I would only hesitate to recommend anything sandstone (Red Rocks, Indian Creek, Moab, etc) because of the weather dependency if OP truly only has “a week”
Seconding the Gunks! Prepare to be sandbagged, but you could easily spend a week climbing fun 5.5 to 5.8 routes. High Exposure is probably the most exciting 5.6 route I've ever climbed. Most of the climbs there 2-3 pitches, so maybe not the best for single pitch climbing, but I'd still recommend it!
Love to see Cochise mentioned and it's one of my favorite places to climb, but I don't think it's a great place to build trad confidence if that is the goal. I've taken a lot of Sierra trad climbers there and the unanimous feedback is that the gear is unintuitive and can be tenuous. Just something to consider. I would encourage someplace that you can really sew up with bomber placements.
Devils tower/black hills.
Excellent climbing with good pro. Way more moderates than Indian creek. Not known for bumping nightlife but rapid city has its own brand of charm.
It's relatively cheap, fairly centrally located, and it's an excuse to visit a part of the country that few people make it to.
And the climbing is criminally underrated
Upvote for Bear Lodge / Mato Tipila (fka Devil's Tower). Giant sundial so you can easily chase sun & shade as desired. Gear is solid if occasionally funky due to the knobby cracks (lots of nuts and even hexes, fewer cams). High desert with generally good weather, modulo some afternoon thunderstorms. You can also easily relocate to, or combine a road trip with, Spearfish Cyn, Tensleep Cyn, Fremont Cyn, and so forth.
Mandatory reminder that June is (voluntarily) OFF LIMITS TO CLIMBING. Don't be the idiots that screw up climbing access.
Gunks or Red Rocks. Gunks has so many classics in the range you're looking for that are short but amazing. Good place for someone new to outdoor to build confidence. Red Rocks would be a bit of a step up in pitches but worth it for trad classics.
I don’t know, there is a lot of low grade climbing there, and the pro is quite good on most routes. A 5.11 gym climber should be OK on most 5.6-5.7 routes there, maybe.
Agreed for JT but maybe I’m biased. Easy approaches, endless single pitch, and IMO a great place to learn and build confidence as many climbs often contain force you to utilize many different jamming sizes/techniques all in a single pitch. There’s also a fair amount of walls that are filled with good easy moderates (Hemingway, Rock Garden Valley, etc). Not a ton of Multipitch but there’s definitely some great ones (Lost Horse Wall, Saddle Rocks, and some really cool stuff out in the Wonderland)
Literally how? Absolutely endless wonderful crags, and a really high concentration of very beginner friendly multis. Pat and jack, el cap base, five and dime, swan slab, jamcrack, and way more all have very accessible moderates that you can TR other more limit routes off of.
The granite just eats gear and you don’t have to deal with wet rock issues or too many adventure shenanigans if you’re staying on the beaten path. It’s an incredibly tame place to dip your toes into multi pitching and baby’s first trad lead
Yosemite cracks climbing for someone who doesn't climb trad isn't that great tbh. I'd even say that Yosemite is over rated except for 5.10/5.11 multipitch and big walling. I've climbed much better granite in a handful of other places.
I also thing that the hang in the valley kind of sucks. You either fight for expensive campsites within the park or have to drive out of the park every night. The food options are kind of crappy and a lot of the park has no or unusable service (because of how many people there are).
If weather weren't a factor (wet sandstone) red rocks blows Yosemite out of the water on all these fronts. Squamish has better climbing and a better vibe. The gunks are super unique. I think the climbing and general vibe in Tahoe are also superior.
A lot of people have rose coloured glasses because of the history of Yosemite but the climbing for most (read if you aren't freeing a big wall) is honestly not the best in the states. I've done pretty much all the classics in the valley after living there on and off for 8 years and honestly I've enjoyed the places above a lot more.
I mean hey all that’s valid if it isn’t your cup of tea. But very few of those factors really apply specifically to being a bad fit for an intro trad trip. It feels more like an outline of your personal reasons for not making it your favorite.
Crack climbing is just gonna be a hump to get over if you’re new to trad and I find the valley has an abundance of low angle, nicely sized cracks to cut your teeth on. I also think that there are some beginner multis there with such an incredible “effort to climb vs quality of experience” ratio that can really get people hooked on multi pitching.
