UKC

Hey guys,

Im looking at organising a trip at my university, last year we went to Mallorca and this year we were looking at France, Costa Blanca, as they have proven good locations in the past.

But will be trying to look at some alternative locations, and Turkey, Slovenia and Bulgaria are the areas that have popped up in discussions, so has anyone climbed here?or know of decent climbing areas.

Basic plans would be to have about 8 people or so, with the cheapest accommodation wanted, wild camping is also ok, and would plan on hiring 2 cars. The club does mainly sport, could do some trad, but the location would need to be predominantly sport.

Any questions please ask, as I cant think if I have left anything out?

Thanks for any help,

Ant!

In reply to the ant hill mob:

I've done a couple of little trips to the Julian Alps in Slovenia, mainly walking and via ferrata, although there is plenty of sport about to go at too, which we have tinkered with on days off. Wild Camping is not generally approved of in the area, but self catering accommodation and campsites are very cheap and friendly so you'd be mad to miss out.
We stayed at Camping Kamne, in Dovje Mojstrana near Kranjska Gora, which is good for the mountains, but for bolts you might be better off further south around Trenta and the Soca valley.

Don't restrict yourself to bolts and cragging if you head to the Julian Alps. Its a stunning area, and the scrambles and via ferrata are exciting, some are quite serious, but there are some well protected routes that get in to some incredible situations. Trad on the other hand is VERY serous, rock is crap and the routes are big.

Late season is the best time, as high up can be choked with snow- but this won't be a problem if you are only doing sport I guess.

The Cicerone guide to the Julian alps is good for the walking and scrambling/via ferrata, and Sidarta do an English language sport guide.

In reply to Snoweider: Thanks for the quick reply, this trip will be happening around the 17-24 march, so snow guessing snow wouldn't be a problem at that time?

I will have a look into the camp site that you have stated above and the other areas, and hopefully gather a better idea of costs and feasibility.

Thanks ant

some people I know went on a uni climbing trip to turkey and stayed in tree houses somewhere! looked ace.

If you want cheap, go somewhere like el chorro - cheap flights and no need for car hire.

In reply to the ant hill mob: I haven't actually climbed there, but walked around Lakatnik, which is a large sport climbing crag near Sofia, Bulgaria. Lots of info on www.bgclimbing.com. Rock quality and scenery seem to be very good. Lakatnik is a small village which can be easily reached by a 1 hour train ride from Sofia. At least the (huge) sector I've been at is just a short walk from that village. No idea if there's any accomodation in Lakatnik, it didn't seem to be very touristy...

In reply to the ant hill mob: I went over to turkey this year and there is tons of sports climbing over there, your best bet is to stay in either kemer or beldibi whilst your over there. The tree house is known as kadiers tree house (I think). That's next to a good slab in olympos. Another campsite is climbers garden next to geyikbayiri, you could spend the entire time there so much to do. Have fun

In reply to c.thomson89: Yes, lots of sport climbing in Turkey. Geyikbayiri would be good in March though possibly chilly - it's 500m above sea level. Apart from that it's possible to climb there in almost any weather because the overhangs and caves keep some routes dry.
Olympos might be better in March. It's at sea level. Kadirs Tree House is one place to stay (www.kadirstreehouse.com) and it's possible to camp nearby according to the guide book. There are other pensions in Olympos.
In March expect some rain but most days will be pleasantly warm (at sea level) and sunny. Food, accommodation and travel are cheap though petrol and diesel cost about the same as in Britain. Turkish people are generally very friendly and helpful.