Living in Seattle?

[alicia_h]

I'm considering applying for a job...(I posted the message below on Mountainproject.com but then found this website, so I'll try here as well!)

 

What is living in Seattle like as a climber? What are the nearest and best crags? How easy is it to get out of the city? Is there anywhere close enough to climb after work? (I've heard of Exit 38, is this the nearest? and is it any good?) What's the rock like on the local crags? Is there rock that stays climbable in the winter?

 

Also, are there a lot of climbers? Is it easy to meet people/find partners?

 

A bit of background info--I do about equal amounts of trad and sport climbing, plus some bouldering, though I'm not particularly into ice. I'd be wanting to climb every weekend and, if possible, some weekdays.

 

Thanks for any info!

[catbirdseat]

Exit 38 is close enough to climb after work, but most of it is only climbable in the dry summer months. It's all sport climbing on a rather weird metamophosed basalt called rhinostone. You'll hear a lot of people badmouth the place, but it's hard to beat climbing that close to the city.

 

Here where I live we have no such convenient place and I miss it. You'll hear people tell you you can climb in Index after work, but it's not possible unless you take off half the day. Traffic is too heavy after 3 pm to make it practical.

[Alasdair]

Honestly anyone who climbs a lot will not spend much time at exit 38. It kind of sucks. There are a other better places near seattle like index and exit 32. Squamish and smith and levenworth are all weekend trips.

[Peakpimp]

Try and see if you can get a peek at a copy of "Weekend Rock Washington" by David Whitelaw at your local outdoor retailer. That book will give you a nice idea of what moderate climbing there is to be found around the state and where to find it.

[selkirk]

 

Exit 38 is a reaonably quick sport climbing fix, but if your trying to sneak out after work for a few hours it's your best bet.

Lot's of places to climb within about 2 1/2 hours for single day trips, and Smith, Squamish, and the North Cascades all make great 2 or 3 day trips. Lot's of sport, lot's of trad, lot's of Alpine Seattle in the summer is pretty hard to beat

 

Unluckily your pretty much hosed for regular winter rock. The Sunshine wall at Vantage will put two or three weekends during the winter where it's warm enough to climb, and starts to be regular around March/April. That's why everyone and their dog ski's

 

 

[alicia_h]

Hmmmm. So basically there is okay, but not great, after work sport climbing? Are there any after work bouldering options?

 

I'll be sure to bring my skis if I do end up out there:)

[orion_sonya]

I second most of what has been said. Index(topo) and Exit 32 are IMO the staples of Seattle area climbing and both are quite good. Exit 32 is a small shady crag hosting steep, long, mostly hard sport climbs. Index has multiple granite walls with a mix of traditional and sport climbing both single and multi-pitch. Both can be climbable in the winter, but not reliably.

 

Leavenworth, Vantage, and Teiton are all east of the cascades and about 2-2.5 hours from Seattle. They are often a better bet for winter climbing.

 

Squamish(~4hrs) and Smith(~6hrs) are longer weekend trips, but do-able.

 

Also, Weekend Rock Washington is definitely geared to the moderate climber (5.10 and under).

[orion_sonya]

Exit 32 (Little Si) is pretty awesome after work sport climbing...

 

Particularly if you are climbing 5.11 to 5.14.

[TrogdortheBurninator]

where are you coming from?

 

exit 32/38 are somewhat mediore compared to some of the great crags in WA like Index, Darrington, parts of leavenworth. Compared to crags in some parts of the country, I'd reckon they are pretty good, 32 especially. They have plenty of steep hard climbs, if that is your thing.

 

After work bouldering is surprisingly limited, or at least poorly advertised. There is great bouldering near Index (1 hr), but it is up a pretty nasty dirt road that adds a lot of extra drive time. There is some less publicized bouldering near Exit 32, but it requires some hiking to get to, so still not ideal for after work.

 

In terms of living in seattle as a climber, expect a fair amount of frustration with the weather, especially if you are an alpine climber. However, when weather cooperates, it is a wonderful place to be based out of. If you dont mind 2-3 hrs of driving, you can rock climb 9-10 months out of the year, splitting your time between the west and east side of the state.

 

 

[alicia_h]

where are you coming from?

 

exit 32/38 are somewhat mediore compared to some of the great crags in WA like Index, Darrington, parts of leavenworth. Compared to crags in some parts of the country, I'd reckon they are pretty good, 32 especially. They have plenty of steep hard climbs, if that is your thing.

 

After work bouldering is surprisingly limited, or at least poorly advertised. There is great bouldering near Index (1 hr), but it is up a pretty nasty dirt road that adds a lot of extra drive time. There is some less publicized bouldering near Exit 32, but it requires some hiking to get to, so still not ideal for after work.

 

In terms of living in seattle as a climber, expect a fair amount of frustration with the weather, especially if you are an alpine climber. However, when weather cooperates, it is a wonderful place to be based out of. If you dont mind 2-3 hrs of driving, you can rock climb 9-10 months out of the year, splitting your time between the west and east side of the state.

