[Denbob99]

Coming to the final year of my PhD and am aiming to take a year off afterward. Has anyone taken a full year off to bum about and purely climb?

Currently torn on a few options which are:

1) Go somewhere to work the least number of hours I need to in order to survive (Squamish/US?)
2) Go somewhere cheap enough that I don't need to work (Yangshuo/Hampi)
3) Get a van and do Europe (More expensive to start as I don't have a van)

Option 1 means I would have to work, which is less than ideal frankly. Option 2 means with some hard saving that I could get away with not working, looking at the costs of accommodation in places like Yangshuo and Hampi, you can live for a year for fuck all. Apparently if you choose the crags well you can climb in Yangshuo the whole year, not so sure about that for Hampi. Option 3 is always appealing, as you could chase the weather for a full year, but expensive to buy the van and have to rely on its reliability.

So if you have any personal stories about any of the 3 options I would love to hear them, as well as suggestions for locations in each option. Especially if you've done any of these and could tell me roughly how much you spent overall.

Looking forward to any help,
Cheers.

[Fultonius]

We weren't al that excited by the climbing in Yangshuo, Moon hill is now closed (or certainly was when we were there in November). I'm not sure a month there would be good, far less a year.

Mike liked it even less http://mikeowenfrance.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/climbing-in-yangshuo.html

We did hear that there are other, newer climbing locations nearby that are better so do your research before committing to that.

[Denbob99]

Yeah I've heard a few people were a bit turned off it, and it's a real shame about Moon Hill. Was it the climbing or the town you disliked?

[bendavison]

Why not do Europe without the van? Dossing is fine in lots of places, and even if you pay to camp I'd have thought it would be cheaper than getting/running a van.

I did this in a lot of my year off. But did 5 weeks work in the middle with barely any climbing (non outside). Cost around £85 a week, but I was flying back between trips, mostly stayed in campsites and went to Kalymnos which is well expensive.


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[Denbob99]

Thanks Ben. So is the £85 fuel+food?

[bendavison]

£85 was everything. Flights, camping, food etc. Generally, it was more than that, but I had a couple months in Spain where I was a dirtbag.


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[sdm]

I spent a year traveling around India 4 or 5 years ago. It was mostly a non-climbing trip but included a week bouldering in Hampi, a week bouldering in Manali and the odd bit of climbing elsewhere.

I budgeted for about a fiver a day, expecting it to be a struggle to live off so little. I came back with half of my money unspent.

In Hampi, we paid about £3.50 a night for an en-suite three person air conditioned room with a TV. Blackouts were frequent when we were there so don't rely on air con unless your hotel has a generator although you probably wouldn't need it for most of the year. We were offered very basic triple rooms from as little as 15p per night. We were there out of season though. The price you pay will depend on how busy they are, how much they think you can pay (scruffy clothes and equipment help) and how good you are at haggling. Don't book accommodation in advance, you will pay 3 times as much.

You could get meals for under £1, some of the touristy restaurants were more expensive but some of the locals' restaurants were less than 30p for all you can eat. The cheapest food in India is usually the best once you get over the fact that you eat with your hands and get no choice over what you eat.

The main bouldering season is from October/November until February/March when the temperatures are cooler. The monsoon season is about June-August. After the monsoon is the coolest time of year, then it gradually heats up until the monsoons next year. We were there around May when temperatures can reach 40-45ºC so it was too hot to climb during the day. We got to the crag for sunrise, climbed until 8 or 9am, then chilled or explored for the rest of the day.

The bouldering is great (although quite tough on the skin!) and I didn't begin to scratch the surface of what was there. Lots of crimps and highballs (plenty of lower stuff too if you get scared). There is a guidebook these days so getting around should be a lot simpler. There are undocumented boulders left to explore for as far as the eye can see.

Other than bouldering, there are loads of ancient temples and ruins to explore on your rest days. There is quite a good backpackers/dirtbag scene there and the locals are very friendly.

