I am in our uni MTB club and the climbing club and it seems to be a popular combination. I was at craggy island in Guildford yesterday when I overheard some people talking about mountain biking. It got me thinking how many mountain bikers also climb?
Not so much anymore. Kayaking is a better partner, ride when it's dry, boat when it's wet.
Yep.
Imagine an obese, asthmatic hippopotamus optimistically scaling a greased drainpipe.
Whilst Stuart Hall commentates.
1x climber here - recently took it up, can be strangely addictive...
Used to climb loads before getting into MTBing more. Haven't climbed for years though...
Used to climb, ski, pothole, canoe and race BMX but now I'm too old and decrepit so I ride MTB
Yep, climber / kayaker / mountain biker here.
Only issue is work gets in the way
Too dry to kayak, too wet to climb: MTB.
Saw that on a tshirt once - seems about right if you ask me 🙂
I'm very much a walker/climber/mountaineer who uses mtb as another option to get out in the mountains, hills and moors. Tend to do more mtb these days, but not out of choice particularly, it's just how it is. Still get out walking and climbing occasionally and returned again to the alps on a mountaineering trip in 2010 ticking off a few more 4000m peaks. Most rock climbing recently has been based around taking my 8yo godson indoors and outdoor climbing, which all means I've recently done virtually nothing personally, but still keen.
I'll go for a wander over any peak I can find here in North Wales with likeminded mates. Love it! I don't do proper climbing though, with all the ropes n stuff.
Used to alot, would like to get back into it but its a question of time and people to climb with (anyone in basingstoke area needing a climbing partner email in profile).... Tho I am intending to teach mini vader as soon as he turns 4, its either reading or alton that allow kids from 4 and they are close.
I used to climb at at a decent level (best lead was E4) but after watching a mate hit the deck head first from 40ft and fearing the worst (he was airlifted to the local hospital but only broke a wrist) I struggled to lead HVS as I was messing about with pro far to much. I dropped down lower but just wasn't enjoying it so bought a mtb.
Love to climb & mtb.... but since having kids it's a struggle to choose between the two... hence i'm now equally crap at both!!
I do, but these days mainly for work. I hold SPA, and teach/update/workshop with staff all the time, VS is fun, HVS wobbly...
Used to, but that was many years ago now. Loved it, but my fitness would not permit me anywhere near a harness anymore, never mind an actual cliff.
yep, bolt clipping only though, got my first F6b+ onsight at Easter 😀
anybody in London and looking for climbing partners, drop me a line if you like.
Indoor climbing on walls yes, otherwise the other hobbies (mtb, sailing, windsurfing) really use all my spare time
boulder a bit now
up to a couple of years ago still did "sun and clip" hols
for around 15 years climbed almost every day
for 10years after that weekends
now run, ride road and easy off road
so i guess answer is sort off
Used to rock climb outdoors and on indoor walls a lot - now climb cranes and other structures...
Me. Though I haven't this year since pulling my shoulder being taken roughly from behind in a car accident.
Yep,with Dartmoor as a playground who wouldn't 🙂
Mind you Dartmoor granite is ROUGH!
Riding a bike is a lot less scary...no falls of 25ft onto dodgy gear,just hang on and pedal 😀
Pretty solid E3 onsight ability up until about a year ago when I decked and broke my back in three places. Thought I would never climb again and sold all my gear. In the last month I've got back to leading a few E1s, looking forward to summer! The wife is a wee bit pissed off but she'll get over it.
was up to HVS/E1 on grit before the bike came along, lots of factors including moving away from climbing partners and moving to the lakes where it rains and the cragging is a bit more intimidating than the peak meant I tailed off.
Having moved to tassie the nearest crag is 5 mins away (and in town) can't wait for the gear to arrive. Did a couple of routes on a rope with some locals and was amazed how much my body remembered and how natural the moves were. Fingers were nowhere near strong enough though...
Well as I've been *training* down the wall during the week, sport climbing yesterday and off to the sea cliffs for some trad in an hour I guess that would make me a climber.
I'm not that good but I'm aiming to improve. I started late, in my late 30's, and have suffered from injury, obesity and sometimes just plain fear. I'm knocking on the door of HVS and objective this year is on sight HVS, an E1 lead and 6b sport o/s lead. We'll see.
I'll take an offer of climbing before mountain biking as weather/partners more crucial in climbing.
It's no surprise that there is a climbing/mtb crossover as here (NE Scotland) any semi serious climber has a mountain bike. Try walking in to say Squareface or Talisman and you'll find out why...
I used to climb regularly. Liked big mountaineering routes as opposed to hard cragging. VS in summer and IV in winter. Lost heart with it as it is so weather dependant. A 300 foot fall in the Alps at Chamonix a few years ago didn't help.
Been mountain biking 20 odd years now and recently took up bouldering when my daughter wanted a go. Now we go bouldering together at climb Newcastle a lot. It's just good fun. We have a family holiday booked in July, a week in font. All of her climbing made me have a go and I enjoy it, I've recently been managing 5+ routes in craggy2.
Like most people I'd love to do more of both but have to pay the bills and work, so juggle these with work and family life. The holiday in Font is, I hope, a good way of combining two of them.
