Looking for advice on where to live/work...

[fan]

Hello fellow climbers, i am hoping to move out west for work etc. I do realize there are a ton of posts out there giving advice on where to live as a climber (and I have read many of them) but I thought maybe my situation is unique enough that some locals and know-where's can give me some more insightful tips.

 

I spent the last 5 yrs or so in Europe for study and I plan to move back to the US some time next year. Close proximity to places like the Alps and Dolomites got me really hooked on the alpine environment. Knowing so little about anything west of Missouri (where I went to university), I am struggling to find a suitable place for work and play.

 

Things that I am looking for in a town:

- a major hospital nearby (preferably with a level 2 trauma center) - unfortunately for climbing my profession is in medicine...

- near or in the mountains at altitude...nothing beats living with a mountain view and fresh air...

- lots of opportunity for sport, trad (<30 min drive?!) and alpine climbing not far away (<1-2 hr drive?!). I will likely be kept very busy so probably living near a sport crag that could allow me to climb a bit after/before work would be ideal. Excessive indoor climbing drives me a bit manic, although as does continuous bolt clipping. So it is pretty important to have long alpine rock/mixed/ice routes accessible.

- a friendly and simple climbing community would be great. My family lives in Boston and a recent visit left me aghast at the soaring number of pompous gym rats...

 

I've looked at places like Boulder and Bishop, but I would really appreciate some insightful words from knowing locals! Somewhere in WA or OR?

 

Thank you very much!

Edited October 1, 2016 by fan

[Rad]

We really don't have any place to live at altitude in WA, unless you're on one of our volcanoes.

 

The Leavenworth/Wenatchee area may be the closest you'll find in WA to your meeting goal.

 

Salt Lake might also go on your list to investigate.

[montypiton]

Denver, at 5000+ may be a good bet. Jackson Hole, about 6000, has a hospital. Leadville Colorado is 10000', but I doubt it has a level 2 trauma center. Grand Junction, Co? Salt Lake has some great geography close, but the altitude doesn't compare to Colorado. Washington, as Rad says, won't help you with altitude. Leavenworth, and Winthrop, the two primary climbing centers, are barely 1000' and nearby peaks top out 8000-9000. What Washington has to offer is variety: the most heavily glaciated mountain in the contiguous 48 at 14000+, the greatest variety of alpinism in the lower 48, alpine rock climbing rivaling the Sierras and Tetons, and decent sport climbing at Index and Vantage. If altitude is your main concern, move to Colorado. If you want every variety of climbing from volcano slogging to high-end alpinism, waterfall ice, and trad & sport rock, you'll find Washington hard to beat. Wenatchee seems to be a magnet for MD climbers - I'd be glad to put you in touch with some of them...

Edited October 1, 2016 by montypiton

[ivan]

if alpine's your thing, washington is your best locale - leavenworth is the dream, if you can make it work...

[fan]

Denver, at 5000+ may be a good bet. Jackson Hole, about 6000, has a hospital. Leadville Colorado is 10000', but I doubt it has a level 2 trauma center. Grand Junction, Co? Salt Lake has some great geography close, but the altitude doesn't compare to Colorado. Washington, as Rad says, won't help you with altitude. Leavenworth, and Winthrop, the two primary climbing centers, are barely 1000' and nearby peaks top out 8000-9000. What Washington has to offer is variety: the most heavily glaciated mountain in the contiguous 48 at 14000+, the greatest variety of alpinism in the lower 48, alpine rock climbing rivaling the Sierras and Tetons, and decent sport climbing at Index and Vantage. If altitude is your main concern, move to Colorado. If you want every variety of climbing from volcano slogging to high-end alpinism, waterfall ice, and trad & sport rock, you'll find Washington hard to beat. Wenatchee seems to be a magnet for MD climbers - I'd be glad to put you in touch with some of them...

 

it would be nice to live at 1000m+ but of course, having the mountains fairly close by is not something I could complain about... I would greatly appreciate any contact with climbing doc's and surgeons you may be able to provide me with, as I could seek out some professional advice as well!

[matt_warfield]

Hearty second on Colorado, with altitude and climbing galore of all types plus major health care centers. Boulder or Fort Collins areas get you away from the Denver bustle a little. Wenatchee or Bellingham WA, while not offering high altitude options, are worthy of consideration. You could consider Flagstaff AZ but alpine options close by are more limited. The east slopes of the Sierras are wonderful but lack the population centers for your health care fix. Good luck with the inevitable tradeoffs.

[genepires]

You have a pretty hard list to fill. Many of the cities at altitude, like Denver and SLC, don't have the quality air you also wanted.

 

A couple of places that fit part of your list; Bend, OR and Bellingham WA. If you were willing to drive to places like rainier or north cascades, Issaquah would be good too.

[denalidave]

Not at altitude here in the Columbia River Gorge, but excellent climbing at Beacon Rock and all the big stuff in reach of your doorstep.

[DPS]

Seattle/Wenatchee, SLC, Boulder/Denver. I live in the Seattle area, and it seems when my climbing/BC skiing/trail running companions move, it is to either Salt Lake City or Boulder.

 

My folks are from Denver and I have visited Denver/Boulder many times and the opportunities for rock climbing, ice climbing, and skiing are excellent. The only true alpine climbing in the contiguous U.S., however, lies in the Cascade mountains of Northern Oregon and Washington. A friend who moved from Seattle to Boulder argued that the weather in Colorado allows one to climb much more often than in Washington. Wenatchee is East of the crest and enjoys much better weather than Seattle, and is a much smaller city.

