The quality of a club can vary a lot from year to year - depends who's in it. For that reason, universities usually have an advantage over colleges: PhD programs often take longer than a four-year undergraduate degree, so a school with lots of PhDs is more likely to have someone in the club who's been there long enough to gain some expertise (in climbing, in navigating the school bureaucracy, and in getting along with new students). Even better if the school has affiliated research institutions nearby that a bunch of their formers students can join (while remaining members of the club). Also, the nerdier the culture, the better. I don't know a lot of frat members who climb. Just stay away from string theorists, an actual rope is too distracting for them
Finally, "the West" is a large area. If the school is located in the mountains, you can bet the students are outdoorsy. If the school is in Los Angeles, it might be more of a beach and movies campus. Don't overlook someplace like Stanford, though: a school doesn't have to be right in the mountains to attract climbers: that's why man invented the automobile!