know loads of people who were close to stuff there then it got soaked
If I was in my 20s again I'd sack off climbing at the UK sport crags and head out to Spain or wherever at every opportunity where your biggest worry is whether the route's gonna be in the sun or not. There seem to be plenty of young climbers in Sheff who train then head off to world-class crags in Europe.
Quote from: T_B on September 16, 2016, 11:31:13 amIf I was in my 20s again I'd sack off climbing at the UK sport crags and head out to Spain or wherever at every opportunity where your biggest worry is whether the route's gonna be in the sun or not. There seem to be plenty of young climbers in Sheff who train then head off to world-class crags in Europe. Wouldn't it then be better to move to London since the training facilities are as good and availability of flights is better?
Possibly, though I suggested this recently to someone who lives in Chelsea and she said getting to Gatwick was a nightmare and flying from Heathrow very expensive. Manchester, or at least an 1 hour on the train from Manchester Airport would probably tick some boxes
- With regard to location this is still up in the air and would require ‘time on the ground’ to investigate options. It is however likely to be north rather than south, maybe ‘anywhere’ north-east of the A65? As for options outside the area (in Lancashire for example) my heart is set on North Yorkshire because of what I perceive the natural environment to be there.
- Something that has come up for me as I’ve reflected on this is the number of climbable days annually in the respective areas. I think it would be relatively easy to come up with an estimate: how many months are Kilnsey and Malham likely to be climbable annually and how many days during these months are likely to climbable i.e. conditions and / or weather are reasonable? Comparing the total with north Wales might be worthwhile in terms of further narrowing down whether my perception / hope (Kilnsey and Malham are the closest to what I’m after in the UK) matches reality.
- Nobody has really touched on some of the other aspects I mentioned: walking, running, biking or being able to be in nature / away. If anybody has any particular views on / experience of this I’d be interested.
Can't quite believe what I'm reading here."The sport climbing in England is of a sufficiently poor quality and reliability that it would be worth moving abroad, or else using up all your annual leave and disposable income, to get away from it." It's not that bad for goodness' sake.
- Nobody has really touched on some of the other aspects I mentioned: walking, running, biking or being able to be in nature / away. If anybody has any particular views on / experience of this I’d be interested.Time for a trip to North Yorkshire...
I live in a village just inside the National Park, 5 mins from Kilnsey and 10mins to Malham. I mostly climb but I do a fair bit of fell running ...I love it, but then again, I was brought up on a farm, near a market town, so don't really know any different.
Quote from: Will Hunt on September 16, 2016, 01:30:48 pmCan't quite believe what I'm reading here."The sport climbing in England is of a sufficiently poor quality and reliability that it would be worth moving abroad, or else using up all your annual leave and disposable income, to get away from it." It's not that bad for goodness' sake.And also, in this day and age recommending spending as much time as possible FLYING TO SPAIN for CLIMBING doesn't seem particularly environmentally responsible...
How was your recent climbing trip to the US Fultonius? Nice flight?
Will keep an eye out if anything comes up here, although given my record of finding you jobs....
What sort of grade are you redpointing, Keith? Are we talking high 7s? Low 8s? High 8s?
Have you climbed much at Malham and Kilnsey Keith? I couldn't imagine climbing on them consistently and that's it. The thing is with North Wales as you probably know if you ignore the Spanish style aspect you mentioned, is you can climb all the time; something will always be dry (even if it's only the Cave in winter). But in spring/summer/autumn the variety of rock types/angles/location and styles in my head far outweighs sieging something at Malham or Kilnsey, which aren't generally climbable all year and have their own problems.
To me it sounds like you are thinking of moving to the Yorkshire dales or nearby. North Yorkshire to me means the North York Moors over towards the north-eastern dales.I spend a few weeks in N Wales every year and wish I could do a lot more. I love the mountains, the coast, the variety. I really hope I can work out a way to live over there at some point.
To answer the gaps. There is good walking around North Leeds. The meanwood valley trail is good for urban wilderness, both walking and mtb. There are trail centres maintained in stainburn above otley and better in esholt for enduro and DH. Most of the places in the guidebooks are surrounded by excellent walks and views. Footpaths seem to be well maintained yet suitably quiet. The wharf river offers excellent walks and wild swimming opportunities. There are kingfishers and otters plus the usual river life. And red kites.I live in guiseley which is on the outskirts of Leeds on the other side of the chevin (the hill with Caley on it;6min drive). It's one 11 min train journey to Leeds, no stops. I can do all of the things on your list from my house and I'm really really happy about this. And there is a morrisons.
I can't remember when the Big K truly dried out this year, April perhaps? Accepting the North Buttress seeps rather easily I climbed at Kilnsey until I went to RRG mid October last year and it looks as if it'll be similar this year (although obviously your choices get cut down at the start and end of the season). Malham dries out earlier and wets out later. Likewise you can be strategic and eek out a few more weeks if you're smart. August seems to be a crap month regardless (warm and wet?). I went inside for the first time since Apr last Friday and really I probably should've gone to Longridge.
How do you define 'nature'? As JB says, the wilds spaces are generally managed moorland, which isn't really 'natural' however if its getting away in a exposed environment, seeing nobody, with a good scenery, then North Yorkshire will defo give you that. I run a lot on the Barden fells, must have done over 150 miles on the moors this year and honestly since January I have only seen one other person. I dont do a lot of MTB but its pretty good, lots of Bridleways for a good day out. Bouldering and trad climbing is great on the moors, Crookrise is probably my favourite crag in the UK. A lot of the other bouldering is great, but they aren't really a 'nip up after work crag', however lots of those crags around Leeds. Again the majority of the moorland crags aren't very popular, as they all involve a 30-45min walk in, so you rarely see anyone else about. Skipton is a good place to live, good train links to leeds, but driving adds a bit to get on the main roads North and South. I love it, but then again, I was brought up on a farm, near a market town, so don't really know any different.