How beneficial would it be for a geoscience student to take up rock climbing?
Written by climber on March 30th, 2009
Ildico asked:
I’m doing a geoscience degree and will soon have a couple of months free. I’m wondering whether to take up rock climbing or not. It would be quite an effort for me as there are no facilities nearby, but looking at some of the professional geologists it seems it may be worth it?
I’m doing a geoscience degree and will soon have a couple of months free. I’m wondering whether to take up rock climbing or not. It would be quite an effort for me as there are no facilities nearby, but looking at some of the professional geologists it seems it may be worth it?
4 Comments at "How beneficial would it be for a geoscience student to take up rock climbing?"
good exercise and would probably help you appreciate the beauty of what your studying
I am not a geologist. However these skills will certainly make you safer if you have to work on cliff faces. Cliff faces are the places where you can see a large amount of stratigraphy.
I am a geologist, and I’ll tell you honestly, if you’re planning on doing a lot of field work (later on, professionally) in remote places, rock climbing skill might come in handy. Might. Most field work involves a lot of hiking, some of it strenuous, but I’ve never HAD to do much in the way of climbing for research purposes. (Well, a lttle bit, but not much–and I’ve been all over the world professionally).
However, I’ve been an avid rock climber since I was in high school, and will recommend it to you as a great activity! As long as you’re safe, it’s great exercise and you’ll enjoy it.
Go for it!
StevenB is right. I’m an engineer, not a geologist. But I work with geologists on a daily basis, and their job does not require them to rock climb. There is a group within my company that specializes in rock stability and joint mapping, and these guys climb and rapell regularly. However, their line of work is very unique, and it only comprises a small specialty within the field of geology. I will add that those guys LOVE their jobs!!!
Examples of some other specialties within geology/geoscience include hydrogeology, geomorphology, and seismology. Geologists in these specialties rarely - if ever - will have to rock climb for their job, and in fact most of them will spend a good portion of their careers behind a desk.
If you don’t want to get into rock climbing but still have a passion for the geosciences, then don’t sweat it. There are plenty of other specialties that you can pursue that won’t require you to climb rocks.
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