Who will be on the Expedition?
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The team will be made up of 25-35 climbers from around the World. On the previous expeditions we have had British, Canadian, American, Australian, New Zealand, Israeli, Chilean, Swiss, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, German, Irish, Spanish and even a Trinidadian climber. Age is not a determining factor, it is the spirit of discovery and the desire to experience something different that is important. |
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PeopleAlthough a few couples will undoubtedly come on the trip, most people go on their own so there is no need to worry about coming alone. We tend to get a balance of about two thirds male climbers to one third female and this mix tends to work well on the longer expeditions. Besides the basic criteria of possessing all [well, most then] of your mental faculties, the expedition places will be given on a first come first served basis. So as places are very limited it's a good idea to make contact as soon as possible. |
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GradesThere is no specification on the grade you need to climb to join the expedition as there are as many new V-diff routes to be done as there are E9s at most of the crags. Be aware however that the expedition is not a guided trip in the sense that the expedition leader will not be acting as a climbing guide so you should be comfortable at whatever grade you aim to climb. |
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There have been quite a few cases now of people coming on the expeditions that have hardly climbed at all and left putting the rest of us to shame. Historically there is usually a group of climbers at most grades with the easier grades well represented, the bulk of people around E1-E2 (at least after a bit of time) and there are always a group of folk climbing around E5 (French 7C-ish) or more. Climbing stylesThe type of climbing people want to do on the expedition also varies massively. We have had lots of boulderers come on for 6 months and virtually not put on a harness. Conversely there is always a crowd into the big wall more adventurous side of climbing. |
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The mix of sport and trad climbing over the different stages also varies as does the preference of different expedition members to either. There are usually enough confident leaders on trad gear for most areas and a bit of bolt clipping is always welcome after some run out new routes above the savannah. With a mixed group of climbers we can put up new trad routes from VDiff to E9, new sports routes from f4 to f8c+, and new boulder problems from V0- to V13, which is exactly what was done on previous expeditions in Africa, Asia, Australia, South America and North America, where some people were putting up two or three new routes a day, at all grades. The nature of the climbing will vary depending on which section of the trip you are on, and is sometimes extremely exploratory in nature. Some of the rock you will climb will never have been touched before. Other crags will receive only their second or third visit, following previous Hot Rock trips. Other crags will be well developed, boasting many well-travelled bolted lines. The expedition will give you a huge variety of climbing experiences.
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