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Advice for year-long climbing trip

Original Post
Claire · · Somerville, MA · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 5

Hi MP! Please help me decide on a place to visit (outside of N. America). I'd like to be in one country for 9-12 months.

I would like a place that has (in approximate order of importance):
1. Interesting history/culture
2. A great year-around climbing community
3. 3-4 season climbability
4. Low crime/safe
5. Easy to find climbing partners
6. Not crazy expensive
7. Fun non-climbing activities

Obviously these things are all subjective, which is why I'm asking for your opinions. Even if you can think of a place that isn't all these things, I would love your suggestion.

If it helps, I am:
1. female, traveling solo
2. 5.12 sport, 5.11 trad, WI 5
3. American, don't speak any foreign languages well :(
4. psyched!

Thank you!

Will S · · Joshua Tree · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 1,061

Europe. Bounce between the in-season crags. Easy enough to get by on english and a phrasebook, usually plenty of americans and british around to help smooth that part of it. Between the alps, french and spanish limestone, font, etc you can find something in-season all the time, and with a "scene" to find partners. No shortage of cultural stuff, easy enough to get around, trains and such. Not as sketchy as south america.

Lots of people launch one of these long-term trips, and overdo it early it the trip, end up injured. Start slow, take plenty of rest days.

Claire · · Somerville, MA · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 5

Thanks. I'm specifically looking to be only in one place right now. If you had to choose one destination, what would it be?

Ian G. · · PDX, OR · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 280

Don't make this difficult, go to Australia. Has everything you want minus the ice. The country is an entire continent fer chrissakes...

If Aussie culture gets you down (it's like a bizzaro socialist Texas, no kidding) go to Thailand.

You can live cheap in Australia and work is easy to get even if you have the giant NO WORK stamp on your passport (I picked grapes for a while in Margaret River).

The biggest threat you face as a climber in Oz is picking up surfing and abandoning climbing altogether.

One edit: The biggest downer is cost of getting there...$3k last time I checked. Yikes!

Don Ferris III · · Boulder, CO · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 186

I could easily spend a year in New Zealand. Everybody is super friendly there and has similar seasons to Colorado except in reverse. You could spend the spring, summer, and fall on the South Island then head to the north island for the winter. Or just stick around and do winter things.

max hux · · Portland, OR · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 75

You could probably climb out all of Vietnam in 9-12 months if you wanted, great limestone sport climbing and DWS in the north- couple crags 45mins to 2.5 hours away from Hanoi, then all of Ha long bay...sport climbing and DWS there, just 3ish hours away from Hanoi. Plus a tiny sweaty bouldering gym in town!
Cheap as chips, incredibly safe, lots of culture and language barriers to check out and work through, and the people are super nice too. Hanoi is a sweet city, it doesn't feel insane (minus the traffic) because there are a ton of trees and the buildings aren't too tall (this is coming from someone who doesn't like big cities!). And its not hyped up or polluted like Thailand's climbing areas...worth a shot. If you get sick of climbing here there's plenty of other things to do/places to see. Its funny reading Australia because its the opposite of cheap...

pierref · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 0

my european country ranking:
spain, italy, france:
pro: 4 seasons climbability, history and culture, quite cheap
against: few english speaking people in south, not very open community, not safe

austria, swissland, germany:
pro: many english speakers, history, safe
cons: quite expensive, winter is winter

My suggestion: staying in the swissland austria north italia area (the distances are short) allows to extend the climbing season, in safe environnment, historically reach countries, with limestone and granit, trad, sport and boulder.

Ian G. · · PDX, OR · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 280
max huecksteadt wrote:Its funny reading Australia because its the opposite of cheap...
If you can dirtbag in the US, you can do it in OZ. The OP is apparently an Anglophone only and the Australians speak an almost comprehensible form of English.

I lived in Perth about 15 years ago and remember the exchange rate being 2 to 1 (that is for every $US I took I got 2 $AUS.) It was like the entire country being fifty percent off! Alcohol was crazy expensive, I do remember that...and shitty. Gawd, Australian beer is terrible.
Claire · · Somerville, MA · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 5

Thank you to everyone for your responses! I'll focus on learning about the countries that you've suggested. I have studied French and Chinese for more than 8 years combined, but I find foreign languages to be something I struggle with so ideally I won't have to depend on speaking one.

Mike Marmar · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 67

If you go to western/central Europe, you have to plan ahead to not run afoul of the Schengen zone visa rules. Read this nomadicmatt.com/travel-blog…

Benj84 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2014 · Points: 435
pierref wrote:my european country ranking: spain, italy, france: pro: 4 seasons climbability, history and culture, quite cheap against: few english speaking people in south, not very open community, not safe austria, swissland, germany: pro: many english speakers, history, safe cons: quite expensive, winter is winter My suggestion: staying in the swissland austria north italia area (the distances are short) allows to extend the climbing season, in safe environnment, historically reach countries, with limestone and granit, trad, sport and boulder.
I spent 2 months climbing in spain this winter and a little over 5 years in france (a good portion of that time traveling and climbing solo) and I'm going to throw out my personal experience of having always found partners in both countries, the only days I haven't climbed during my stays at major spanish/french crags where the days I wanted the rest.
As for openness switzerland is a louzy place to pick up partners, I have done a good amount of climbing there and have almost invariably (11 out of 12 pick up partners) climbed with other foreigners.

The main reason I chime in here is to adress the "not safe" part of the comment. Outside of maybe a few crags where car-crime might be an issue (in this regard western europe is no different from the united states; use your common sense and you'll stay out of trouble), That judgement is totally misplaced.

Regarding language barriers if you stick to major crags its not an issue. If you live in america and you've heard of the crag, there will be people from all over the world climbing there, many of whom will speak english. I find myself speaking english more often than french at some french crags

Another thing to consider is that for non-residents car rental can be a bit tricky in europe.
The other option is to find a place to rent in a climbing town (grenoble, cham, illeida, the list can get pretty big if you do some research)
pierref · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 0

Hi Benj,
my answer take in account that granitgirl is not only interested in climbing and i suppose plan to live in a city facing pro and cons of a city.

People from southern europ are more "male chauvinist" and i suppose it is not pleasant for a women travelling alone. The problem being increased by the presence of muslim people (in france particularly) having a different relationship with women than we have.
I agree with you, speaking of safety is not convenient, better are the words lack of courtesy.

Believe me, i'm really not proud to write in this way, i do my best for being humanist, if i was US native, i will be surely democrat. But the french society becomes more and more strained in some cities

Of coarse at the crag bottom, it is totally different, people are friendly and do their best to speak with any foreign people. But the only religion we have in common is to enjoy on the rock and speak climbing with other climbers

Vanessa · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 5

South Africa has awesome sport climbing, trad and bouldering. People are friendly, the history and culture are unique, and the wildlife is fantastic. Your US$ will go very far as the currency is weak. Watch 'Africa Fusion' for a taster 😆 youtu.be/8LmGhIYWDlM

Benj84 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2014 · Points: 435

Hey Pierro,

Lacking in courtesy is an accusation against mediterranean europe that holds up depending on ones definition of courtesy. But between "impolite" and "unsafe" there is a substantive leap.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

International
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