Two Aussies planning a NA Road Trip

Well I have been dreaming for a while now about going on a climbing around North America and it getting closer to not becoming a dream. I have done a road trip before from LA up to Vancouver and then across to NY but that before I was into climbing, so I have a bit of an idea where I want to go.

These are the places I am looking at visiting. I have picked these because they either looking interesting, I might have been to the area before and I can make a pretty good loop out of visiting them and end up back towards LA.

Red Rocks - Nevada
Yosemite/Tuolumne - CA
Tahquitz/Suicide Rocks - CA
Tahoe - CA
Smith Rock - Oregon
Squamish - BC
Bow Valley/Canmore - Alberta
Tensleep- Wyoming
City of Rocks - Idaho
Maple Canyon - Utah

El Potrero Chico - Mexico

Im around a 5.11 Sport climber and 5.9 Trad. Looking to spend around 3 months. What time of the year would you recommend starting and in what order. I would be flying into LA. I would be very appreciative of any comments and suggestions?

Regards

Jason

Jason,

Red Rock, Yosemite and Tahquitz are all best climbed in the spring or fall (especially the fall). Although people climb Yosemite and Red Rock year-round, spring and fall are best. Can't speak about your other destinations.

You might want to consider a couple of days at The Needles in California, also in the spring or fall.

Hit Squamish and the Bow Valley in the Summer. Squamish is rainy in the Spring/Fall and the Rockies are cold in the Spring/Fall.

If your already going to be in Ten Sleep (kick ass place!) you might as well check out Devils Tower

Lake Tahoe has a lot of great climbing and you can climb year round.

Most of those are spring and fall destinations (preferably fall, which will be drier). Though, you could start in squamish in late summer, and then drive south as the temps cool down and the fall destinations come in.

I am sure there is good climbing in Tahoe, but it is not a classic destination here in the U.S.

Wow, sounds like a great trip!

Late Summer to early Autumn would seem like the best time of the year to hit a variety of locations. Maybe plan your trip August through October? As Eric mentioned, start north in Squamish and work your way south to Red Rock?

As previously mentioned, consider adding Devils Tower and The Needles to your list. And Indian Creek in Moab! And since you're planning a visit to Ten Sleep, make sure you hit up Lander and Wild Iris.

Never been to EPC but understand it's best during the mid-Winter. Might want to save that for another time -- or extend your trip by another couple of months!

Glad to see Maple Canyon on your list.

If you can swing it I would highly recommend doing at least a few routes in the High Sierra, which would be within 0.5-3 hours drive of Tuolumne depending on your route choice. There are plenty of options depending on your trad level and approach distance preference. Warmer weather alpine season runs roughly late May to Oct.

A climbing trip to North America without Indian Creek? INSANITY!

Owen Darrow wrote:If your already going to be in Ten Sleep (kick ass place!) you might as well check out Devils Tower

The Tahoe area is an excellent destination in the late spring-late fall. The high concentration of routes, complete lack of crowds during weekdays, unique stone, and good selection of both sport and trad routes put it on par with, if not better than, City of Rocks. Phantom Spires and Lover's Leap are the area's standout crags in my opinion.
Also, campgrounds are cheaper and less of a hassle than the Valley or Meadow. Groceries are mega cheap (Grocery Outlet!) if you drive 20 minutes into town.

El Potrero Chico is good any time of year but your chances of hooking up with other climbers are best from Nov-April. And if you're driving down here you should stop for a day or two at Hueco Tanks and Cochise Stronghold.

I'd do the following loop, starting in the Sierra/Tuolumne in mid July.

High Sierra/Tuolumne - CA
Tahoe - CA
Index, WA (If you're climbing 5.10 or higher by then)
Squamish - BC
Bow Valley/Canmore - Alberta
Tensleep- Wyoming
City of Rocks - Idaho
Maple Canyon - Utah
Red Rocks - Nevada
Tahquitz/Suicide Rocks - CA

I'd plan to be here in the fall and since you've not been out this way climbing. I'd cut your list in half and spend more time in the classic areas like Yosemite, Red Rocks and Smith Rocks, or whichever areas suit your tastes w/ respect to type of climbing.

