UKH

So if you had silly money to throw at something as frivolous as a climbing trip, where and what would you do?

I'd go off to the Alps (no specific area) and live on a shoestring budget for a season. Easy!

Iran. Probably enough money there to trek the length of the Alborz with multiple peak bagging and sight-seeing detours. I'd happily live off it in the Pyrenees too. I'd even leave my bike at home

If you have a suitable vehicle, it's enough to do a full year - autumn and winter in spain, spring in lower destinations in southern france, summer in the alps.

I am more thinking of going somewhere that isn't really possible at all without a big budget. Somewhere well out of the way in Baffin maybe.

Indian Creek - blow the rest of the budget on all the extra Cams you'll need

I would love to go to Iran.

They're not allowed on this thread anyway

1000 x trips to the wall?

BOOM!

I'd be keen to explore some of the uncharted mountains In Northern India as described by the IMF (in Sikkim or Arunachal), or hope about something like the Rimo Group.

Also still dream of going to the Latoks..

And Ive got £5-6k..

John C

That money will get you a +6000m FA in some places, the question would then be how much time as that affects access.

You could live in Iran for a year on that (pending visas). Rent a village house north of Tehran, climb as much as you want, eat well, use local drivers. You'd never be short of partners. Ice, 4000m alpine, big walls, desert rock.

Japan's good too in the right season (when it's not raining). There's a good overlap of rock, ice and 3000m alpine in the first half of winter that attracts certain international climbers wanting something different. Cost effective if you stay away from Tokyo.

North East India, fairly low peaks but totally made up for by the nature of the access and interesting cultures.

What would I personally do? There's some peaks in western China with some interesting things about them that I think has a very high interest-to-dollar ratio.

Wouldn’t even be shoestring. 

Depends on what kind of climbing you want to do and how much time you have.

Baffin style big walls would be cool, or at least Yosemite. Or perhaps South America tepui? Alaska for something icier.

All comes down to the available time. You can probably burn through £5k in 3-4 weeks in Alaska or Baffin, whereas dirtbagging round the US or mooching round the Alps you could last a whole season. 

I'd go back to Yosemite and break my resolution never to get on a big wall at my age again - but I'd use my new-found wealth to pay a select team of dirtbaggers to do all the hauling so I could just climb. They could also erect the portaledge each night. Hammocks for them though. A few nights in the Awahnee Hotel should take care of any leftover funds.

Scott Route on Asgard? 

I should probably have put a month time limit on it so that it was about the destination rather than just spending a long time sonewhere!

That is certainly one of my desert island climbs.

USA Road trip for me I'd say.

Smith Rock, Tetons, Devils Tower, Indian Creek (again), Red River, New River, Yosemite, Indian Creek, Moab, Bishop

Pretty endless...

did i mention Indian Creek?

Sadly, right now I'm actually thinking 100 trips to a physio

Fixed that one. (Bitter person who’s plans have been scuppered by the 90 day rule...)

Sorry ☹️

Sorry to hear about the physio. 
Time is the issue for me but every time I fly to the US I look at Greenland and promise myself to go there one day. It looks amazing........

For my 30th (over 10 years ago now), I went to Tonsai for a month. The trip itself cost under 2 grand (inc flights), however I had to take a month unpaid which prob took it to an effective £4.5k or so. I was informed I could have saved money by not visiting the bars so much but I wasnt really interested in that option.

Lotus Flower Tower in the Cirque of Unclimbables in Canada

I looked into the costs of going to the Chinese Karakoram a couple of years back and I think you'd be doing well if you could keep it under £6k! But at any rate, I think money is the least of your worries for Western China at the moment. I doubt they're particularly psyched to have westerners wandering around Xinjiang.

You're right the north side of the Karakoram costs more, but lots of other stuff in western China besides that. I've been there a fair bit the last few years, most areas fine if you arrange the permits and don't go looking for trouble.

The thing is there are parts of the alps I’d like to go which wouldn’t be possible without a couple of guides to drag me there so that’s what I’d do even though I could get to the alps for a few quid. 
 

EDIT: I’ve just seen the Lotus Flower Tower suggestion and that would interest me

I would take my boat to Svalbard and then venture inland to some of the remote hills.

I thought year, but I wasn't sure if that'd be pushing it a bit. I have a bit of a soft spot for French bakeries...

But yeah, outside of areas where lifts are the norm, £5k would last a long time.

Some nice ideas on here, problem is that at present, a sizeable chunk of the budget would have to go on the quarantine hotel when you come back 😒😉

Rent a cottage in the far north west and sit in it, drinking whiskey, whilst awaiting the arrival of the one day of true Scottish summer. 

Probably Eastern Tibet as the prices have always been out of my league, particularly the permits for unclimbed stuff. Think I'd still need every expedition grant going on top of that in order to afford the trip! My permit application would probably get turned down at any rate, meaning I'd end up somewhere else. Had the opportunity to go there about 15 years ago when permits were being issued, but I was finishing my degree at the time and money was too tight.

I've always wanted to visit the Arrigetch in Northern Alaska or perhaps Mount Doonerak in the Brooks range a little to the East. You certainly wouldn't be queuing for routes.

When flying back from Japan once we passed over a vast area of mountains in the East of Siberia. It seemed like a wonderful area to explore.

I'm sure I would end up with change (or maybe not...), but I'd go to the Bugaboos in Canada, with the Beckey-Chouinard (TD+) as the centrepiece of my trip.

Steve

Changed my mind. I think I'll blow it all on a bicycle instead.

Could easily do some kind of silly mega trip with that, say a month in Yosemite in the spring and then straight on to a month in the Karakoram. Or as you say, Baffin even if it were “just” trekking.

If I still climbed this would have been my answer.

Does anyone know the rough cost per person of a trip to Baffin for something like Asgard?

sorry to be all eco but if I had a spare £5-6K I'd take a summer off of work and climb at Pembroke. No envorinmental damage done and a lot of fun had.

Nyainqentangla etc in the south is mostly off limits, but the ranges around the Sichuan border are doable, permits not too bad if you can keep logistics simple. I go over most years.

A couple of starting points for initial research:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nu/auyuittuq

https://canadiannorth.com/

You want to look at Ottawa to Pangnirtung.

I should hope so.

So about £800 return (with very affordable extra baggage) plus the transatlantic flight. I'm definitely going sometime, even if only to walk up the valley and see the place in my old age.

Greenland ned not be exorbitant if you arrive via a scheduled flight. Iceland to Kulusuk on the east coast is from about £400 return. From there lots of interesting looking places can be readily reached by local charter boat. Had a great trip a few years ago.

I looked into doing the Pang traverse for a while, looked like a good few grand for the flights, then you'd ideally need an outfitter in the region to snowmobile you out of polar bear city to the beginning of the valley, maybe another to pick you up at the other end. Along the way you have Asgard and Thor to keep you busy. Flights and bear protection are the biggest hassles. A pretty burly objective!

I've just looked it up a bit. Starting and finishing at Pangnirtung should reduce cost. Maybe £1500 max return from UK. Boat transfer to end of fjiord in summer, then just head off. Obviously climbing rather than just walking makes a lot of hard work getting stuff up the valley. And yes, bears potentially terrifying!

I'd have thought bears would be worse in summer, as opposed to being out on the sea ice over winter. I guess climbing in cold weather would be a little far out on the Type 2 Fun scale though

The national park information says there are more bears on the north/east coast and that there can be problems later in summer when all the sea ice is gone and they can go inland.Don't camp near coast.