 

 

I'd be coming from Sheffield, northern England, which is pretty much climbing heaven, so that's part of the dilemna. I've found a job opportunity in Seattle which looks absolutely great (if I were to get offered it, that is!) but it would be hard to leave here for somewhere with a big drop in the quality of climbing.

 

I guess I could live with mediocre after-work climbing as long as there is good weekend climbing, although the thought of having to take two or three months off in the winter is not so good! Hmmmmmmmmm...

[alicia_h]

I like the sound of steep hard sport climbing for after work:) Index is sounding pretty good as well; I think someone on mountainproject said it works for after work climbing if you take the afternoon off?

 

[orion_sonya]

Index is just under an hour drive from Seattle (with no traffic) and the approach is ~1 minute. Traffic after 3pm on weekdays really sucks, as was mentioned earlier, so if you can escape work early - Index is a good afternoon option.

 

You should try and get a payed trip for an interview over here and check out the scene yourself

Edited December 16, 2008 by orion_sonya

[DirtyHarry]

Move to Salt Lake City. The climbing and weather there are way better.

[Dannible]

The problem with Salt Lake City is that it's in Utah. We have a lot of good alpine stuff in the summer here, and enough good local breweries to make it through the winter.

[Hugh Conway]

Will you be working a 9-5 M-F? If so, Seattle might not be so great.

 

If you've a flexible schedule you can really make living in Seattle work. If you are stuck with only weekends the number of weekends where the weather just sucks will really screw up your plans, and the longer drives to after work activities will screw up your training. Dos Centavos from the king of gapers

[alicia_h]

Move to Salt Lake City. The climbing and weather there are way better.

 

I would love to move to Salt Lake City; if I could find a job there it'd be first choice!

[alicia_h]

Will you be working a 9-5 M-F? If so, Seattle might not be so great.

 

If you've a flexible schedule you can really make living in Seattle work. If you are stuck with only weekends the number of weekends where the weather just sucks will really screw up your plans, and the longer drives to after work activities will screw up your training. Dos Centavos from the king of gapers

 

Yeah, I think I would be more or less tied to working 9-5 type hours:( Not good!

[NateF]

Seattle is perfect if you want to have a decent job and a social life while being close to lots of outdoor recreation opportunities. But, you will drive about an hour or more each way to go climbing, skiing, mountain biking or hiking after work.

 

If rock climbing is your passion, and you want to climb every day somewhere besides a gym or manufactured outdoor wall, I'll do you the favor of recommending you don't move here.

 

If the job is important to you and you're OK with gym climbing, sea kayaking, road biking, or sailing after work, and would love to take weekend road trips and vacations to check out the volcanoes, alpine crags, glaciers, old growth forests, and phenomenal wilderness and variety of the PNW, this is your place. You may find something here that you love even more than cragging after work. There are plenty of great climbing opportunities within 1-4 hour driving range, and there are tons of climbers here willing to spend the time in the car, it's not difficult to find partners. It can be difficult to get out enough unless your schedule is flexible.

 

[DirtyHarry]

Index is fawking stacked with sick granite splitter cracks. Not many better crags anywhere. But its a bit of a drive.

 

The skiing and the adventure climbing are what makes the Cascades special. And I mean special as in retarted.

[alicia_h]

Thanks for your thoughts, Nate, that's really useful. I suspect that I might be a little too rock-focused to be happy in Seattle then; as much as I'd like to be a more well-rounded person and go kayaking/skiing/etc when the weather is bad, I don't think I could manage it!

 

I'll wait and see exactly how great the job sounds, and if I even get offered it, but it sounds like it would probably have to be a particularly amazing job for it to be worth it.

[Bug]

You say the job is in "Seattle" but is it actually located in downtown Seattle? Some employers list jobs for Seattle that are actually nearby.

The reason I bring this up is that I live in Redmond and can zip out to Index in an hour easily. There is also the backroute through Duvall that cuts off some time and avoids a little of the traffic.

One more thing, Exit 38 is well described here but what is not mentioned is the north side of the highway that has yet to be well developed. Access is a problem but a resourceful person can get in there.

[Alex]

Alicia

 

Seattle-ites are spoiled. There are few towns ANYWHERE that offer quality climbing so close to town, or a climbing season or SKI SEASON as long! Its just that even here we can find things to complain about. But if any one of us were to start talking about New York City? Chicago? Dallas? LA? San Francisco? Seattle has them all beat by miles! Sure each of these places has some redeeming factors, but nothing offers the package Seattle does. Someone mentioned Salt Lake City....SLC is *great* for skiing and climbing, but there are other...ummm....reasons not to live there that you might weigh too.

 

Reality is that if Sheffield is really all that, and you're really so single-sport focussed that the lack of DAILY natural rock climbing would prevent you from moving to a different country and land of volcanoes, glaciers and deep green forests and thousands of square miles of wilderness, then I'd say stay there.

[DirtyHarry]

If you lived in Seattle you'd be here right now.

[Bug]

So it begins.........................

[DirtyHarry]

I'd think there'd be enough unemployed climbers around here that a company wouldn't have to go all the way to Sheffield, England to find one.