Post Grad trip location—suggestions?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for suggestions on where to go climbing solo for ~3–6 weeks this summer (flexible between late May and August). I’m graduating from a U.S. university this May and will have until late September/early October before starting work. I expect to have around $5k–$7k to spend.

I currently climb around V8, with experience up to ~5.10 trad and 5.11 sport, but for this trip I’m leaning toward a bouldering-focused destination since I won’t have a partner. I've loved climbing sandstone locations (Chattanooga area, Joe's) and don't mind spots with longer approaches. I’m comfortable traveling solo and living simply, and would love somewhere it’s realistic to settle into one area and climb consistently for several weeks. Ideally somewhere with interesting rest days optionality and that will have solid weather that time of year. Open to both U.S. and international destinations.

If you were in my position, where would you go?

Thanks in advance y'all!

Squamish will be the best option for you. Great place to do a mix of bouldering,  sport and trad. Fun scene with lots of people to hang out with. Will be easy to find partners for whatever style of climbing you want to do. Summer there is magical.  It's a great place to settle in for a few weeks, or all season.

If for some reason Squamish doesn't work for you as a destination, an alternate bouldering option is a tour of the high elevation bouldering zones in the Sierra. Tahoe, Tuolumne, Mammoth Lakes. Tahoe is a bit warm for mid-summer bouldering, but it is still decent in the higher elevation zones. This is not as good an option for a solo trip since it is more spread out and doesn't have the centralized social scene of Squamish.  But it is a backup option if BC is on fire, or whatever.

Or you could go to Ten Sleep and sport climb. That's a spot with a centralized scene and lots of climbers. Showing up solo is no issue, easy to find partners. Good summer sport destination. 

If you want good conditions through the middle of summer then a high altitude area is almost mandatory.  High Sierra, Tahoe, Estes Park (or other front range alpine) are all excellent…and all granite.  Squamish is also granite and can be very rainy but when it’s good it’s very good. Sandstone is harder to hit mid summer.  Joes or New River Gorge might hold the swing season longer than stuff farther south.

The Black Hills has a lot to offer, but it will be hot mid summer.

Go North-West and follow the weather.

Rocklands - South Africa - will be in and is maybe the best place to be in the world that time of year.  Squamish is great and all but i think Rocklands has it beat by a fair margin especially if you are more inclined to Sandstone which Rocklands is and stylistically you may be surprised by Squamish granite if you aren't used to it.

Rocklands is a very good suggestion.  

Yeah, great call on Rocklands. They've got the time and the budget to make a big trip like that happen, so it's worth seizing the opportunity. Getting that amount of time to travel that far can get tougher as life goes on, so go now if you can. It is sandstone there.

The one thing with Rocklands is that it is a lot more logistics to figure out in advance - flights, car, accomodations. I've heard that getting accomodations booked for peak-season can be an issue (places get booked far in advance), so if Rocklands is of interest, OP would want to start planning and booking pretty soon.

Squamish is a lot easier logistically, and is the best North America option if Rocklands planning doesn't work out. Since you can just get in your car and drive there. While it is granite, and thus quite different from the sandstone areas OP has enjoyed, the difference would be a good learning opportunity.

Hookers and blow, dude, hookers and blow

If I was in your position I would go to Europe no questions asked. Europe is an incredible mix of culture and outdoor activities. You can easily travel around without a car and live quite simply. I have been to Europe about 5 times now and can't wait to go again. So many different cultures, climbing types, and people. The biggest challenge is always deciding where to go in Europe! Just know that you can't go wrong anywhere. 

Is 6 weeks a hard limit because of money? If I were in your position I would try to go for a full Schengen visit (90 days).

JCMwrote:

Yeah, great call on Rocklands. They've got the time and the budget to make a big trip like that happen, so it's worth seizing the opportunity. Getting that amount of time to travel that far can get tougher as life goes on, so go now if you can. It is sandstone there.

The one thing with Rocklands is that it is a lot more logistics to figure out in advance - flights, car, accommodations. I've heard that getting accommodations booked for peak-season can be an issue (places get booked far in advance), so if Rocklands is of interest, OP would want to start planning and booking pretty soon.

Squamish is a lot easier logistically, and is the best North America option if Rocklands planning doesn't work out. Since you can just get in your car and drive there. While it is granite, and thus quite different from the sandstone areas OP has enjoyed, the difference would be a good learning opportunity.

(Good points dude,, and I'm really just being pedantic here...)

Getting to Rocklands will definitely be harder, but I'm not sure accommodations will be better/worse. My understanding is camping and dirt-bagging have changed a lot in Squamish over the last decade or so with more restrictions where you can sleep/camp/etc.

For Rocklands, as long as you can get to https://www.depakhuys.com/camping and if you are willing to camp, you are kind of set (with the exception of needing an occasional ride to the grocery store).  Doesn't look like it can get booked out. As many partners as you could ask for, climbing approached from the campground, etc.

As life unfolds taking a six week or longer climbing trip may become much harder. Squamish is an easy option for a relatively short visit and will still be there when you have less free time. I would focus on places that are hard to justify for a short trip. If you've not travelled outside North America then it's great to experience the way of life in different countries. 

