Climbing over X-Mas Break

[climb2core]

Where would you go, acknowledging the following restrictions:


9 to 10 days to travel (Has to be during Xmas Break) anywhere
Can't be too expensive. Lets keep airfare under $1000/ticket. (Thailand is $1800 over Xmas)
Bouldering or climbing destinations acceptable.
The destination would provide sight seeing and other cultural experiences with in reasonable distance for the wife who is not a hard core climber.

This is not for me, but for a buddy. I was curious to see what you local yocals would come up with.

[Cromper]

I'd go with the Chattanooga area or j-tree. If it were me I would prolly lean toward Chattanooga. But I hate driving/flying an extended amount of time.

[Spikeddem]

Umm. El Potrero Chico.

[climb2core]

Umm. El Potrero Chico.

It is being discussed. What else is there to see/do for the non climber wifey type?

[JeffCastro]

If you go to Potrero, Monterrey is only 45 minutes away and can be fun for a few days. I went to a great modern art museum in the city, there is an old part of town you can walk through with a canal and lots of old Spanish architecture. I also hired a cab for the day and went to a really large cave with lots of stalactites.

[pigsteak]

in your face...the Red is deserted and sunny days are perfectumundo.

[allah]

Bishop, there is everything you need there, sport and boulders. fly into vegas for piss cheap rent a car and go. hotels are super reasonable too.

[milspecmark]

I second Joshua Tree. Never been to Biship but it is on the list.

[ece_ssg]

horseshoe canyon ranch.

[lena_chita]

Las Vegas.

Tickets are usually cheap. Hotel accommodations are cheap, so you don't need to bother bringing all camping gear. If you stay in Vegas, you have Red Rocks as an obvious destination, but you also have VRG and St. George area within couple hours. You can choose to stay in St. George, or right at the border near VRG (which would be about halfway between St. George and Vegas, if I recall-- closer to St.George), and drive to Vegas on Rest days. Zion is not that far away either, esp if you are staying in St. George area. And even if you don't climb there, it is well worth the trip on a rest day. I wouldn't recommend Zion as a climbing destination in December, but it was 55F there last New Year's Eve. (The year before there was a foot of snow for New Year, I think... very pretty!)

And nothing stops you from buying the tickets to Vegas and then choosing later whether you want to drive to Bishop or JT from there.

I am a bit doubtful about Bishop over Christmas break. I was there i nearly November, and while climbing was perfect, the temps did go down to 25F at night a couple of times. Maybe we hit an unusual cold snap, I don't know... The campground is bare-bones desert campground, nothing but rocky ground and pit toilets, you have to drive into town for any amenities (which are very nice for a small town). Still, might not be that cool with non-hardcore climber.