A data scientist crunched the numbers to find the best climbing road trips in the U.S. Photo: Michael Skaug
With the long, dry days of summer upon us, climbing road trips beckon. But the road-tripping climber — especially a data-driven one — is faced with a dilemma: What itinerary puts you on the highest number of top-quality routes?
You could speculate all day about where to go. Should you hit Smith Rock, followed by Yosemite, followed by Red Rocks? Or should you explore Joshua Tree, followed by the eastside of the Sierra, followed by Bishop? These questions are mere conjecture without hard numbers.
Enter data-scientist Michael Skaug. Compelled by this very question, he mapped out the best road-trip routes in five regions of the United States: the Northwest, the West, the Central U.S., the Southeast and the Northeast. First he tapped into the vast information trove of the online guidebook Mountain Project to determine which areas offered the highest number of quality routes. Then he employed Google Maps API to optimize the driving route.
For example, sampling the highest number of the finest routes in the west, and stringing them together most efficiently would mean journeying to Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Mount Lemmon, Bishop, Tuolumne Meadows, Mammoth Lakes, Highway 50, Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Cochise Stronghold. Looks like you might need to ask for more time off work.
Nice one, Skaug. But we’d like to up the challenge: Add additional relevant factors like temperature, humidity, and precipitation in those areas to optimize what seasons or months in which to climb for optimal conditions. Then add the cost and quality of camping options and maybe a few more variables. The cost of gas, perhaps? Availability of cheap, tasty eats? Number and quality of swim holes, maybe? Just a few suggestions.