South Africa would be a good option if you mainly want to boulder. I have not been so I don't know how much you will be experiencing the country and how much you will be living in a climber's ghetto. This may not bother you of course and the climbing looks world-class.

In Europe, Céüse for sport climbing or Magic Wood (and other Swiss mountain areas) for bouldering are the obvious choices. Both will be busy with climbers, with the pros and cons that brings. I like Fontainebleau a lot in summer, it's such a wonderful place and many say it's the best bouldering in the world. It is not the time of year to push your grade there but there will still be plenty of climbers around and the rest day options are unrivalled: 45 minutes into central Paris on the commuter train! 

duncan...wrote:

As life unfolds taking a six week or longer climbing trip may become much harder. Squamish is an easy option for a relatively short visit and will still be there when you have less free time. I would focus on places that are hard to justify for a short trip. If you've not travelled outside North America then it's great to experience the way of life in different countries. 

100% agree. Don't spend your "once-in-a-life-time" break at a spot you can get to easily. You can always spend a week at Squamish or Ten Sleep in the future. You'll rarely have a chance to live in Europe for an extended trip. 

Europe would be awesome. And traveling by bike would make it much more epic. If all you bring is climbing shoes and a chalk bag for climbing. I did a 4-month bike tour of Europe and it was the best time ever, especially the Alps. 

The northern hemisphere summer is the perfect time to come to the Castle Hill Basin in NZ for some crisp sending temps! You’re American dollar bucks will go a lot further here than in Canada or Europe too. Check out castlehillbasin.co.nz for details.   

David Jeffersonwrote:

The northern hemisphere summer is the perfect time to come to the Castle Hill Basin in NZ for some crisp sending temps! You’re American dollar bucks will go a lot further here than in Canada or Europe too. Check out castlehillbasin.co.nz for details.   

Is this a good spot for a solo traveller? How do folks typically spend their rest days? Are there any other spots I could hit in NZ in addition to Castle Hill?

I’m just back from a 3 week trip to the South Island of NZ. If you like a challenge, you can definitely bang your head against the mystifying limestone boulders of Castle Hill for as long as your ego can stand it. There is also a selection of bolted routes there that are, shall we say, interesting. There is a hostel in nearby Springfield where you can rent a bouldering pad and which is a good source of potential climbing partners. Next on your list should be Hangdog Camp which will give you access to climbing partners, funky sport climbing at Paines Ford and a wide range of high quality limestone sport routes at Pōhara  Lots of beaches and hiking in the Golden Bay area  The Wanaka area is a sport climbing Mecca; Facebook groups are probably your best bet for finding a partner.  The Port Hills near Christchurch are loaded with sport and trad.  Just consider your timing carefully  The climbing season doesn’t get into high gear until mid November and winds down in April  Logistics will be your main challenge  A rental car makes everything much easier, but I don’t know how that will work at your age.  Driving in NZ is not a walk in the park; opposite side of the road, narrow mountain roads, weather related road closures etc.  But the people are great and the scenery is spectacular.  If you are willing to put the effort into research and problem solving it will be well worth the effort  

Rocklands is probably a better bet for the time frame you are considering. As mentioned above, camping and partners should in be in good supply at Depakhuys. The bouldering is phenomenal and there is a surprising amount of very entertaining sport climbing there. There are also several sport climbing venues in the surrounding area. Check out ClimbZA  for ideas and potential partners. There are a few other high quality areas in SA; Montague, Cape Town, West Cape, Waterfal Boven etc but again it depends how eager you are to deal with logistics and security concerns. 

Sean Patonwrote:

Is this a good spot for a solo traveller? How do folks typically spend their rest days? Are there any other spots I could hit in NZ in addition to Castle Hill?

Castle Hill Basin is admittedly best enjoyed with others although I’ve spent many solo days up there. Some of the problems are quite tall so spotters and multiple pads are helpful, but the landings are generally good so you can definitely climb alone if you’re smart about it. I imagine that it’s fairly easy to meet partners as a solo traveller at the YHA in Springfield or by posting on the Christchurch Climbing FB group.

If you come to NZ from May to August it’ll be late autumn/winter so the rest day activities will follow the seasons. There are incredible hikes, tramps (backpacking), and mountaineering opportunities around Arthur’s Pass National Park, just west of the Basin, and once the snow falls there are 6 or 7 ski fields just down the road. You’re also an hour from Christchurch for city activities and the ocean, and there’s heaps of mountain biking around. If you have a car, you can road trip all over the South Island which obviously has tourism opportunities of all types.

If you’re talking about other climbing spots to hit, keep in mind that again, it would be late autumn or winter so it’s mostly bouldering season. That said, some of the crags around the Port Hills in Christchurch and Wānaka are quite good at that time of year. Other places like Paynes Ford as suggested by others are more summer/early autumn destinations. It really depends what you want to do though, and on conditions. We climb year round in the South Island but of course it’s necessary to chase weather windows. Like anywhere else, seek sun in winter, shade in summer.

Edit to add: feel free to DM me for more details or if you want to link up if you make the trip!