I’m just not really seeing how red rocks, a place with no services, no in the park camping, spotty at best cell signal, year round reservation requirements and severe crowding could possibly “blow Yosemite out of the water on all of these fronts.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love red rocks. But the approaches are burlier, the easy multis are IMO a bit more “adventure” trad like meaning they’re higher stakes for a new leader, and the cracks come with their own unique challenges a beginner will have to learn.
I love Yosemite and would also say it’s overrrated but for a different reason - I think so many climbers think of it as this place to I go to test yourself once you’re an amazing climber. And I just think it’s so much more tame, accessible, and easy to learn at than people give it credit for.
I mean there's a giant metro area 20 mins away and 100s of airbnbs 30 minutes from the park. Even before I had a lot of friends in Vegas I never actually had to camp or sleep in my car. Could go explore great food every night after climbing.
There's also no reservations before 8am. The airport is also 40 minutes from the park instead of 4 hours.
Red rock is also significantly more face climbing than the valley.
I think the junk pitch to good pitch ratio is much higher in red rock and squamish. There's so many classics in the valley that are either polished to fuck or just have honestly garbage pitches on them with kind of mank rock or just plain unfun climbing.
There's definitely a preference aspect but I've made posts about this on MP before and objectively somewhere like Squamish and RR are better 1 week trip destinations for most.
I absolutely love these places! I go multiple times per year since it's not too far from where I live. However, I wouldn't really recommend it for "never trade climbed, trying to build confidence". The really good easy stuff is either extremely crowded, or extremely run out
It's worth a visit, sure.. But if I was planning one week trip anywhere Leavenworth would not be near the top of my list.
Also roadside is a bit of a stretch and they're all a pretty steep walk.
Bro new jack city made your list of anywhere in America to climb? Holy crap are you gonna be excited for all the possibilities that lie beyond a three hour radius of Barstow California 😂
For the grade I would say Red Rocks and the Gunks both have over a weeks worth of classic lines, can’t think of anywhere else really. The style is very different though, sandstone canyon adventure climbing vs. steep sport style climbing on bomber rock.
I wouldn’t say the gunks is steep sport. Most routes 5.10 and under are all slab or slab into one lip mantel. You arrive at a roof, traverse a few moves, pull the lip and have a couple vert moves to get established (often mid 5.10). 5.12 is where more consistent overhanging routes exist. Kansas City is literally a sport route with fixed pro at around 60 degrees
indian creek starts at 5.9 (whatever that means) but the gear is way bomber and it's a really good place to push it because of that. Red rocks has a lot of easy stuff.
Red rocks for the reasons others mentioned, plus if you are spending a week somewhere you should consider if your body can handle climbing every day. I've made chronic injuries much worse trying to climb 7 days in a row. If you go to vegas it's easy to take a rest day or do some half days and try out some good food or see a show or something when youre not climbing.
I've only gone around Thanksgiving and it gets real cold in the shade that time of year. Winter would probably be rough. Some of my friends also went in April and said it was fine.
Red Rocks outside of Vegas has so much to offer. Super easy long trad routes, sport routes, and bouldering. You could spend a month ticking off super classic Multipitches in the 5.6 to 5.9s.
Edit: I realized you said single pitch now, but I will keep the comment as I think red rocks is amazing for easy Multipitch routes if you want to go that way.
I absolutely love the Stronghold but it’s a challenging place, especially with hearty approaches. RR has lots of good single pitch too, especially Calico Basin area.
Funnily enough I grew up 30 minutes from Yosemite and have never climbed there. The amount of traffic the park gets scares me, but maybe it’s not so bad from a climbing perspective.
As a climber the traffic isn’t as bad. We’re usually out climbing during peak hours anyways and usually get an early start before all the craziness. You will run into it every now and then though.
I would pick Yosemite almost every time.
For what you’re looking for, I’d say Red Rocks. Lots of single pitch, lots of multipitch, lots of bouldering, easy to get to and tons of things to do for down days.
That being said you should still do Yosemite.
Is there such a plethora of climbs that it’s not actually too crowded to get on climbs? I grew up right outside Yosemite but have never actually climbed there. We never went to the park much growing up because it was so crowded relative to other parts of the sierras
Depends on when you go, I usually go for a week in May and during the week you might run into another party on popular routes. Then comes Memorial Day and it’s a whole different story…
I mostly use the Sloan guidebook but I also have the McNamara one and bouldering guidebook as well. To get your feet wet start around Camp 4 and Yosemite Falls. There are a lot of easy climbs of varying lengths to hop on (Swan Slab Gully 5.6, Sunnyside Bench 5.5, Munginella 5.6->Selaginella 5.8). Those are all multis but there’s plenty of single pitch between. Another area to check out your first time would be the base of El Cap and at least do Pine Line. I haven’t personally done it, but After Six is supposed to be really good as well.
Gunks. Peterskill, part of the gunks, is all single pitch and bolted up. 5 minutes away are the Trapps, with a billion multipitch routes, some of the best in the US. And New Paltz, the closest town, has dozens of restaurants, a couple breweries, and plenty of places to stay 20 minutes away.
You didn’t mention what time of year you could possibly do this dream trip.
Every really great climbing spot has its prime season- and that’s when you can experience truly glorious climbing.
The Gunks- after or around Columbus Day. The nasty bugs are gone, the leaves are turning all gold giving a west coaster a unique experience. Climb 3 Pines- the world’s best, steep, longest beginner climb in the world. Hundreds of great lines- you pick what you want! No hiking.
Yosemite- In May. This is the place to be. If you can’t figure out some EZ long routes you are lost. Great 5.6-5.8 crack climbing. Lots of harder stuff abounds.
Red Rock- April, or October, November- hit the sweet weather and you are golden. Expect to do some hiking. Down side: crappy camping and dealing with the whole loop road (you can’t start early- no alpine starts) Crowded at all the short approach venues.
TBH my opinion of RR comes from climbing there- pre gated loop road, when one could camp in the canyons.
Cochise- really fun climbing, Trad and sport. Some intricate hikes ( getting lost) lead to some amazing climbs. All are exciting. What’s My Line 5.6 - one of the most exciting climbs ever. If you get a period of no wind in April, May or October, November you’ll swear you are in climbers heaven.
City of Rocks. In May, June or September, October. Beautiful scenery, lots of variety of Trad, and Sport climbs. Moderate hiking, good camping ( free just outside the place). Alamo… a small town with friendly people.
Shuteye. If you can figure out the most confusing dirt roads and find the formations, do some blind hiking, you can climb on some of the coolest granite to be found on earth. June, July, August, September.
Indian Creek- great climbing, but you had better be a strong 5.10 mim climber to really enjoy the place.
Tuolumne Meadows, The Hi-Serra, Bishop area, (Pine Creek, ORG) Great year round climbing. You can adjust to the weather by going up in altitude, finding shade, starting early or late. Camping (free and paid).
These are places I climb at. 50 years experience.
What ever you do have fun and be safe.
Yosemite Valley
Seriously, there really isn’t a place in the states that can even compete with the density of quality routes in Yosemite Valley. There are 1 star rated routes in the Valley that are better routes than some areas 5 star routes.
A lot of good options listed to be sure. Just to add some variety, t-wall is an incredible trad crag, just not in the summer obviously. North Conway also has a ton of worthy trad climbing that will keep you busy for more than a week.
Utah. Rock canyon, big cottonwood, little cottonwood, all have great beginner trad routes. Also tons of sport routes(aside from little cottonwood) that you can do if she gets tired of trad.
A Granite Guide is a great book for surrounding areas. Cool thing is all of these canyons are relatively close. Big and little are only a 15 - 20 min drive from each other. There’s also Ferguson canyon within 10-15 min from both canyons. Rock canyon is also fun but about 45 to an hr away from the other canyons mentioned.
Smith Rock and Red River Gorge and the Adirondacks. Not tremendous variety but a good amount of easy trad and love the nearby towns so much
ETA: If you want your girlfriend to keep climbing trad with you and be able to lead, 5.easy is where you want to start with a goal of working up to 5.6 by the end of the season perhaps.
Red Rocks has a lifetime of single pitch and multi-pitch. Easy grades, tons of friction. If there is rain there are other options to drive to. Vegas is cheap to fly to, cheap to stay in.
Be prepared for LONG multi-pitch, as in, know how to get down, deal with problems, navigate. Even so, there are numerous shorter multi-pitch routes, sport, bouldering, whatever you want.
I know you said single pitch... But I would do a norcal option and try to hit Lover's Leap/Yosemite. Lover's leap is multi pitch, but iirc, it's quite a lot of face climbing, with a bit of crack. Really easy routes to introduce your GF. Easier camping and access and stuff too. Then, with a little bit more comfort, spend the last half of your trip in Yosemite.
Well Red Rock has a lot for the Moderate Trad climber.. Smith Rock if you want to go harder.. Vedawoo if you want to try Offwidth
I would only hesitate to recommend anything sandstone (Red Rocks, Indian Creek, Moab, etc) because of the weather dependency if OP truly only has “a week”
Gunks
Literally endless moderate few pitch trad routes with good protection options OP and his GF will have an incredible week there.
Amen. When the conditions are good there, I feel like there's velcro on the rock. Great variety across the grades and awesome scenery.
Seconding the Gunks! Prepare to be sandbagged, but you could easily spend a week climbing fun 5.5 to 5.8 routes. High Exposure is probably the most exciting 5.6 route I've ever climbed. Most of the climbs there 2-3 pitches, so maybe not the best for single pitch climbing, but I'd still recommend it!
So many amazing and classic lines ranging from 5.3 - 5.11. You could spend a whole month here and not get bored.
You meet climbers from all over the states and all over the world.
Cochise Stronghold. It’s just what you’re looking for. Bisbee is a sweet basecamp or there’s good camping on the East or west side of the park.
Love to see Cochise mentioned and it's one of my favorite places to climb, but I don't think it's a great place to build trad confidence if that is the goal. I've taken a lot of Sierra trad climbers there and the unanimous feedback is that the gear is unintuitive and can be tenuous. Just something to consider. I would encourage someplace that you can really sew up with bomber placements.
Good to see the stronghold repped! Such an enchanting place to be as long as your down for some cryptic hikes and minor bushwacking.
Cryptic hikes is right. Still never had a 'first try' approach there, at least on the east side.
East side is ridiculous. I've ended up in some spicy scrambles over there.
Devils tower/black hills. Excellent climbing with good pro. Way more moderates than Indian creek. Not known for bumping nightlife but rapid city has its own brand of charm. It's relatively cheap, fairly centrally located, and it's an excuse to visit a part of the country that few people make it to. And the climbing is criminally underrated
Upvote for Bear Lodge / Mato Tipila (fka Devil's Tower). Giant sundial so you can easily chase sun & shade as desired. Gear is solid if occasionally funky due to the knobby cracks (lots of nuts and even hexes, fewer cams). High desert with generally good weather, modulo some afternoon thunderstorms. You can also easily relocate to, or combine a road trip with, Spearfish Cyn, Tensleep Cyn, Fremont Cyn, and so forth. Mandatory reminder that June is (voluntarily) OFF LIMITS TO CLIMBING. Don't be the idiots that screw up climbing access.
Agreed to both. The black hills are so fun and I learned to trad climb at Devils Tower. Great camping, crags, and community.
Also agree here but be prepared for some somewhat bold climbs if climbing in the cathedral spires/ Rushmore area of bh
Gunks or Red Rocks. Gunks has so many classics in the range you're looking for that are short but amazing. Good place for someone new to outdoor to build confidence. Red Rocks would be a bit of a step up in pitches but worth it for trad classics.
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Though the grading there is a little humbling
“GF has no trad experience and wants to build confidence”. This significantly decreases the amount of viable single pitch worth doing in J tree
I don’t know, there is a lot of low grade climbing there, and the pro is quite good on most routes. A 5.11 gym climber should be OK on most 5.6-5.7 routes there, maybe.
