your not likely to run into anyone if you don't want to. Zion isn't to far up as well likely to be very alone there.

Joshua Tree and Red Rock at the end of the summer?

Would JTree and Red Rocks be too hot?

LeviWalters wrote:Would JTree and Red Rocks be too hot?

People climb there year-round, but in general, it's too hot. Sure, you can chase shade, climb early morning or late afternoon, but they are not summer destinations.

Night climbing at red rocks would likely be good, there are areas you can park and hike in, most everywhere you are going to run into heat issues unless you want to go way north I would think.

What month do you mean when you say end of summer? August is the official last month of summer. Maybe look around Sedona for some climbing.

Can you be more specific about the dates you will be traveling? J-Tree and Red Rocks will be hot through the end of September, but both places have options in the shade and are doable if you climb early or late. Another option in SoCal is Tahquitz, which is higher up in elevation.

As for Colorado, Eldo and Lumpy Ridge are both great. They are popular destinations, especially on weekends, but well worth checking out regardless. There are plenty of classic routes to go around.

Climb at elevations. Screw Red Rocks and J-tree. Go to Mount Charleston, or the Unitas. Maybe even check out Estes Park. It's worth the slight detour. Trust me, its a dry heat, but one that sucks to pull down day after day in.

I can't read I originally thought you said you wanted to go to Colorado but couldn't... you would be better off up there than down lower on the map for the end of summer.

May want to look at devil's tower never been there but high on my list of places I want to go climb. I also heard there is alot of climbing around the tower itself. Around 6 hours north of Denver.

https://www.mountainproject.com/v/devils-tower/105714267 looks like weather during that time would be good.

Gotcha. Thanks for the info guys! I would be traveling through from July 29th until Aug 9th. Also, have any of you guys tried Mexico during the summer? I can only imagine I would run into the same issues? Would coming back farther north such as Montana be more appealing?

Also red river gorge should be ok that time of year. I have climbed there for 4th of july and it wasn't a huge issue. Most of it is pretty shady.

ViperScale wrote:Also red river gorge should be ok that time of year. I have climbed there for 4th of july and it wasn't a huge issue. Most of it is pretty shady.

OMG!!! I guess it must be subjective. I know I don't like it too hot, but I didn't think most people would suggest the places that they are.

So, I guess that depends on how you feel about "quadruple 9's". If you look at the humidity and temps, you have a shot at hitting 99/99 in RRG... The bugs like it though! In summers when I was there I'd get up at dawn, go climb some routes, and be done at 11am or so. By noon I'd be in the shade somewhere trying not to move much in order to keep cool, and drink a lot of cold water/juice. Swatting flies or whatever... Then around dinner time the heat breaks, the sun is lower, and you can head out for a few more pitches.

Eldo won't be a ton better, BTW - It primarily faces South. I mean, I can do it in the AM's, but I avoid it for 'full day' climbing in July/August, and for that matter, anything more than cooler days in June. Peanuts wall stays shady/cooler and faces N/NW, but that's not the classic Eldo stuff you'd plan a trip around. Not the "most climbing possible" sort of place, really. Lumpy is better owing mostly due to altitude, but still primarily faces South.

As for Red Rocks and J-tree, I think June 1 is pretty much an end date for making the most of those. I generally climbed there over Xmas/Newyears and occasionally on spring breaks. In J-tree, lower altitude stuff (not the best anyway) would be terrible (IE: Indian Cove), but some of the stuff around Sheep Pass, Black Rock (tends to be breezier), and in the shade around the Hidden Valley would be doable.

But why not just plan to tour a more northward destination and at altitude? Shoot, that's stuff that will be prime in your schedule. In CO, you could spend a few days at RMNP, Independence Pass, Rifle, The Monastary... Ra (Empire) in CO has some very lonely multi-pitch 5.11 sport and also some trad up there at 9k'+.
Utah has some nice canyons.
City of Rocks, ID.
The Wind River area of Wy. Like Wide stuff? Vedauvoo, Wy!
The High Sierra and Toulomne... but not on weekends... maybe start there on a weekday and do your driving on Saturday. AirB&B had good options in Mammoth, and if the weather turns on you, a drop down to Patricia Bowl or even as far as Owens River is not much trouble.

So yeah, these areas are possible, and you can make it work. But given that you have flexibility, I'd think that you'd want to aim more northward and for higher altitude. There's a lot of places to go. Asking the GP is a popularity contest though, so of course the most consensus will probably lead you to the most crowded places.

ViperScale wrote: August is the official last month of summer.

When did they change summer to ending in August? I'm so out of the loop.

Tony B wrote: OMG!!! I guess it must be subjective. I know I don't like it too hot, but I didn't think most people would suggest the places that they are.

Maybe it is just because I live in NC and what we are used to isn't that bad compared to alot of places you can go. Unless the area is in direct sun I can climb in most anything. You just have to remember what the weather does to the rock and don't expect to climb at your limit if the rock is sweating.

You can't always control the weather when you are taking a trip so sometimes you just have to find a way to make the best out of it. Do you want to drive 3 days straight or drive 1-2 days take a day break at not ideal weather but doable climbing and than move on.

FrankPS wrote: When did they change summer to ending in August? I'm so out of the loop.

According to meteorologists, summer extends for the whole months of June, July, and August in the northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January, and February in the southern hemisphere.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer