Access issues at Coquibus -- Big Island

[Duncan campbell]

I 100% have a van for the convenience of going climbing where the weather is best at more or less the drop of a hat. I actually am coming round to the thought that people travelling around in vans is pretty sub-optimal, especially/because of the numbers involved.

However, it makes weekend warrioring really simple, you find a partner with similar climbing interests, you look at the weather forecast on Monday, Tuesday. Wednesday and approx. 6 times on Thursday, choose where you are going Thursday night. On Friday at lunchtime you check again and it’s all gone to shit so you decide at 3pm Friday to go in the opposite direction.
So careless! So free!

*This is meant to be funny but is not a joke.

 

[spidermonkey09]

I 100% have a van for the convenience of going climbing where the weather is best at more or less the drop of a hat. I actually am coming round to the thought that people travelling around in vans is pretty sub-optimal, especially/because of the numbers involved.

However, it makes weekend warrioring really simple, you find a partner with similar climbing interests, you look at the weather forecast on Monday, Tuesday. Wednesday and approx. 6 times on Thursday, choose where you are going Thursday night. On Friday at lunchtime you check again and it’s all gone to shit so you decide at 3pm Friday to go in the opposite direction.
So careless! So free!

*This is meant to be funny but is not a joke.

Pretty close to the bone, that! :whistle:

I think the impacts are underappreciated by climbers, especially as we tend to be a reasonably eco friendly bunch. A load of massive diesels smashing around all the time is clearly suboptimal. Don't even get me started on keeping the engine on to run the heaters!

I also think it does have an impact at the sites where we visit, most obviously in terms of parking. It goes without saying that parking few big LWB vans at eg Kilnsey, or in the village at Malham, means fewer other people, climbers and non climbers, can fit in there. Same would apply at eg Burbage bridge, although there's not such a shortage of parking there I guess.

That's come across as a bit of a slagging of van owners, which wasn't my intention and is obviously hypocritical as I owned one myself until last year (a small one!). But I have been uneasy about the number of vans at climbing spots for a while now.

 

[SA Chris]

Could be worse, you could be flying to Southern Europe 4 or 5 times a year to clip bolts.

My weekend travel is offset by commuting 4 miles to work no more than twice a week!

 

[mrjonathanr]

I’ve never owned a van, but spent a lot of time cragging round France in one previously. Vans provide the freedom to go and stay wherever you like, whenever you like. Switch off the ignition, you’re at home in Céüse / Margalef / Ogwen / wherever. The freedom and convenience have got to be a big draw.