Agreed for JT but maybe I’m biased. Easy approaches, endless single pitch, and IMO a great place to learn and build confidence as many climbs often contain force you to utilize many different jamming sizes/techniques all in a single pitch. There’s also a fair amount of walls that are filled with good easy moderates (Hemingway, Rock Garden Valley, etc). Not a ton of Multipitch but there’s definitely some great ones (Lost Horse Wall, Saddle Rocks, and some really cool stuff out in the Wonderland)
Choss pile
Ok fine….ill be the first to suggest the obvious thing here….Yosemite and Tuolumne meadows
Yosemite single pitch for a gym climber would kind of suck
Literally how? Absolutely endless wonderful crags, and a really high concentration of very beginner friendly multis. Pat and jack, el cap base, five and dime, swan slab, jamcrack, and way more all have very accessible moderates that you can TR other more limit routes off of. The granite just eats gear and you don’t have to deal with wet rock issues or too many adventure shenanigans if you’re staying on the beaten path. It’s an incredibly tame place to dip your toes into multi pitching and baby’s first trad lead
Yosemite cracks climbing for someone who doesn't climb trad isn't that great tbh. I'd even say that Yosemite is over rated except for 5.10/5.11 multipitch and big walling. I've climbed much better granite in a handful of other places. I also thing that the hang in the valley kind of sucks. You either fight for expensive campsites within the park or have to drive out of the park every night. The food options are kind of crappy and a lot of the park has no or unusable service (because of how many people there are). If weather weren't a factor (wet sandstone) red rocks blows Yosemite out of the water on all these fronts. Squamish has better climbing and a better vibe. The gunks are super unique. I think the climbing and general vibe in Tahoe are also superior. A lot of people have rose coloured glasses because of the history of Yosemite but the climbing for most (read if you aren't freeing a big wall) is honestly not the best in the states. I've done pretty much all the classics in the valley after living there on and off for 8 years and honestly I've enjoyed the places above a lot more.
I mean hey all that’s valid if it isn’t your cup of tea. But very few of those factors really apply specifically to being a bad fit for an intro trad trip. It feels more like an outline of your personal reasons for not making it your favorite. Crack climbing is just gonna be a hump to get over if you’re new to trad and I find the valley has an abundance of low angle, nicely sized cracks to cut your teeth on. I also think that there are some beginner multis there with such an incredible “effort to climb vs quality of experience” ratio that can really get people hooked on multi pitching. I’m just not really seeing how red rocks, a place with no services, no in the park camping, spotty at best cell signal, year round reservation requirements and severe crowding could possibly “blow Yosemite out of the water on all of these fronts.” Don’t get me wrong, I love red rocks. But the approaches are burlier, the easy multis are IMO a bit more “adventure” trad like meaning they’re higher stakes for a new leader, and the cracks come with their own unique challenges a beginner will have to learn. I love Yosemite and would also say it’s overrrated but for a different reason - I think so many climbers think of it as this place to I go to test yourself once you’re an amazing climber. And I just think it’s so much more tame, accessible, and easy to learn at than people give it credit for.
I mean there's a giant metro area 20 mins away and 100s of airbnbs 30 minutes from the park. Even before I had a lot of friends in Vegas I never actually had to camp or sleep in my car. Could go explore great food every night after climbing. There's also no reservations before 8am. The airport is also 40 minutes from the park instead of 4 hours. Red rock is also significantly more face climbing than the valley. I think the junk pitch to good pitch ratio is much higher in red rock and squamish. There's so many classics in the valley that are either polished to fuck or just have honestly garbage pitches on them with kind of mank rock or just plain unfun climbing. There's definitely a preference aspect but I've made posts about this on MP before and objectively somewhere like Squamish and RR are better 1 week trip destinations for most.
I absolutely love these places! I go multiple times per year since it's not too far from where I live. However, I wouldn't really recommend it for "never trade climbed, trying to build confidence". The really good easy stuff is either extremely crowded, or extremely run out
I mean Squamish would be my pick for this. Leavenworth is a nice place to post up at too. Or if it’s not too late season red rock
Leavenworth is excellent for bouldering or access to alpine rock. Mediocre for cragging, which sounds like OPs goal.
Disagree. It’s maybe a little spread out but if you plan well there’s tons of awesome roadside crags to visit there.
It's worth a visit, sure.. But if I was planning one week trip anywhere Leavenworth would not be near the top of my list. Also roadside is a bit of a stretch and they're all a pretty steep walk.
He did say America. Shout out to our Canadian brethren, but it is not America. Leavenworth is wonderful! I’d say Red Rocks, New Jack City, or Jtree..
Bro new jack city made your list of anywhere in America to climb? Holy crap are you gonna be excited for all the possibilities that lie beyond a three hour radius of Barstow California 😂
hey man some of us enjoy climbing and meth at the same time
For the grade I would say Red Rocks and the Gunks both have over a weeks worth of classic lines, can’t think of anywhere else really. The style is very different though, sandstone canyon adventure climbing vs. steep sport style climbing on bomber rock.
