Best/ Worst Climbing Trip Digs ?
16 November 2006 - 3:12pm
So where are the wicked/crap places you've stayed on a good road trip? NZ & overseas.
Hangdog @ Paynes is numero uno as my fave place I think I have ever stayed in NZ, as I'm sure many others would attest to. The Pines @ Araps - very social/friendly & awesome setting. Wildlife everywhere very cool !
The campground at Joshua Tree was pretty wicked too. Not as much fun & lunacy goin down as Paynes or Araps, but baying coyotes in the evening & catching the sunrise/sunset in the Mojave Desert was unforgettable. The 'backpackers' in Hollywood LA on the way there was shit. Very feral - more like a halfway house. Dodgy as.
So bring it on. Keen to hear some good stories.
16 November 2006 - 10:33pm
#2
Dickies place in Lobuje!...I was suffering from something quite evil and she really went out of her way to look after me! It's a long way from anywhere & to be looked after that well was something else. Best & worst memory of the trip!
17 November 2006 - 9:17am
#3
I'd have to say the pullout on the Icefields Parkway just south of Polar Circus in the Rockies is a great place to hang out before and after climbs. You can bivvy in the womens toilet like Mike Madden did (it was for sure preferable to the mens toilet...), its only -25 at night, and very close to the climbs. Its really good because you don't need a fridge for your milk (put that in your sleeping bag......) or a freezer (store bacon outside your sleeping bag).
Beats Hangdog anyday...... ?
17 November 2006 - 9:33am
#4
Actually, the sweetest one was a derelict Kombi Van in Chamonix.....
Buddy couldn't afford to get it running, so offered it to me as a free place to stay for the month I was there. Parked 5 minutes walk from Chamonix centre, didn't get pulled up by the gendarme. It was especially sweet considering the price of the accomodation in Chamonix. Only downside was hearing a car coming 10 seconds before it passed the van, going at 140kph along a narrow backroad........ (happened on the weekends).
The best high (low budget) bivvy was just down the ridgeline from the Refuge du Cosmiques - a little wooden shack at 3,700m. Pretty airy, lots of ventilation in between the wooden boards, not good for storms (as it may blow off cliff) but free......
17 November 2006 - 9:47am
#5
The best high (low budget) bivvy was just down the ridgeline from the Refuge du Cosmiques - a little wooden shack at 3,700m. Pretty airy, lots of ventilation in between the wooden boards, not good for storms (as it may blow off cliff) but free......
yip that's a good one. :) also the Index telepherique station on the other side of the valley's pretty good too (less chance of blowing away).
Camp 4's ok , but a bit regimented (no long stays) and pretty dusty.
17 November 2006 - 11:07am
#6
best; jon marcs ancient stone house in La palud, just a few steps from the patisserie
worst; after a long days cragging in the rockies pulling onto a dirt road and finding a sweet little clearing in the dark.excellent , tent up eat sleep then get blasted out of bed at dawn by the downwash from the huge logging helicopter whose pad we'd camped on...oppps
23 November 2006 - 10:45am
#7
One of the sweetest we had once when living in the UK - we were climbing in the Peak district for the weekend and dossed in this bandstand/soundshell next to the caraprk and cafe (maybe Matlock area). A rather fetching young lass brought us mugs of tea in the morning as we lay in our pits without asking. :lol:
23 November 2006 - 10:52am
#8
you charmster you
23 November 2006 - 11:23am
#9
those days are gone ... just a grumpy old fart these days
There was a guy who lived in Joshua Tree township and it was open door policy at his house for any climbers passing through. He was a local schoolteacher but his name escapes me now. The only room out of bounds was this dudes bedroom and if you couldn't make a donation of cash he would appreciate you doing his washing, cleaning the house, lighting the fire, cooking a meal, etc...
Very welcome when I was in the park in winter 98 as it was El Nino, crap weather to the maximum.
That stands out for me.
Plus I got to hang with the legendary Chongo Chuck, Benny Ha Ha and Bill Swill, big ups to the Chongo Nation if it's still out there.