UKC

Hi all,

Does anyone know anything about the restorarion work scheduled for the caminito del rey in El chorro?

I heard it was meant to start soon but I'm heading out to el chorro for some bolt clipping in April and was hoping to catch the caminito before the suits sap all the fun out of it! Does anyone know when this is due to begin/has it started already?

Many thanks.

In reply to tennantbell:

Got back from Chorro last week; no change on the walkway.

I doubt the government or local council has the money to plough into major works like putting a glass surround over the path as has been previously touted.

In reply to tennantbell:

According to Clever Climb Adventures (The local climbing guides and dirtbags) Sergio, the start of work was delayed, from beginning of March to beginning of April. They did some access roadworks last year. If you go on facebook and find clever climb you can ask them, they are a good bunch of (alcoholic) spanish guys who care about the area.

In reply to tennantbell:

Walked along it today, it was still okay.

If I notice the situation change over the next couple of months I will post asap.

In reply to Removed User:

Thanks, that'd be really helpful.

In reply to tennantbell:

From 2 sources - who have both put their cv's in for work on the camino - they have been told it will close on the 16th march for up to 2 yrs.

This is Spain though so don't count on it.

Unless you were planning on doing a particular route in the gorge though it shouldn't affect your climbing.

If I learn anything new while I am here I'll let you know.

In reply to biscuit:

Thanks for that.

I'll be walking along it on the 16th March, so I'll try to report back with any news on what I can see, as in, construction equipment, signs, barriers, etc.

In reply to tennantbell:

I went by today and there were a few groups on it. There's been talks about these works for years now, and apart from a few JCBs doing some roadworks I've never really seen anything that would actually worry me about access.

In reply to king_of_gibraltar:

The Spanish govt got Euro 3.2million to spend on it. They are going to spend Euro 2.1million on it. Good old EU, dole out money for a specific project and then let the locals spend a third of it on something else!

In reply to johncook:

They make me laugh. Across the border from Gib we have La Linea, a couple of years back they built a really nice kids playground with all the typical swings and slides etc, apparently whilst it was being built the local mayor came along and asked the workers to spread the stuff up more and take a few of the slides and stuff and put them in his back garden.

In reply to king_of_gibraltar:

I am trying to find the article from the Malaga newspaper with all the information and "facts" about what is going on. I believe the start has been delayed until April and will take two years to build a cage type walkway. Last year they "improved" the road from the station down to camping Albargue, with lots of early morning noise from pile drivers, so I assume they intend to continue with the project. When Sergio gets back to me I will pass on any new information.

In reply to johncook:

Fixing the road was not really connected to the Camino del Rey work. It was about ensuring access to the car park outside the campsite, as well as ensuring that the maintenance vehicles could get further up the road to the electrical sub-station.

The village lives off the tourists and climbers going there so closing the access to the gorge for two years is mental, as you can't walk through the tunnels or go on the rail line without getting fined. The village might suffer as consequence, unless part of the deal is to subsidise them with hand-outs.

The other thing is if they do make some kind of caged walkway, ie with a roof to protect from the rocks that come down, then that more or less rules out the start of a lot of routes, and possibly the abbing off to the start of many others.

In reply to Removed User:

Said I'd report back today. Went there, the path is still open. No signs of any machinery or barriers etc. Spoke to a Brit I met he said a few days back there was a few sings along the road from the campsite car park to the further car park saying to keep that road clear. And for a Sunday morning in mid March it was very clear. Just him and his mates in a van.

Can't get an angle on what is defo happening and when. The local english papers both ran a feature about how last week a climber put in the first brick (which was actually a piece of wood!) of the restoration, and carried a picture of a climber suspended on some ropes that looked to be spanning something/somewhere. But I couldn't make out where. Today I saw nothing, no ropes, nothing. The people that run the campsite couldn't even say what was happening, or when. If I hear or see more I'll post it UP.

In reply to tennantbell:

I was/am still hoping to do it at the end of March, but did read this article here http://www.surinenglish.com/20140314/news/costasol-malaga/caminito-first-st... which was a bit worrying.
I'm guessing the workers will still need access so hoping it should still be doable, even if very early or at weekends?

In reply to tennantbell:

Hi, we were on the walkway on monday and tuesday last week, and the lower gorge was still all good. We did the upper gorge too, which had less cabling but i'm not sure if it's always been that way! We saw another group on it on friday too, so seems to be still ok for now.