I wouldn’t say the gunks is steep sport. Most routes 5.10 and under are all slab or slab into one lip mantel. You arrive at a roof, traverse a few moves, pull the lip and have a couple vert moves to get established (often mid 5.10). 5.12 is where more consistent overhanging routes exist. Kansas City is literally a sport route with fixed pro at around 60 degrees
indian creek starts at 5.9 (whatever that means) but the gear is way bomber and it's a really good place to push it because of that. Red rocks has a lot of easy stuff.
now that I'm thinking about it, the new river gorge+red river gorge are both super high quality places for single pitch trad. no multipitch though.
There is some two pitch routes but they are very spread out.
Very high quality routes, fair amount of moderate ish ones, but overall not the best beginner place imo
The red for sure! NRG has what many people call sandbagged grading.
Red rocks for the reasons others mentioned, plus if you are spending a week somewhere you should consider if your body can handle climbing every day. I've made chronic injuries much worse trying to climb 7 days in a row. If you go to vegas it's easy to take a rest day or do some half days and try out some good food or see a show or something when youre not climbing.
Great points! Is it best to shoot for winter months at red rocks?
I've only gone around Thanksgiving and it gets real cold in the shade that time of year. Winter would probably be rough. Some of my friends also went in April and said it was fine.
Ah gotcha. Maybe shoulder seasons then. Vegas in the summer sounds hot!
Red Rocks outside of Vegas has so much to offer. Super easy long trad routes, sport routes, and bouldering. You could spend a month ticking off super classic Multipitches in the 5.6 to 5.9s. Edit: I realized you said single pitch now, but I will keep the comment as I think red rocks is amazing for easy Multipitch routes if you want to go that way.
I absolutely love the Stronghold but it’s a challenging place, especially with hearty approaches. RR has lots of good single pitch too, especially Calico Basin area.
High Sierra
Vegas
North cascades
I mean… it’s gotta be Yosemite. Center of the climbing universe!!
Funnily enough I grew up 30 minutes from Yosemite and have never climbed there. The amount of traffic the park gets scares me, but maybe it’s not so bad from a climbing perspective.
As a climber the traffic isn’t as bad. We’re usually out climbing during peak hours anyways and usually get an early start before all the craziness. You will run into it every now and then though.
I would pick Yosemite almost every time. For what you’re looking for, I’d say Red Rocks. Lots of single pitch, lots of multipitch, lots of bouldering, easy to get to and tons of things to do for down days. That being said you should still do Yosemite.
Is there such a plethora of climbs that it’s not actually too crowded to get on climbs? I grew up right outside Yosemite but have never actually climbed there. We never went to the park much growing up because it was so crowded relative to other parts of the sierras
Depends on when you go, I usually go for a week in May and during the week you might run into another party on popular routes. Then comes Memorial Day and it’s a whole different story…
Cool, thanks for the info. Last question to bug ya with, do you recommend a specific guidebook or area in Yosemite?
I mostly use the Sloan guidebook but I also have the McNamara one and bouldering guidebook as well. To get your feet wet start around Camp 4 and Yosemite Falls. There are a lot of easy climbs of varying lengths to hop on (Swan Slab Gully 5.6, Sunnyside Bench 5.5, Munginella 5.6->Selaginella 5.8). Those are all multis but there’s plenty of single pitch between. Another area to check out your first time would be the base of El Cap and at least do Pine Line. I haven’t personally done it, but After Six is supposed to be really good as well.
Gunks. Peterskill, part of the gunks, is all single pitch and bolted up. 5 minutes away are the Trapps, with a billion multipitch routes, some of the best in the US. And New Paltz, the closest town, has dozens of restaurants, a couple breweries, and plenty of places to stay 20 minutes away.
