In reply to vickyhardy: I'm sure Mick will chime in soon on this, but for a starter there is much more to Bishop climbing than bouldering, though the bouldering is surely extremely worthy. You'll be ski instructing, so looking for winter locales. The Owens River Gorge, between Mammoth and Bishop is the best bet----an excellent, very extensive sport climbing area of volcanic tuff. There are also plenty of trad areas as well, but most are more into the mountains, so subject to being snowed in. There is plenty of good climbing around Mammoth itself, and some are in micro-climates that allow winter rock climbing on many days. A very pleasant sport area close to Mammoth is Clark Canyon, also on volcanic tuff but pinnacles and buttresses instead of canyon walls, though probably inaccessible for much of the winter.I believe that a new guidebook to the areas close to Bishop (excluding Owens which has its own book, as does the Mammoth area)has just been published and should be available locally. It is a great area---though expensive----enjoy.
