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gogo
Nov 3, 2005, 5:32 AM
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So, I'm a college student planning to study abroad next year. I'm wondering what opinions people had on what country would be best from a sport climbing/bouldering perspective.
I'm fluent in Spanish, so all Latin American countries and Spain would be significantly easier in terms of school (that, and Spain has some amazing sport climbing).
However, my studies are concentrated in Asia, which also has some amazing climbing, but there would be a much larger language barrier.
Any insight is appreciated,
Paz,
Mike
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gogo
Nov 8, 2005, 10:00 PM
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Wow, is there no opinion on this?
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dig_scott
Nov 9, 2005, 5:22 AM
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i'm not sure this belongs in trip reports, but with your name i would go no where else than Bangkok Thialand. oh ya, put a good word in for me over there too :wink:
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t-dog
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Nov 9, 2005, 5:57 AM
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uhmmm, you can go study abroad pretty much anywher you want in the world. So the question is, where do you want to go?
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cultureshock
Nov 9, 2005, 6:07 AM
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Ok i am currently in the last weeks of studying abroad. I am only an english speaker so i was choosing between england, south africa and australia.
I ended up in australia, in melbourne, studying at the university of melbourne. So i have been climbing all over the country in the past months that i have been here and ill give you a bit of an overview.
There is a pretty cool club at University of Melbourne and i have been able to climb basically every weekend. On my own time i went up to brisbane and climbed at frog butress!! If you are a crack climber and want to study in australia you can stop reading now, Just go to school in brisbane and the cracks are a mere 1.5 hours outside the city.
If you still want traditional climbing but like face routes i would suggest studying in melbourne. They dont really have much sport under 5.11 but the trad here is rediculous. The climbing is 3.5 hours for the grampiansm, which is really amazing and 4.5 hours for mt arapiles, which also features a wide range of climbing.
There are 3 or 4 small crags within 1.5 hours of the city but they are barely worth mention. Once you climb at The gramps or mt arapiles you will never climb at the local melbourne crags.
If you are a sport junky then you have to go to sydney. They have sport cimbing of all types in the the blue mountains which is a mere hour outside the city. Infact i am told that you can get a $13 dollar train out to the small town next to the bluies. Sydney, which is in New South Wales, is also near point perpendiuclar and Nowra, which both feature sweet sport climbing.
Hope that you find some great rock to pull down on abroad. I know my experience climbing in OZ has been AMAZING
Peace
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nikolisper
Nov 9, 2005, 6:38 AM
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I would definitely suggest Australia. I have started rock climbing over here in Melbourne with RMIT University. There is a great network of climbers here which are very easy going so you will always find someone to hook up with and go climbing. I havent climbed in Sydney but I ve climbed in Melbourne quite a bit. As mentioned Grampians and Arapiles are amazing!!! So I would recommend to come to RMIT University in Melbourne join the Outdoors Club and climb as often as you feel. Pick 2 or 3 easy uni subjects to have something to do on your rest days and spend most of your time climbing beautiful rock.
Cya when you come down here.
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timhinck
Nov 9, 2005, 7:00 AM
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well, Europe is one obvious choice. School is quite cheap here, compared to the States. I am in the Netherlands which has NO climbing, but is only 4.5 hours from the amazing climbing in France and almost that close to the great climbing in Germany.
With your Spanish knowledge, I would suggest Spain which has AMAZING climbing... much of which is still being developed. Seriously, look into this. You may have to do some digging to get the lowdown, but from what my friends tell me, that is DEFINITLY becoming a hotspot for climbing.
tim
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heiko
Nov 9, 2005, 8:48 AM
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Hey Mike,
I have some experience with living in a country the language of which I don't speak. If I had choice, and learning another language wasn't my main concern, in the future I'd always choose a place with a low language barrier.
That said, in Europe I can recommend e.g. Malaga, Spain. I've met some students from the US there and they liked the place a lot. Plus, there's a train going directly from Malaga right into El Chorro, which has amazing climbing. The Sevilla airport is not too far away either and offers very cheap flights within Europe, so you can even reach the Dolomites for a weekend.
Even if the Dolomites are beautiful as hell, for language reasons I cannot recommend Italy, unless you want to learn Italian (I live there, I know what I'm talking about...). Same applies for France, although it, too, has absolutely amazing climbing.
Germany is a little easier to get along even if you don't speak the language, e.g. Nuernberg could be an option because it's very close to the huge area of Frankenjura; also Munich could be nice because it's sort of close to the Alps and a couple of good crags.
If you're also into ice-climbing, technical mountaineering, ski-alpinism etc., you could maybe think about Norway? English is very widely spoken there, and although I have not seen it by myself, people have told me that it has absolutely amazing granite trad in large numbers, plus all the above options in winter. And the Norwegians I've met travelling so far were all great.
Hope this helps. If you need any more details, feel free to pm me.
Bye,
Heiko
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poorboy
Dec 8, 2005, 6:00 PM
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I studied at Uni Melbourne in Australia for a year, and fell in love with Arapiles and the Grampians. (Arapiles is probably my favorite climbing area in the whole world.) If you have time, you should also visit Mt Buffalo, Moonarie (South Australia), Point Perpendicular, the Blue Mountains and Frog Buttress.
Another option is New Zealand, esp. if you are into alpine climbing. But the rock climbing is far better in Australia. (Also, Australia has better universities.)
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ryanb
Dec 8, 2005, 6:30 PM
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I think steve house picked up alot of alpine skill while studying abroad in slovenia or somewhere like that (Where that guy Humar is from?)? I've ran across a few slovenian alpinists and they were pretty intense...