 

FWIW, Harborview in Seattle is considered to be one of the best trauma centers in the PNW. I have spent time in an unfortunate number of hospitals in the Seattle area, and Harborview (was taken there by ambulance after electrocuting myself) is hard to beat for the sheer entertainment value. Swedish hands down has the best food. Better than Red Robin restaurant quality.

[matt_warfield]

Original request for Level 2 trauma center is a deal breaker for many ideal (i.e.smallish) outdoor cities. Harborview is Level 1 I think but I doubt you will find Level 2 or higher in any target city smaller than Seattle, Portland, Denver, SLC, which are all good choices for overall climbing anyway.

[JayB]

Pretty hard to beat the Front Range when it comes to proximity to tons of high-quality rock climbing + altitude. When you want to combine the two - there's a staggering number of routes in RMNP alone, and you could spend quite a few seasons just tackling the routes on the Diamond. As far as ice climbing is concerned - if you're super motivated you can get on ice out here, but the quantity/consistency is nothing like CO.

 

Climbing wise - the only thing that the NW has that CO doesn't is heavily glaciated peaks and volcanoes and super-remote wilderness - but based on your interests it sounds like you'd be better off living in CO and flying to the NW when you want to tackle that sort of route.

[montypiton]

pm sent

-Haireball

[fan]

didn't get any pm, monty.

[ryanb]

Missoula, MT checks all of those boxes including a level II trauma center.

 

The air quality can be pretty bad during inversions or fire season though.

[Choada_Boy]

I would not recommend Bellingham. Their hospital is a shithole. "Peace Death" we call it, after a number of trips in the last year. UW Medical in Seattle is world class, Harborview for trauma, but then you'd have to live in Shitatahole, a terrible city by any objective assessment. Good luck!

[G-spotter]

Real Dirtbag Climbers live on some cardboard behind a dumpster under a bridge or in the back of their 10 yr old Subaru wagon. Spend that rent or mortgage money on climbing trips. Worked for Fred.

[montypiton]

okay, I tried sending again. if you don't get anything, email me at curthaire@nwi.net, and I'll message you via regular email.

-Haireball

[DPS]

UW Medical in Seattle is world class

Their food is nowhere as good as Swedish. Care about the same.

[Pete_H]

FWIW, Harborview in Seattle is considered to be one of the best trauma centers in the PNW.

 

Its the only Level 1 trauma center in the PNW. The next closest is SLC I think.

 

You might consider checking out Bozeman too. It used to be really cool but I havent been there in a while and I hear its growing and changing like crazy.

 

Leavenworth is an agreeable place to live, with good access to outdoors. Of course, no where beats Europe for access.

 

Seems like half the people I know here live in 11worth and work in the medical field in Wenatchee, which is a medical epicenter for Central Washington.

[DPS]

FWIW, Harborview in Seattle is considered to be one of the best trauma centers in the PNW.

 

Its the only Level 1 trauma center in the PNW. The next closest is SLC I think.

I had a friend who nearly lost a foot in a freak accident after climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon. She was taken to Harborview for treatment rather than in nearby SLC, so that says something I guess.

[mneagle]

I'm a pulmonary critical care doctor. I trained in Seattle and Salt Lake City before moving to Fort Collins, CO.

 

In Seattle, I had a couple years of pretty adventurous alpine climbing. The drives were 3+ hours to the North Cascadrs but the adventure was epic. The skills I learned there lender themselves well to a few forays to Bolivia. The winters did get me down and finding time to climb like I did there would be nearly impossible for me, given family and career.

 

In Salt Lake City, the quick access to hard climbing and lack of alpine pushed my rock climbing and water ice skills to a higher limit. For a brief period of time, I actually considered myself a solid 5.11 trad and water ice 5+ leader. SLC is all about access and not much else. I know I would have been sorry if I had stayed there but 30 minutes to Alta was hard to get over.

 

Fort Collins has a strong medical community with a level 2 trauma center. It's an hour to Vedauwoo, Lumpy Ridge and Eldo. The alpine stuff in RMMP is awesome and rivals most people f the stuff I did in the Cascades (except for the lack of glaciers). I did some ice climbing for awhile but decided to dedicate my winters to skiing. Also, I discovered big game hunting, which is pretty big in the climbing scene here, as well. I've been here 11 years and have no plans to leave.

 

If you have questions, PM me.

[fan]

Thanks a lot everyone - I will compile a list and do some research and get in touch with a few people who have offered to speak in private further. What about Wyoming?

[ivan]

What about Wyoming?

it's a little weird having to go through a drive through to get a beer

 

 

[matt_warfield]

Wyoming is short on population centers. Good alpine in the Tetons and Wind River Range are not near a big medical center and southern areas are accessible from N. Colorado.

 

Listen carefully to mneagle about Fort Collins- it gets you away from the armpit qualities of Denver and is close to a huge amount of climbing. RMNP is one of my favorite areas anywhere and has a ridiculous amount of climbing from bouldering to alpine.

 

Edited October 7, 2016 by matt_warfield

[DPS]

What about Wyoming?

it's a little weird having to go through a drive through to get a beer

 

 

I thought so too, however, my climbing partner appreciated the convenience.