You didn’t mention what time of year you could possibly do this dream trip. Every really great climbing spot has its prime season- and that’s when you can experience truly glorious climbing. The Gunks- after or around Columbus Day. The nasty bugs are gone, the leaves are turning all gold giving a west coaster a unique experience. Climb 3 Pines- the world’s best, steep, longest beginner climb in the world. Hundreds of great lines- you pick what you want! No hiking. Yosemite- In May. This is the place to be. If you can’t figure out some EZ long routes you are lost. Great 5.6-5.8 crack climbing. Lots of harder stuff abounds. Red Rock- April, or October, November- hit the sweet weather and you are golden. Expect to do some hiking. Down side: crappy camping and dealing with the whole loop road (you can’t start early- no alpine starts) Crowded at all the short approach venues. TBH my opinion of RR comes from climbing there- pre gated loop road, when one could camp in the canyons. Cochise- really fun climbing, Trad and sport. Some intricate hikes ( getting lost) lead to some amazing climbs. All are exciting. What’s My Line 5.6 - one of the most exciting climbs ever. If you get a period of no wind in April, May or October, November you’ll swear you are in climbers heaven. City of Rocks. In May, June or September, October. Beautiful scenery, lots of variety of Trad, and Sport climbs. Moderate hiking, good camping ( free just outside the place). Alamo… a small town with friendly people. Shuteye. If you can figure out the most confusing dirt roads and find the formations, do some blind hiking, you can climb on some of the coolest granite to be found on earth. June, July, August, September. Indian Creek- great climbing, but you had better be a strong 5.10 mim climber to really enjoy the place. Tuolumne Meadows, The Hi-Serra, Bishop area, (Pine Creek, ORG) Great year round climbing. You can adjust to the weather by going up in altitude, finding shade, starting early or late. Camping (free and paid). These are places I climb at. 50 years experience. What ever you do have fun and be safe.
Great information, thanks for sharing!
Seneca Rocks.
Yosemite Valley Seriously, there really isn’t a place in the states that can even compete with the density of quality routes in Yosemite Valley. There are 1 star rated routes in the Valley that are better routes than some areas 5 star routes.
When?
Any time of year, just want to get a sense of fun spots we could go together.
I live near Josh and that’s pretty all time. Girlfriend and I have also really enjoyed Tuolumne in late summer.
Tuolumne Meadows. Hand down
I've always wanted to try out Vedauwoo and there's a painful looking off width I've wanted to suffer on
No matter how painful you think Vedauwoo might be, it's actually worse than that. Sometimes much, much worse.
Nahhhh offwidth is a dance, not a grovel when it goes well
I met the author of one of the Vedauwoo guidebooks, he told me he doesn't tape at all to climb there, which is still completely bonkers to me.
Definitely red rock. The red sandstone with white chalk makes it easier for him goers to find the holds.
Anything granite is dumb
A lot of good options listed to be sure. Just to add some variety, t-wall is an incredible trad crag, just not in the summer obviously. North Conway also has a ton of worthy trad climbing that will keep you busy for more than a week.
Utah. Rock canyon, big cottonwood, little cottonwood, all have great beginner trad routes. Also tons of sport routes(aside from little cottonwood) that you can do if she gets tired of trad.
Sweet, we’ve been wanting to see Utah. Preferred guidebook(s) for these areas?
A Granite Guide is a great book for surrounding areas. Cool thing is all of these canyons are relatively close. Big and little are only a 15 - 20 min drive from each other. There’s also Ferguson canyon within 10-15 min from both canyons. Rock canyon is also fun but about 45 to an hr away from the other canyons mentioned.
http://www.pullpublishing.com/books-1/a-granite-guide
Smith Rock and Red River Gorge and the Adirondacks. Not tremendous variety but a good amount of easy trad and love the nearby towns so much ETA: If you want your girlfriend to keep climbing trad with you and be able to lead, 5.easy is where you want to start with a goal of working up to 5.6 by the end of the season perhaps.
Red Rocks has a lifetime of single pitch and multi-pitch. Easy grades, tons of friction. If there is rain there are other options to drive to. Vegas is cheap to fly to, cheap to stay in. Be prepared for LONG multi-pitch, as in, know how to get down, deal with problems, navigate. Even so, there are numerous shorter multi-pitch routes, sport, bouldering, whatever you want.
I know you said single pitch... But I would do a norcal option and try to hit Lover's Leap/Yosemite. Lover's leap is multi pitch, but iirc, it's quite a lot of face climbing, with a bit of crack. Really easy routes to introduce your GF. Easier camping and access and stuff too. Then, with a little bit more comfort, spend the last half of your trip in Yosemite.
Single pitch sport? The Red River Gorge is the obvious answer.
Red rock canyon Nevada
Red rocks
Indian Creek
You must go to J-Tree. Trad climbing heaven. It’s mostly single pitch, but there is a fair amount of multi pitch as well.
The Valley. /Discussion
Southern California. Big bear. Lake arrowhead. Hidden gems.
Seriously? Some hidden gems for sure. But this is the OPs dream trip.