[petejh]

After leaving the army I sold everything I owned (v.little - a motorbike) and buggered off to new zealand for a year. Bit pricey for the flight but once there the costs were low due to the exchange rate if you've some pounds saved up. I went there for the alpine climbing and skiing, both of which are brilliant. Plenty of decent sport climbing and trad too if you don't mind exploring - Paynes Ford and Darrans respectively. Obviously excellent bouldering at Castle Hill. I bought a cheap 1976 bedford camper and split time between van dossing and living in the NZ alpine club huts. The van caught fire (electrical fault) in the last week of my year trip, perfect. I highly recommend  a year in new zealand, wonderful place.

Second experience was Canada - I fucked off there to climb for a year, which turned into 4 years. While there I landed a couple of well-paying part-time jobs that gave me lots of time off to explore. Highly recommend Canada too and it comes with the bonus of you being able to explore the states quite easily (hellish border guards permitting). Don't do what I did and buy a house/settle down without first securing residency.

Spent 3 months in a van around Europe with an ex - don't think I'd choose Europe for a year-long away from it all proper adventure but it's obviously a good option for doing lots of climbing and close enough to home to bail easily.


I don't recall asking for much advice before I made my decisions, I just went with where I felt like I wanted to explore and took the plunge. If it's a country/continent you want to explore the climbing will be 'good enough'.

[Fultonius]

Yeah I've heard a few people were a bit turned off it, and it's a real shame about Moon Hill. Was it the climbing or the town you disliked?

I didn't dislike it, in fact, we had a fun time as we were doing a lot of multi-pitch easy routes (with the girlfriend) which were a bit jungle-like but quite fun. It's a nice place, the scenery is good and the locals (who aren't trying to sell you shit in yangshuo town) are friendly.

The town is nice enough if you stay away from the touristy bits (most of it...). It's really the climbing that' underwhelming. It's alright, just not the "world class" destination it's made out to be.

You might have a great time there. There's certainly an active local scene and it depends on how much other climbing you've done around the world. I'm a bit spoilt as I've managed to get to a lot of the top destinations around.

[T_B]

Option 2 sounds brilliant! If you're young and have no commitments, I would definitely go somewhere further afield than Europe. Some friends of mine are just back from a year in France/Spain in a van. They found winter in Spain hard at times and were lucky enough to get a house sit. Also most people would get burnt out after a year of purely sport climbing.

I spent 9 months in Australia and climbed in Arapiles/Grampians for 4 of those, plus did loads of memorable 'travelling'. Could easily have spent a year but ran out of money. Casual work was easy enough to pick up (we're talking 20 years ago here...), but it got too hot to work outside come summer so I bailed to Thailand.

The States/Canada would be amazing for a year, but I guess it would be pretty expensive?

What about Africa? Not sure how feasible it would be to travel south through Ethiopia (trad) - Kenya (trad/alpine) - Tanzania - Malawi (bouldering) - Mozambique - S Africa / Namibia (bouldering, sport and trad).

[r-man]

A few years ago I spent a year in Australia. Wages there were (and probably still are) excellent for casual work, so that working for a few months and living as a climbing bum in Arapiles/Grampians for the rest of the time is perfectly feasible. I worked over winter in Perth (not a hotspot for climbing, but easy to find jobs), then after some travelling/wwoofing/couch-surfing in Tasmania bought a big car on the mainland and lived in it during spring and summer. Then I did a couple more weeks of work and had a three week sport climbing holiday in Thailand. Good times. Highly recommended.

[tomtom]

Australia is not a cheap place to stay anymore... It's Got alot more expensive relative to UK in the last 4-5 years...

Scary expensive earlier this year.. But salaries are high.

[r-man]

Absolutely. Same as when I was there. The cost of living is high if you are spending English money. However, if you are drawing an Australian wage, life is much cheaper than in England.