I have walked, climbed and mountaineered from the age of eight. I have also been a skier and ski tourer for years. If you asked me: "who are you?" my first reply would be: "A mountaineer who goes cycling."
Use to climb years ago till I developed a foot problem.
im a climber first, mtb-er second though a month ago that was different as I was riding more than climbing as the weather wasn't conducive to climbing.
I live in North Wales so I have best of both worlds really but i would probably choose climbing over riding if someone gave me the choice!
Oddly, my biking\climbing priorities seem to switch each year. Currently I'm a biker first and climber second, but for reasons unknown to myself that could all switch in a heartbeat. Both are great ways to spend a day though.
I used to climb a reasonable amount but only ever got to leading Severes. I prefer long multi pitch stuff or mountaineering. It's a lifelong ambition to do the full Cuillin ridge traverse but god knows if it will ever happen. Had a few health problems that got in the way and never really got back into it.
I find with climbing you really need to be going regularly for it to be satisfying. Much easier to pick up a bike after a few weeks off.
A 300 foot fall in the Alps at Chamonix a few years ago didn't help.
That's got to smart a bit. 25ft off sandstone rattled me...
For years I used to climb almost daily when I lived in Hope. For family reasons we moved to Ludlow 2 years ago, Ive only climbed 3 times since! Now however, I mtb 4 times a week.
Overnight climbing went from being very important in my life, to not having a place in it all.
Funny how things work out.
Yep, climb at craggy as well!
Yep, love climbing. Mainly do indoor stuff at the newish wall in Milton Keynes but get out when I can....trad only for me though. Pretty steady HVS climber, not really got the balls for E grades or the technique as I don't get out often enough.
Snapped the pulley tendons on my middle finger about 5 months ago and thought I was out of the game but it's healed a fair bit and now I m back at the wall and building back up.
Yes, love it, but I'm crap. Pretty much like biking 🙂
Peterfile, agree, same here. Both sports take a lot of time to get really good at and doing both, plus life of course, is the difficulty.
Peterfile, agree, same here. Both sports take a lot of time to get really good at and doing both, plus life of course, is the difficulty.
Like I said though I found climbing much harder to fit in with life - lead climbing especially is such a head game and I found not doing it for a little bit made it all just seem far too scary and hard!
The other thing I found, was that you cant just nip out for a quick climb, it tends to be a full day, or as near as damn it.
When my son was born, long days away climbing were out the window, whereas a quick hour and a half door to door on the bike fitted in quite nicely.
Climbing is very commiting in terms of the headgame, but also the time it takes up in your life.
Took up climbing at uni in the late 80s and did pretty much nothing else every weekend, holiday and many evenings. Injuries have curtailed things now I'm in my forties but I keep intending to get back to it again once I get the bike thing out of my system. Got fed up with climbing walls but training is a necessary evil if you want to improve. It gets much harder to maintain a level of performance as one gets older and chronic shoulder and wrist injuries don't help.
Was on-sighting E3 on a good day and grade 5 in winter... Ah, those were the days!
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Used to climb a lot when a kid/student. Mainly clssic rock and alpine stuff and easyiesh Scottish Winter. Fall on Aiguille du Midi and fatherhood changed my risk tolerances so gave it up except scrambling and the odd winter route. Been to Craggy a few times to rekindle the urge but don't really have the time. Had some epic moments especially soloing and winter gullies but glad the crazy days are gone. Tried paragliding next which was even more of a thrill. But these days just scare myself skiing and Mtbing (and WWR)
Love the Tuolumne shots!
I usually just get off and push.....
I was a pretty good journeyman. We have a British team member on here who posts sometimes. Fairly lapsed at the moment (mind you I'm fairly lapsed at biking). Running mostly now as it's the quickest way of getting tired with least faff. Might pop out locally with the mat tonight actually...
I do the odd climb a year, less now than at uni even though I live closer to outdoor stuff than I used to. No local climbing partners and mtb taken over a little. Went to skye a couple of weeks ago and did loads of scrambling, I'm recovering from a torn knee ligament or would have considered doing the cuillin ridge again. A couple of friends headed out early one day but were forced off due to persistent snow.
Although I prefer mtb, given the lack of opportunities to climb I would choose to go scrambling / climbing over a day of mtb as I can go cycling most days of the week if I wanted. Getting married next year so may all change, I'm not sure there's much climbing near where we are looking to move to!
Used to do loads, a lot at Kendal and Ingleton walls with my then gf, a keen climber, and some easyish quarry based stuff. At the time I did shift work so had a lot of free time during the day so it was easy just to put a chalk bag and shoes into my Camelbak, go MTBing, stop off at a quarry and do an hour or so of basic bouldering. Unfortunately, I was almost always on my own and freeclimbing (I've always hated the ropes/harness thing) and it got to the point where my ideas and attempts were getting well past my skill level and I stopped doing that for obvious safety reasons.
More or less stopped climbing when we split up. There's some decent outdoor bouldering stuff in a gorge near where I live at the moment and I keep meaning to have a try of it at some point. Preferably when it's warmer...