I here there is a fair amount of decent rock near santiago chile and mendoza argentina, and peru is pretty darn cool, but you would probablly end up climbing mostly with foreigners...spain sounds like it has more of a comunity?
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dan4183
Dec 8, 2005, 7:03 PM
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If you end up in europe, you should definitely go to sardinia for a weekend. Beautiful sport climbing right on the beach in cala gonone and at cala luna, very scenic and picturesque. It can be done on a budget as well, Ryan air flights are hella cheap and i have beta on a good hotel, restaurants in town and local transportation. Guide and links at Rockfax.com
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suprdude22
Dec 8, 2005, 7:47 PM
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How is England around Cambridge? I am planning on doing the same thing during the summer, and was wondering what the conditions up there are like. Should I even worry about bringing my gear there? Thanks
Another Mike
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luke_flowers
Dec 8, 2005, 10:01 PM
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The UK is the original home of rock climbing for the sake of rock climbing, and packed within that tiny Island is a wealth of cragging potential with a great climbing community. Definitately take your gear. There are a great many climbing clubs, and a good many of those are housed at the local universities. A significant bonus is the extensive public transit system which can pretty much get you to anywhere. I myself grew up in the UK and started my climbing career at about twelve years old and taking the bus up into the Welsh mountains with friends. The fact that the continent is so accesible for the fantastic French, German, and other mountaineering venues also makes it easy to be there.
Good Luck finding a place to study. I'm sure you'll find one of the many fantastic University towns with a near by climbing venue. I myself will be heading to Chile while my wife is on exchange there next winter. Should be good.
Cheers
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claramie
Dec 8, 2005, 10:16 PM
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I've lived in Spain and Australia. Both have awesome climbing. I guess it also depends on what you want to study and what the relative importance of climbing is to the course of study.
That being said, I did an exchange program at Melbourne Uni in Australia which worked really well for climbing. Arapiles and Grampians are truly world class. Araps is still the best place in the world that I've climbed. Most all climbs under 12 are trad. Either way, get hooked up with the Mountaineering Club at the University and you will meet some good people that climb hard and are willing to teach you to trad if you don't already. There is great climbing around Sydney too!
I would personally go back to Spain if I could do it again. I'm also fluent in Spanish and I think that you will get more out of studying and living in Spain that you will out of Australia. It seems like we may have similar career goals (I majored in Management, with emphasis in International Business, Spanish and French). If Spain, I think that Barcelona is your best bet. Fabulous climbing, great city, between the Pyrenees and the Sea, close to France, Switzerland and Northern Italy. Maybe my favorite place in the world so far.
Either way. Study abroad somewhere, and when you're done; find a way to do it again... I did.
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suprdude22
Dec 9, 2005, 7:29 AM
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Yeah, I think Im going to go over there (wherever that is) and probably not come back. There is a whole lot of stuff I havent seen yet. Anyone know how a guy can get a job oversees w/out being a citizen?
Mike
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roseraie
Dec 9, 2005, 7:37 AM
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In reply to: Yeah, I think Im going to go over there (wherever that is) and probably not come back. There is a whole lot of stuff I havent seen yet. Anyone know how a guy can get a job oversees w/out being a citizen? Mike
Get a work visa. You can check out companies like http://www.bunac.org, or talk to the embassy.
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watzmann
Dec 9, 2005, 7:42 AM
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Consider Salzburg. It is a tourist city so no one will even assume you can speak German or care if you don't, there are lots of exchange programs with the university there, there is bouldering in the city, and you are literally minutes away from trad, sport, and ice climbing in the Alps.
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claramie
Dec 9, 2005, 6:08 PM
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If you want information on either Spain or Australia, PM me and I'll help how I can. In Oz, you can work 20 hrs a week on a student visa if you get a work permit (cost was either $100 or $200 AUD in 2003). Foll time work visas are obtainable too. Same with for NZ.
Spain is more difficult to get work. Teaching English is a routine way to get into the workforce there but you either need work visas before going, TOEFL certifications or both.
CL
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overlord
Dec 9, 2005, 6:24 PM
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In reply to: I think steve house picked up alot of alpine skill while studying abroad in slovenia or somewhere like that (Where that guy Humar is from?)? I've ran across a few slovenian alpinists and they were pretty intense...
yes, house did study in slovenia.
slovenia is really good if youre a climber, but only three unis. in maribor they have a really good climbing club, people are really nice, but the uni is a bit smaller and the crags are a bit farther off (like 1-2h). also the range of faculties is pretty limited.
ljubljana has the biggest university and is kinda in the centre of the country. but the scene kinda sucks. you have to know ppl, if you know what im saying. well, i study in ljubljana.
the third would be ideal for a climber, but its really small. its in koper, and really close to črni kal and mija peč/osp.
or if you like bouldering, go to paris.
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overlord
Dec 9, 2005, 6:26 PM
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forgoto ask one important question... what do you want to study??
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gogo
Jan 9, 2006, 5:58 AM
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Wow, I haven't been on rc.com for awhile but I see quite a bit of information here that looks really helpful.
I'm currently undeclared with my major, but it is most likely going to be some mix of asian studies and economics (or international political economy).
Right now, Spain is seeming like the best option, because a) I already speak Spanish; and being in a Spanish country would give me a chance to brush up on my speaking (living in WA has not been helping), as well as work on classes for economics/IPE without worrying about language and b) lots and lots of sick sport climbing.
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