And if you are living in the Pines (Arapiles campsite), accommodation is 2 dollars per night, with all the veg you can eat if you work one day per week at the farm over the road...

[jwi]

Option 2 sounds brilliant! If you're young and have no commitments, I would definitely go somewhere further afield than Europe. Some friends of mine are just back from a year in France/Spain in a van. They found winter in Spain hard at times and were lucky enough to get a house sit. Also most people would get burnt out after a year of purely sport climbing.

Who would climb full time in Europe for a year and only do sport, when there so much good multipitch sport, bouldering, alpine climbing, trad, ice, mixed and aid climbing to be had?

[T_B]

Option 2 sounds brilliant! If you're young and have no commitments, I would definitely go somewhere further afield than Europe. Some friends of mine are just back from a year in France/Spain in a van. They found winter in Spain hard at times and were lucky enough to get a house sit. Also most people would get burnt out after a year of purely sport climbing.

Who would climb full time in Europe for a year and only do sport, when there so much good multipitch sport, bouldering, alpine climbing, trad, ice, mixed and aid climbing to be had?

Aid climbing!? Seriously though, yes, indeed. But that would be a pretty expensive trip. I guess I'm basing my opinion on what a few different friends have actually done and they've basically ended up spending long periods in Spain as it's cheap. A trip starting in northern Europe during the spring and travelling down through the Alps to end up in Spain in the winter months would be amazing of course.

[jwi]

Yeah, I know, it's crazy that people spend a year in Spain doing only sport climbing, when there is so many other forms of climbing to be had in Spain (and just across the border to France).

[SA Chris]

My view is scrape some cash together working here first and if you are doing a long trip do it somewhere far away that you can't do on short holidays from the UK. Alternatively I was lucky I managed to get a work visa to work a winter in a ski resort in Colorado, and managed to save enough money for a 3 moth trip around the US. Worth considering if you enjoy snow sports. You actually get paid fairly well, especially if you avoid going on the piss every night (which is hard), and I picked up a vehicle fairly cheaply from someone at the end of the season.

Dirtbagging is OK, but it's nice to not have to constantly worry about the cash, and have a bit of comfort.

[Bonjoy]

There is a lot to be said for keeping life simple on a long trip. Having all the kit for all sports in the van is just more shit to worry about, plus doing anything more adventurous than sport and bouldering really ramps up travel insurance costs. 

I've done two long trips away. First time it was a full year on a round the world ticket. Japan (a week visiting family) - Thailand (a month climbing) - Australia (6 months mixed working and climbing) - New Zealand (5 months climbing). We lived and worked in Sydney for a big chunk of the Oz time which financed the NZ bit. Bought and then sold on cars when in Oz and NZ, made a profit on the second sale! Tended to sleep on mattress in car and keep kit in disposably cheap tent when away climbing. Was mostly sport and bouldering but did a fair amount of trad in Oz on a minimal rack.
Second trip was six months in a van round Europe, mostly sport climbing with a few weeks of bouldering thrown in. Initial cost of getting a van comfortable enough to live in during all seasons was high but then cost of living very low once out.
Both trips were brilliant and hugely improved my climbing. Both had their own pros and cons and suited my time of life. We tended to climb three on one off (with two day rest every third or so cycle) and never got burnt out, I put this down to a lack of imagination, high levels of psych and the fact that we were very well organised (mostly thanks to my wife) and always clean and comfortable. If you live like a vagrant in stinking cold/hot damp ming and eat badly prepared slop every day, as a lot of folk in vans we met seemed to, then you can expect to get jaded after a while. Occasional nights in proper campsites with facilities and the odd week in a gite is also a good way to avoid burn out. Beware if you go with a partner, most of the couples we met on long trips broke up whilst on the trip or shortly after, it really puts your relationship to the test, probably a very good pre-marriage exercise come to think of it!

