UKC

I'm a bit bored with stuff at the mo , soooo I fancy just touring the globe and climbing where ever I can - does any one have any top tips on how to do this and work ??
I can instruct and would be happy to clean or what ever, but just wanna climb everything .
Any tips ???

In reply to legbitme:

depends on your qualifications.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Very few ... Just a few AS levels and SPA.
Also pretty gud cook and baker .
But no very limited qualifications , but a good work ethic .

In reply to legbitme:

We often have people staying here with room and board provided in return for some hours work each week, usually via the HelpX scheme, and sometimes there's chance to make a little more money too. For climbing it's best if you come with a friend or partner as we can't guarantee people to climb with. If you're interested just drop us a message either via here or via our http://www.chezarran.com website.

In reply to legbitme:

Do a TEFL course and try some English teaching. Jobs in yangshuo, some areas of Thailand, Vietnam etc. Maybe not the dossy climbing lifestyle you have in mind but in some areas an OK way to earn decent money while climbing and travelling.

In reply to legbitme:

Something like this might be an interesting proposition: http://www.wwoof.net/how-it-works/

Work, in exchange for board and food. Might work for you, might not.

In reply to needvert:

Thanks these are some great options to get me started .
Really appreciated all the above : )

In reply to legbitme:
My strategy would be to get a job/trade in the UK where you are self-employed and then take time off to climb overseas (supply teacher, IT contractor, rope access etc). You'll probably get more climbing done and have a longer term strategy in place for when you get bored of travelling

In reply to tri-nitro-toulumne:


Thats what i do. Self employed, work until contract is completed then head off somewhere.

If you are under 30 you could get a work visa for Australia. Minimum wage is about $20 per hour. I met loads of people who were doing this earlier this year.

I'd be off like a shot if I could get one.

In reply to richparry:

A good plasterer can usually get work anywhere, ditto a chef though the hours are not great.

Outdoor education jobs abroad would put you in the right location but the pay is probably rubbish and you wont get a lot of time off. Rope access work will mainly be on oil rigs or tall buildings, not usually in best locations for climbing!

The people I've met who seem to have these amazing lifestyles where they travel the world and do loads of climbing tend to have a trust fund backing them up...

In reply to Scotsken:

Yep, a massive trust fund is the way to go

In reply to Scotsken:

"Rope access work will mainly be on oil rigs or tall buildings, not usually in best locations for climbing!"

Yes, my point was to earn the money then go climbing during your time off. Oil rig workers don't tend to spend their free time on the rig

In reply to tri-nitro-toulumne:


>Work on a ship
>6 months holiday a year
>earn enough to take the occasional year out
>climb Vdiff
>run out of UK vdiffs
>mfw

On a more serious note, any time-on-time-off or contract based work involving any decent level of skill (rope access seems popular, ditto working on rigs) gives good money (due to fewer people being willing to do it due to the inconvenience it adds to family life) and to it often being a bit dangerous/unpleasant.

Were I in your situation my top plans would be;

-Australian mining or oil industry
-Offshore oil industry
-fishing

Unless you fancy spending three years to qualify as an officer on ships.

Good luck!

In reply to Roberttaylor:

That was my first thought too. One of my Swedish friends works off shore on a rig. He does 6 weeks on 6 weeks off. At the end of every stint on the rig he gets an open return ticket to anywhere in the world. So with his job, you could essentially spend half the year climbing exotic locations. Would be long enough to do big adventures or just hang out at he crags. You'd also have plenty of cash and could live extremely comfortably. And buy all the gear you can dream of!

But the down side is you'd spend the other half of the year on a rig...I suppose you could build a woodie somewhere to keep fit.

So one option is to work hard, play hard. The other option is to dirt bag it cheap and spend the whole year climbing. The TEFL gig is not a bad one (I did it in Thailand whilst dirt bag climbing) the difficulty is you get a wage to live on but certainly not save. So you struggle to bank roll cash to move anywhere else. It can be quite stressful living close to broke but you get a lot of climbing done. The same could easily be done in Europe too.

Another option for the work hard/play hard choice is contract trades. A guy i climbed with worked as a carptener. He'd live like a monk and work a contract on a build. When complete , he travel he world climbing till he ran out of cash, with his last few monies he'd catch a plane home and pick up another building contract, rinse repeat. Works very well but you need to have some good contacts/mates in the know.

My ultimate advice would be don't do a "climbing job" like guiding or rope access. Just because your near climbing, doesn't mean your doing it! I found that if anything it just sucks the joy out.

So two choices: be poor and climb a lot but limited movement

Or be wealthy and with no permanent ties and find a job where you work hard and then take extensive breaks holidaying

Both routes probably afford you similar amounts of climbing with different stress balances. Good luck, live the dream

In reply to Kemics:

Also, don't work in a gear shop. The people I know with the most gear and the fewest ticks work in gear shops.

In reply to Kemics:

Rope access is not 'a climbing job'. It's both a contract trade and the easiest way for a climber to get into the offshore industry. I'd say it's ideal for the OP, although you need a little cash up front to get qualified and a bit of time in the industry helps enormously when looking for work.

In reply to legbitme:

I'm just about to start an offshore job that's 6 weeks on (away abroad) and 6 weeks off.

My only concern is how to stay fit while away as I haven't found out what facilities there are yet.

Pays well enough to have cash to do what I want when back and plan to do it for 1-3 years and have a massive deposit for a house with the cash and work part time - hopefully allowing more time for things other than work.