Calling all rock climbing pre-meds

[LeFauconPelerin]

Hey -- I'm having a devil of a time narrowing down schools to which I'd like to apply. Other than proximity to family, and a decent job market for my wife, I don't really feel strongly about the school. But I do LOVE to climb (mostly sport/lead, but I could see getting into ice). Anyone know what the best schools are, w.r.t. proximity to good outdoor climbing (or, failing that, good indoor gyms)?

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[erin682]

Emory has an climbing wall in their gym and Atlanta is within about an hour and a half of good outdoor climbing. Not a whole lot of ice though .

 

[LeFauconPelerin]

Yeah, I've seen theirs. My little bro's down at Emory. I'm gonna need something a good ten times that size (square footage) to be content. Thanks for the heads-up, though!

 

[Pretty POHA]

Colorado has some amazing and beautiful rock climbing. The only school we have here is the University of Colorado SOM... Denver is only 15-30 minutes from the mountains, and about an hour away from some amazing rock and/or ice climbing, depending on where you go.
There are several rock climbing gyms in Denver, too.
Plus, during the spring we have white water rafting and some AMAZING scenery in the Rocky Mountains.
I love it here! The only thing that could take me away from Denver is a SUPER offer from another really excellent school. Aside from that, it's such a beautiful place that I doubt I'll leave!!

 

[dsq]

I would say California schools, schools along the Appalachins, and of course Colorado. Arizona and Nevada aren't bad either. Mid-west and Gulf Coast lack climbing outdoors. Most major cities will have a decent gym through.

 

[hannahx]

Hey -- I'm having a devil of a time narrowing down schools to which I'd like to apply. Other than proximity to family, and a decent job market for my wife, I don't really feel strongly about the school. But I do LOVE to climb (mostly sport/lead, but I could see getting into ice). Anyone know what the best schools are, w.r.t. proximity to good outdoor climbing (or, failing that, good indoor gyms)?

UW has a very decent indoor gym. I believe there are a couple others in the Seattle area anyway. And there are all sorts of great opps for outdoor climbing all over Washington and Oregon (a closer drive than you'd think!)

 

[madi]

UVA has an excellent climbing gym, as well as VCU (many UVA climbers actually drive to Richmond to use the climbing gym near VCU). UVA also has a great group of consistent climbers that make trips together to some fun local spots.

 

[BooMed]

Don't forget about OHSU. Oregon has awesome rockclimbing and you'll meet lots of kids there who love outdoor stuff.

I hear Alabama has some good bouldering, but people here aren't all that athletic if that matters to you.

 

[Mutt]

UC Davis.

 

[Risa]

Dunno about the answer to your question, but the book I just read featured a doctor who rock climbs:

Flashback, by Michael Palmer

 

[goinverted]

Has to be Utah hands down. The school is like 10 min. from Little Cottonwood Canyon, tons of climbs, both sport and nat. pro. Also Logan canyon (one hour north) has two of the hardest rated climbs in North america and there are too many climbs to count up there. You could always look me up if your in town, hoping I get accepted to Utah. I interviewed there on Friday. En tout cas, c'est meilleur a ecouter a quelqu'un qui parle le meme langue, n'est ce pas?

 

[jbone]

Has to be Utah hands down. The school is like 10 min. from Little Cottonwood Canyon, tons of climbs, both sport and nat. pro. Also Logan canyon (one hour north) has two of the hardest rated climbs in North america and there are too many climbs to count up there. You could always look me up if your in town, hoping I get accepted to Utah. I interviewed there on Friday. En tout cas, c'est meilleur a ecouter a quelqu'un qui parle le meme langue, n'est ce pas?

Amen to that, Utah all the way baby. Strap up and go to class in the same day. Even hit the slopes later for some snowboarding or skiing.

 

[ola]

Goinverted threw down the Ace of Spades with Utah. Doesn't get any better than that. Dartmouth has a mountaineering club, so I would imagine there's good climbing there.

 

[colorado_doc_2B]

What a great thread! I'm really into rock climbing as well. I agree with the previous posters that Colorado, Utah, or several of the California schools would be ideal for a climber. Nevada would be great as well--I just got back from a road trip to Red Rock Canyon, and it has some absolutely stunning multipitch lines. You might consider Vanderbilt as well--it's near Foster Falls. I've never been there, but I hear it has some sweet sport climbing. If you want to research the climbing scene near various med schools, go to rockclimbing.com. You can look up all the climbing areas by state, and see pictures, route descriptions, etc.

 

[JakeHarley]

<-----------Me in J-tree

Almost any of the California schools would be good in terms of being able to do some great weekend trips. I am actually seriously considering Western University of Health Sciences (DO)--3 hours to J-tree and 6 hours to Bishop!!!

I have a friend who graduated from Dartmouth and spent a lot of time climbing at Rumney.

U. Washington would be AWESOME if you have a chance of getting in there: all around the best climbing location in the country in my opinion (sport: Smith trad: all over the cascades bouldering: Squamish) On top of that Seattle has a couple of the best climbing gyms in the country.

But.........



















We're not going to have any time to climb anyway, unless we build a woody in the basement

 

[spot the cat]

Albany.... my sister lives in southern VT, about 45 minutes from Albany, and she climbs rocks & ice in the Adirondacks, Berkshires, Catskills, Green Mts, Holyoke Range etc... good spots for climbing all well within 2 hrs of Albany. (Actually, Thatcher Park, just about 20 minutes from downtown Albany has some decent climbing if you just want to make a relatively short afternoon of it.)

That is, when she is not performing death-defying feats in her little kayak (again, locally).

 

[red dot]

vermont for outdoor climbing

 

[colorado_doc_2B]

How about the North Carolina schools--Duke, Wake Forest, & the University of North Carolina? I hear there's decent climbing at Cooke's Wall, Moore's Wall, and Pilot Mountain.