[kelvin]

Cheers for that Bonjoy - reading what was posted before, I was starting to think I'd got this winter's eight month trip all wrong!
I'm heading off in four weeks time and trying to keep it simple. Sports gear and two pads basically. The idea is to get better at climbing, rather than go on an adventure and I'm guessing that's the first choice someone needs to make.
Live cheaply, campsites every 8 days or so to do washing, eat well, alcohol if there's something to celebrate and stay in a nice place at Xmas. Went Jordon heads home after four months, I'll head to the Orange House for a while before trekkin to Font for the last month or so.
Why Spain? The rock, a different language, climate. Money isn't really an issue and I also think, saving money shouldn't be a motivating factor in where you go unless you are genuinely on your limit.
Enjoy whatever you chose to do.

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[Denbob99]

Thanks for all the replies. Even more to think about than when I first asked I think, but that's all part of the fun right?

[SA Chris]

Whatever you decide, just make sure you do something, and don't get all sensible. Plenty of time for that.

[abarro81]

I did 14 months climbing in UK and Europe after uni - went on a simmer trip, came back n climbed in UK n bought a van then back to euro for long trip (flew back at Xmas for a few weeks) from Oct til June, back UK for a few months then brief euro hit again before starting PhD. It was amazing.

Coming up to the end of my PhD I'll be taking another year off. This time I'll go further afield, but in no way do I regret doing France/Spain the first time around. Part of this depends on how much you've already done - now if I were in a van going to Europe I'd focus on crags that are harder to do without a van. Places like margalef, rodellr and siurana are dead easy on short trips whereas some places its harder to find cheap easy accom. That said, I don't regret going to those places - they were new to me then and I loved it and was so excited to go to all these famous crags.

Things I would do differently - more bouldering to avoid getting weak. Also I find it less stressful. You can't push yourself every day for 4 months like you can for 4 weeks, you need days where it's chilled and you're just playing on things you know are way too hard for you or cruising on things which are too easy or bouldering which I find less stressful. Otherwise you can get burnt out mentally. I had 2.5 months living in Tom n Lynne's house in Santa linya in winter which helped a lot with not getting burnt out mentally or physically.

Trips are ace!

[Denbob99]

Whatever you decide, just make sure you do something, and don't get all sensible. Plenty of time for that.

Wouldn't dream of it!

[lagerstarfish]

it's also worth thinking about having enough money to try out a new activity whilst you're away

I spent 6 months climbing in Thailand (when it was still cheap) and ended up doing diving as well as climbing - it was good learning something new and also having different stuff to look forward to - I found myself looking forward to climb/dive days even at the end of the trip

consider snow sports, unpowered flying stuff, bikes, surf etc

not slacklining - that's for cunts

[Bonjoy]

In the main I tended to avoid seiging which may have contributed to low stress and no burn out. Rarely stuck with anything which felt like it would take more than three sessions max and mostly did stuff that was potentially onsightable or would go down with in a few redpoints at most. I think doing a few months of this is more beneficial to your climbing than a handful of stressful seiges, not to mention a lot more fun and less likely to produce a trip spoiling injury.
I didn't change my drinking habits when away. Figured it was important to relax at the end of the day and it can get boring in a van of an evening when the nights get longer.

[Denbob99]

I didn't change my drinking habits when away. Figured it was important to relax at the end of the day and it can get boring in a van of an evening when the nights get longer.

It helps that Spain (and Europe generally) has dangerously cheap booze of course 

[abarro81]

In the main I tended to avoid seiging which may have contributed to low stress and no burn out. Rarely stuck with anything which felt like it would take more than three sessions max and mostly did stuff that was potentially onsightable or would go down with in a few redpoints at most. I think doing a few months of this is more beneficial to your climbing than a handful of stressful seiges, not to mention a lot more fun and less likely to produce a trip spoiling injury.
I didn't change my drinking habits when away. Figured it was important to relax at the end of the day and it can get boring in a van of an evening when the nights get longer.

