[cedric]

Hi ukb,

Long time lurker, first time poster. Looking to plan a big trip with my girlfriend next year, we've got a rough idea of places we'd like to visit, just after ideas on logistics etc.

The plan would be mainly bouldering, with a bit of sight-seeing thrown in too. We'd like to cover Europe, West Coast of the States, Canada and New Zealand over the course of 9 months to a year. If we left in Jan 17, our current thinking would be:

Jan - May: Europe - Font, Albarracin and Switzerland

June - August - New Zealand. Is this the right time of year?

Sep - Dec - Canada, States - Squamish, Yosemite, Bishop, Joe's Valley, RMNP

Main questions:

Is this all a bit ambitious? Would we be better spending more time in less places to get the most out of them?

Any other areas that should be on the list?

We've got a van for the European leg although would probably try and rent a cheap gite for Font given the time of year.

Suggestions / ideas welcome. This is probably the first post of many questions.

Thanks ukb 

[kelvin]

I've found on my trip that after 6 weeks or so, psyche for an area can ebb away. So moving around sorta makes sense to me but you may find different.
Going long distance probably makes more sense, as you can do Spain, France etc easily and cheaply from the UK but personally, I wanted to spend time in non English speaking countries.

Enjoy, whatever you decide.

[duncan]

Could be an amazing trip but it does sound quite ambitious. I'm most envious of anyone who has both the time and the money to do a long trip in some comfort.

Where are you based? Echoing Kevin, my standard advice for this kind of thing is to spend most time furthest from home. As one gets older, and the barnacles start to accumulate, it should still be possible to spend good amounts of time at local-ish venues but the long-haul ones become more elusive. In my case, I climb regularly all over Europe but I'm unlikely to have extended trip to Australia this side of retirement and divorce!

My other thought is the chance of burn-out or injury. I've done several theoretically time-unlimited trips. After 2-2.5 months of solid climbing I needed a break of several weeks and after 9-10 months I was ready for a fixed home, a job, and some routine in life. Different people respond in different ways to this kind of unlimited freedom, at least one poster on here was still going strong after 12 months around Europe in a van. I'm pretty certain I couldn't manage that. The Anderson Brothers Rock Prodigy book has an interesting chapter on 'periodization' over a long trip, to improve performance, stop burn-out, and, ultimately, have more fun. Is there a fall-back if you bust a pulley one month in?

Your times are about right for the west coast USA, if you start at the top and work down. 

[cedric]

Thanks Duncan, that's really helpful.

Anyone got any more specific beta on the States? I understand we'll be limited to 90 days under the current visa system. Any suggestions to make the most of this time?

Am I right in thinking there are restrictions on how long you can stay in Yosemite valley for?

[stokesy]

Cedric I'd point out that you're planning on being in NZ in winter, if bouldering is what you're looking at doing you're obviously going NZ for Castle Hill. I can confirm it's ace (not as good as Font though ), but it can get snowed out pretty bad in winter. Spring and autumn are the best bets, summer is bloody warm.

[bendavison]

Sounds amazing!

2-3 months seems a long time to spend at Castle/Flock Hill to me. Maybe that's just because I'm not a boulderer. There's more than enough problems (~9000) to keep you busy, especially above 6C. It's a ski area in winter, but there's feck all else to do around there other than walk/run and you'll have the whole boulder field/campsite pretty much to yourself if it's anything like autumn. Nearest wifi is about 50 km away unless you're staying at Flock Hill Lodge/Camping (http://www.flockhill.co.nz) I believe. Have you thought about combining Oz and NZ? The bouldering looks pretty good in Oz!

[SA Chris]

Anyone got any more specific beta on the States? I understand we'll be limited to 90 days under the current visa system. Any suggestions to make the most of this time?

If you are planning on Canada too, you could take a break there for a month, then do another 90 day trip?I've also heard you can apply for an extension to the 90 day trip, provided you can show you have a flight out  and that you are financially stable and not working or needing to work illegally.