UKC

Hey guys,

I'm taking a career break for a year starting September, and (covid containment permitting), I'm starting in Nepal and Tibet for 2 months trekking then heading elsewhere. I'm a fairly experienced rock climber, 2+ years now of two or three times a week (when not injured free haha). I've also clocked about 20 alpine days but that's the stuff I'm less comfortable on.

Given this is the biggest career break I'm gonna be taking for a while, I want to put the roots down for a bit either somewhere I have a lot of rock on my doorstep, or better, somewhere I can get to big mountains relatively quickly for some Alpine stuff whenever I have a few days break/gap to do so (I'm planning to pickup bar work etc to keep me ticking over).

For winter stuff two ideas I had were a ski season in Chamonix or Queenstown. A guide I had recently told me one disadvantage of Queenstown is that you have to be flown in and out of all Alpine stuff and will be on the mountain for minimum 3-4 days at a time. Chamonix is awesome in the summer but I don't know how much alpinism goes on in the winter conditions? I know the Cairngorms and Chamonix are very unique in that you can get up into the midst of things in under an hour from a town - is there anywhere else in the world like this?

Failing that, does anybody else has any other suggestions, be it for summer or winter alpinism spots to settle in for a bit.

Failing that, any ideas for places I could settle where there's easy access to lots of rock would be awesome too. Sport, trad, boulders, all good.

Anywhere in the world is good, I've got a lot of time and not a lot of plans.

Summer in Boulder CO boatloads to go at from single pitch sport up to 14000 ft peaks of the rocky mountains and a good base to head out to other areas of the US. I spent 3 weeks there a few years back and it was epic. easy to find climbing partners and more rock than you will ever be able to climb in all disciplines.  

Yeah I've heard the legend of Boulder many times. Just checking it out, looks amazing. Thanks for the tip bro.

I was only there briefly but Canmore/Banff (Canada) seemed like a good spot for  winter

If you want brilliant trad at any grade you could go to live in Natimuk in West Victoria, a stone's throw from Mt Arapiles. About 50% of the population of about 450 are active climbers and there's enough climbing to last you a year.

I second Banff/Canmore area.  I was there for a month last Jan/Feb and it was great.  It is an amazing winter climbing destination with plenty to keep you going for a lifetime.  There's also loads of pisted, cross country and off piste skiing.  Talking to locals the rock climbing is also amazing in Spring/Summer/Autumn.  Loads of sport and trad including massive multipitch.  Also plenty of great walking for more relaxing days.  A demonstration of how good the area is, is the number of people who move there including Brits.  There were quite a few people out there for the whole ice climbing season.

I met a few people who were taking a year off and spending their whole year in the area.  They seemed to find it pretty easy to find casual work.  Canmore is just outside Banff national part so slightly cheaper to live and that is where a lot of locals live.  However, it was not a cheap place to live in general.  I reckon food was about 1.5x the price of the UK.  Stay in Canadian Alpine Club huts.

I highly recommend it as a base for climbing of all types.

I took last year off work - a mixture of travelling, UK based and finding a new job.  In hindsight I did not maximise it as spent too much of the time in the UK looking for the next job (I am a bit too risk averse).  My plan was to do one month travelling, one month UK.  In the end I went to Patagonia (amazing but a bit too touristy), Banff (amazing ice climbing) and then Lofoten/Iceland/Greenland (lots of self supporting hiking in amazing scenery).  Norway would be a good shout for next summer for hiking/climbing but weather is hit and miss.

Now you've got me wanting to move to Banff.