Conversely, the time of the trip when I mostly was onsighting I got the most burnt out - from start of Oct until Christmas I was basically onsighting and quick ticking only, and it meant that every day I went out putting pressure on myself to perform. By the time I came home at christmas I was done mentally; didn't want to put my shoes on for 2 weeks at home, just campused and fingerboarded! When I was putting more time into things I was more chilled and didn't suffer this issue. It's hard to separate variables though, since when I was putting more time into stuff I was also living in a house which helps a lot, or it was later in the trip when I'd done a bunch of stuff which may have contributed to not feeling stressed about getting things done...
In any case for me some variety is needed - next time I'll boulder more and ensure I'm mixing up onsights, quick RPs and projects. Also good to accept from the outset that time is less efficiently spent than on short trips I think - on a 2 week hit you feel like every day has to count, on a long trip I can't sustain that approach and definitely need to be more chilled.

On the boredom point - if you get a van then get a good battery set-up and a hard drive with loads of films/series on it.

[Bonjoy]

To some extent it will depend on what type of climber you are or aim to be. I'm happy to be a mid-grade slacker, doing loads of quick routes was right up my street. I did do some longer projecting on both trips, but found it stressful. I hate being surrounded by shit loads of amazing routes and being stuck trying the same moves for days on end, with the ever present risk that for whatever reason the invested effort might all come to nothing. I'm well aware this sort of attitude is no good if you aspire to big numbers.

[T_B]

To some extent it will depend on what type of climber you are or aim to be.

And what type of climbing you're mainly into. I can't imagine going to Spain if I took a year off, despite being into sport climbing. But then I have the benefit of having climbed at places like Taipan, Yosemite, The Needles CA

[abarro81]

2/3 of your list are trad destinations TB!

[Bonjoy]

T_B - I should have added " and what your partner (if you are going with one), is keen on and competent at"
I camped near Taipan for several weeks but only got to climb on it a couple of times as it didn't suit my climbing partners.

[T_B]

Fair comment, but I can think of incredible sport routes in places like Tuloumne that unlike Spain you couldn't just rock up and do on a long weekend from the UK e.g.

[a dense loner]

When I see pics like that I wish I could actually climb!

[Steve R]

It has been touched on already but, depending on where you go and your personality to some extent, I wouldn't underestimate the hurdle of getting partners if you're going solo.  I'm looking at spending some longer periods in Spain this winter and the partner factor is probably my main priority when it comes to deciding where.
I've done some solo longer trips in the past(South Africa, Squamish) and, as a fairly anti-social introvert, I found it quite challenging meeting and arranging to go climbing with new people all the time! 

[shurt]

Been mentioned a few times on here already but I went to NZ for a longish trip (6 months). Got a work visa which I think is pretty easy to get unless you are of advancing years. I climbed, worked, took a bit of cash with me, bought a car which was cheapish but good to get around to the different areas. I think it was Chris who mentioned going further afield. I would deffo consider this rather than Europe. There will be time to do trips around Europe later but having the time to go to NZ, Aus, Canada, the US etc. for an extended period might only happen a few times in your life depending on how it pans out. I don't think you'd regret it.
I used a great website to get work over there where you did about 2-3 hrs work a day and got food and board. Easy to climb the rest of the time if near enough to somewhere. It helps to make your cash last longer. Lots of places let you work more hrs and earn cash if you want to. This is it I think: http://helpx.net/nz/index.asp
Climbing is varied - sport, bouldering, trad, alpine. You can ski and snowboard too if you're into it.

I still dream about Castle Hill, I will go back one day. Its incredible... 