Not that the suggestions by the peanut gallery aren't good ones it's just that Places like Yosemite and Red Rocks are so big and with so much variety you can easily spend several weeks there just to get a feel for the place and pick out some specific objectives that you're psyched to do.
Just my two cents. Good luck w/ the trip.

Joshua Tree!!!

I agree with Brent. I think you're going to too many places. This may seem biased, but I think hitting both Index and Squamish are kind of redundant. Actually I think hitting both the Valley and Squamish are somewhat redundant, but that's me. I think Tahoe is optional as well. Given the choice between more time in the Valley or Tuolumne, I'd spend more time there and skip Tahoe.

Joshua Tree will be too hot until you climb in the early Spring or late Fall, plus in terms of the climbing the City of Rocks is like Josh but with better rock quality.

If you can, I'd hit the Needles. Apart from the Valley and Tuolumne, it will be the most spectacular place you'll climb.

Get up into the Sierras. You can't do that in Aus, and even though the NZ mountains are beautiful, they aren't the Sierras.

There are a lot of options and you'll never visit all of those places in three months (not sure if you plan to). You could fly over in early August and stay 'til early November. Go to Tuolomne, then up to Lake Tahoe, then Oregon or Squamish. Then drive back down to the Valley and then Red Rocks. Then back to LA and visit Taqitz.

Endless options, but it's hard not to send you to the Utah desert. The scenery and rest day activities are awesome, you can practice pure crack climbing at IC and then go on a tower sending spree.

Also, The Needles is probably the best climbing destination I've ever visited and there are a lot of 5.9 and 10- routes that are world class. I was there is August and it was quite cool, which makes me thing that the season there could be pretty long.

One suggestion that I can make is to focus on things the US is known for - excellent crack climbing and big granite walls in perfect and consistent weather. You can sport climb anywhere, and I doubt that you're going to find sport climbing in the western US that is better than the stuff in the Grampians.

Hi Guys,

Thanks so much for all the input. A few more comments from me, I'm still a pretty green Trad climber especially since I have never climbed on granite. I usually prefer sport climbing but also love getting out on big and easier multi pitch trad adventures. I have not planned to spend much time in Yosemite mainly to due to the more complicated camping/logistics and more serious climbing. When I think Indian Ck all that comes to mind is hard crack climbing, with not a heap of experience in jamming I left it out of the list. Should I put it back in the list even? Is there more than crack climbing.

I agree I should probably cull this list a bit otherwise I will be just rushing from area to area. How would you chop the list with the info I have given.

I'm thinking:

Squamish
Canmore
Ten sleep and maybe devils tower
Maybe Indian ck
Tahquitz and/or Tahoe
Yosemite for a quick look
Red rocks

I also plan some time for the normal tourist activities, it's not a dedicated climbing trip.

Thanks

Jason

No such thing as a quick trip to Yosemite. The Valley and Tuolumne shouldn't be missed. Neither should Lovers Leap. I agree--get up into the sierras. Mt. Whitney's east face? Bear creek spire? Charlotte dome?

I hate to be the one to say it but a trip to the North American west without crack climbing and trad climbing is a wasted trip. Everyone was "green" at one point. I can't think of a better time to become a good trad climber than while on a three month road trip in trad climbing heaven. If you are competent on 5.8 then there is a lot of fun to be had. And after a few weeks you'll be looking at big 5.9's and 10's in the guidebooks.

I promise, if you are a safe climber and have the gear, you'll have fun trad climbing at these areas. If you want to go on a sport climbing trip that's awesome too, but you should go to the New River Gorge and the Red River Gorge in Oct and Nov.

Well said, Ryan, sound advice.