Jump to content

Gas Prices & Climber Shift


Jens

Recommended Posts

It seems like this spring with gas prices through the roof, I'm seeing way more people at the climbing gym, exit 32, index, and exit 38 and fewer people climbing east of the mountains.

 

If we see gas at 6-7 bucks a gallon, it could really sway the Puget Sound population core crowds away from day cragging at places like Vantage, Banks, Mazama, WA pass, Tieton, Leavenworth, and elsewhere.

 

The other day at my gym it was sunny and 70 outside and the place was a busy as I have ever seen it for such a day- More like a rainy Tuesday night after work in November.

 

If we hit 8-9 bucks a gallon in a couple of years like some say, what would our climbing scene look like?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 25
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

sway the Puget Sound population core crowds away from day cragging at places like Vantage, Banks, Mazama, WA pass, Tieton, Leavenworth, and elsewhere.

 

I would think people's common sense would sway them away from driving four hours to climb for a day!

 

I'm making an extra effort this summer to find things within biking distance from my house. They may not be extremo, but I bet they'll still be fun.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems like this spring with gas prices through the roof, I'm seeing way more people at the climbing gym, exit 32, index, and exit 38 and fewer people climbing east of the mountains.

 

If we see gas at 6-7 bucks a gallon, it could really sway the Puget Sound population core crowds away from day cragging at places like Vantage, Banks, Mazama, WA pass, Tieton, Leavenworth, and elsewhere.

 

Is that such a bad thing?

The people who are committed can car-pool it, stay the whole weekend or suck it up.

Maybe some will take up a new and cheaper sport like knitting or scrapbooking and the crags will be even less crowded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Compared to this time last year, driving from my house to Leavenworth will cost me an extra $12, round-trip, and I drive a Sequoia that gets 15mpg. Big whoop...

 

On Sunday afternoon I got sick of the rain, drove over with my kids and played catch in the meadows near the fish hatchery for two hours and then drove home. Just seeing the sun for a couple hours was definitely worth the $55 in gas...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to think that the expensive gas prices will make me think twice about driving anywhere. but so far it hasn't. i have even been to smith in the past month or so. it was AWSOME. and i didn't even climb cus i still suck too bad to get near a rope. but it was so fun to hike around with my old climbing partner (who was here visiting) it was totally worth the money to sniff sage.

 

 

oh and Raindog, knitting is way more punk rock than scrap booking. so far this winter i have made 2 hats 2 scarves and i am truing the heal on my first pair of socks.

Edited by Muffy_The_Wanker_Sprayer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knitting is punk as hell. :tup:

 

And it isn't much cheaper than driving.

 

I attempted knitting this winter and nearly dropped my needles at the yarn-store cash register when I saw that it would costly me nearly twice as much to BUY the yarn to KNIT the damn hat as it would if I just bought a hat that WAS ALREADY MADE. WTH?

 

To top it off, the hat came out bigger than the size of a normal human being's head. Guess that takes care of this year's white elephant gift at the Solstice party. :/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knitting is punk as hell. :tup:

 

And it isn't much cheaper than driving.

 

I attempted knitting this winter and nearly dropped my needles at the yarn-store cash register when I saw that it would costly me nearly twice as much to BUY the yarn to KNIT the damn hat as it would if I just bought a hat that WAS ALREADY MADE. WTH?

 

To top it off, the hat came out bigger than the actual size of a human being's head. Guess that takes care of this year's white elephant gift at the Solstice party. :/

 

some people like their hats big and floppy!I sware it!! :kisss: knitting for me is all about the artistic process. I am already trying to figure out how to make sweaters i design in my head. I feel really lucky to have an awsome knitting guru. i would not say i am good, but i love it. and yes it is another expensive hobby 8D i made a baby blanket in the fall that cost me 70 dollars and 2 months to make. in the store it would have been way way way cheaper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8D i made a baby blanket

 

Ummm, I think I need to meet your knitting guru. That 8D technique wasn't demonstrated in my instruction book. Sounds like the 70 dollars was well spent. ;)

 

Thanks for the "floppy hat" perspective. That's a great way to look at it! I'm all for artistic interpretation.

 

I bet your sweater designs will rock. :rawk:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Granted having lived in Euroville for the past several years I'm used to high gas prices, but I'm also used to a car that gets between 1,000 and 1,200 kilometers per tank, which right now is about 60 Euro for a full tank. Gas is expensive as hell here, like 1.35 euro per liter and it has risen in the past months. Not as much as the States cause the strong Euro has insulated the EU a little.

 

I have to admit that here in Spain we pay attention to where we are going. For the past four weekends the weather has been really bad and instead of heading out to the crag to see whats up or to climb on some soggy overhangs, we decided to stay around town. Not “lets go and see”. Also, distances here are looked at differently. A three to four hour drive here is really big and something around five or six hours usually is not done that often. But you also have to understand you can drive from the Atlantic in Asturia to the Med in Cadiz in about 10 hours.

 

I'm kind of worried for when we arrive back in the States because we plan to be driving a fair amount. But I think we'll end up going to places for longer periods of time and not travel as much with the car when we are at those places. Thank God I have a small car cause trying to feed a SUV or a huge truck seems like a waste of money as well as ecologically irresponsible.

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a climbing carpool is a great idea - start a thread? start a board?

 

dedicated climbers will still find a way to climb. trailheads will just be full of smaller cars, but still full of cars... maybe not as many sweet dirtbag trucks though. :snugtop:

buy plane tickets to your climbing goals in other countries in the next few years though before airplane fuel prices catch up with that of cars.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...