[Bencil]

I’m planning a euro road trip in a van starting in September, also just finished phd and now desperate to have some time off. Probably for around 6 – 8 months but maybe longer.
Interesting to hear about people getting burnt out. Sitting at a desk dreaming of endless 3 start euro climbing its hard to imagine but can kind of see how it could be an issue if you don't try to break it up a bit. Main event will be sport climbing but will be getting some bouldering, multi pitch in too.
Linked into this my main concern is like Steve R said is finding partners. Managed fine on a 10 day solo trip in chulilla (mate had to bail at last minute) was able to find climbing partners every day but certainly added some level of stress (maybe this was due to high turnover of people at the place I was staying.) But then at the other end of the spectrum spending 6 months with the same partner day in day out could also get stressful as bonjoy has said with couples breaking up. How easy is it to find the happy medium here? Any tips? Which crags are going to be easiest to find partners? (will be mostly looking at south france and spain I think.)
Current plan is to head out at the same time as a mate and his gf who have a similar plan. Will also be trying to persuade friends to come join me for holidays.

[Denbob99]

Thought I'd update this as I'm now back and thought it might be interesting for others. We left in November last year and spent 7 months travelling and climbing, I'll post a quick summary of where we went and did:

India: Spent about a month and a half in Hampi bouldering. Its an amazing place, very laid back but full of travellers and not much else. You couldn't really say you'd been to India if you only went to Hampi. The bouldering itself is world class, we stayed in Goan corner. Even had all our money cancelled on us overnight (cheers Modhi) luckily Sharmilla from the Goan Corner sorted us out! Highly recommended, but do it soon as they might bulldoze the whole island.  We made it out to Badami too, which very much is real India. Good for a sport climbing break but not anything to write home about, the street food is some of the best food we had on the whole trip though.

After that we travelled north. Avoid Goa and any major city. Loved Udaipur/Pushkar and Rajastahn in general. After that we spent some time in Rishikesh which is beautiful, did some yoga and went hiking, lavvly.

I think we averaged £10 a day in India including food, accommodation and travel.

Nepal: I got giardia, a water-born parasite so had to look at mountains but not trek around them due to needing to be in very close proximity to a toilet for 5 days. Top tip, don't get giardia.

Thailand: Storms in Railay meant we went to Nam Pha Pa Yai climbers camp instead which was really nice. Good accommodation, great food and limited but excellent climbing. You zip-line to the crag which is novel!

After that we spent 10 days at Jungle Boulders, probably a bit late in the season for it as it was pretty hot but the bouldering itself was really nice and Dom who ran the place was great to hang out with.

Laos: We spent 10 days sport climbing in Thakek. World class climbing but the accommodation was a bit shit compared to everywhere else we stayed. First place we started to suffer serious burnout.

Back to Thailand: A month in Chiang Mai, 2 weeks in the city in an AirBnB and 2 weeks at Jira homestay. The actual climbing at crazy horse isn't that great, a month is probably too long to spend there in all honesty. Food at Jira's is great though and the bungalows were top value.

China: A month in Yangshuo to start. If you're heading to Yangshuo for any length of time then stay in an apartment. We paid £50 each for a month in a shared flat with a bunch of really great guys, the flats are owned by Ola who climbs 8c+ so can always get your draws back for you if you go climbing. Major burnout at times over this month but Yangshuo itself is a lot of fun and the landscape is totally alien.

After that we headed to Shigu and stayed at Stone Drum House. The accommodation was fantastic and Shigu itself is a really nice place to spend time and get a feel for what rural China is like away from tourists. The climbing won't ever be world class as the rock quality just isn't there, but there's huge scope for big sport multipitches if you're willing to bolt them.

Japan: Didn't climb, just did workaway on a farm for 2 weeks followed by a week in Tokyo. Tokyo is amazing for a big city, very green and never feels like 40 million people live there.

Any questions about anywhere we went, feel free to ask. Burnout is a bitch and hit hard at times, not something you expect when you have a job and only really get to climb on evenings and weekends! Pretty sure overall we averaged less than £20 a day including all travel between and in countries and the flights home.

[SA Chris]

Good work, and well done (except the giardia). When's the next trip then?