Best trad outside the US
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lordjim_2001
- Posts: 1764
- Joined: Fri May 30, 2003 5:07 pm
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squeezindlemmon
- Posts: 1452
- Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:02 pm
Thanks for all the info, I have never been to Squamish but would like to get there before too long. I'm such a wimp on sport routes its not even funny, so Mexico may not be for me but it does look sweet though.
Now RIO, that looks way cool, I'll have to do some research into that!
I have to plan ahead quite a bit, anybody done any climbing in Austrailia? I would like to do a vacation with my wife (she doesn't climb) then hang around and do some climbing for a week or 2. Someplace warm in the winter. I know, I'm making it even tougher
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Now RIO, that looks way cool, I'll have to do some research into that!
I have to plan ahead quite a bit, anybody done any climbing in Austrailia? I would like to do a vacation with my wife (she doesn't climb) then hang around and do some climbing for a week or 2. Someplace warm in the winter. I know, I'm making it even tougher
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kneebar - bingo
pigsteak - I'm not really a "grass is greener" type person, so let me clarify a bit. I love the Red and the New, but take your favorite route there and imagine six pitches of it. Imagine being that high up on a gently overhanging buttress and looking down a long valley in an area well-known by artists for its soft golden light. Lavendar is cultivated here and the smell of it will reach you all the way on the upper pitch. You can buy little bottles of perfume in the small villages that lie along the river. From so high above, their clay tile roofs are like patchwork turned every which way, all bunched together and wrapped around little hillocks in the valley. They are mostly deserted out here in the rural areas and in the evening you can wander the streets and see only a few cats lurking in doorways planted with rose vines as thick as your calves and probably older than most trees. There are courtyards hemmed in by the row houses, flagged in limestone with moss covered fountains in the center. You may see a living person in the bakery when you go in the morning to buy fresh croissants before your climb, or sometimes a lone elderly man out for a walk. In the afternoon, as you return, there is often a small goup playing bocci. I was fortunate enough to spend many days like this. It is indelible in my mind. But you may take comfort in the fact that while I was there, I spoke to them of the Red in the same way.
pigsteak - I'm not really a "grass is greener" type person, so let me clarify a bit. I love the Red and the New, but take your favorite route there and imagine six pitches of it. Imagine being that high up on a gently overhanging buttress and looking down a long valley in an area well-known by artists for its soft golden light. Lavendar is cultivated here and the smell of it will reach you all the way on the upper pitch. You can buy little bottles of perfume in the small villages that lie along the river. From so high above, their clay tile roofs are like patchwork turned every which way, all bunched together and wrapped around little hillocks in the valley. They are mostly deserted out here in the rural areas and in the evening you can wander the streets and see only a few cats lurking in doorways planted with rose vines as thick as your calves and probably older than most trees. There are courtyards hemmed in by the row houses, flagged in limestone with moss covered fountains in the center. You may see a living person in the bakery when you go in the morning to buy fresh croissants before your climb, or sometimes a lone elderly man out for a walk. In the afternoon, as you return, there is often a small goup playing bocci. I was fortunate enough to spend many days like this. It is indelible in my mind. But you may take comfort in the fact that while I was there, I spoke to them of the Red in the same way.
No chalkbag since 1995.
Rio is an easy-approach, romantic place to climb...In the evening, at Sugarloaf/Pao de Azucar, they have spotlights on the route, "Via dos Italianos" --which is a 5.9ish or 10ish 3-6 pitch sport route (there's a trad route just around the corner). By 3-6, I mean you can free climb all 6 pitches, or you can get off the route at pitch 3, clip into the fixed wire (I think they call it CIPO) & hike up the rest of the way. At the top, after tourists stop taking pictures of you (it really will make you feel famous, particularly if you can butcher out a word or two of Portuguese), you can get a beer or glass of wine & then, for free, take the tram down. You can buy guide books at any of the newspaper stands, nearby.squeezindlemmon wrote:Never been, but one place I wanna go to: RIO
Check out www.climbinrio.com
You can also climb routes that get you to the top of Corcovado (the Jesus statue) in Rio--and then, take the train down for free.
One downer of the place = rain! It is lush and green for a reason.
If anyone ever goes down there, here's my #1 beta: Look up Eliseu Frechou. He's a fiercely awesome climber (skilled & friendly) who allows people to stay in his back-yard bunk house for $1 or $2 a night (although his place is in Sao Pedro, 10 hrs from Rio)...It's in a beautiful small town w/ georgeous sport, bouldering & trad nearby. Definately a more chill, relaxed & culturally interesting area.
"Missiles are absolutely antisocial" --Dr. Bronner