UKC

Abella de la Conca — a tiny but splendidly situated village in the Lleida pre-Pyrenees in Catalunya, Northeast Spain.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6721

In reply to UKC Articles:

Great pictures Pete, nice article, very tempting destination. Maybe after I get my hip replacement...

In reply to UKC Articles:
I did a few trips with Oli and G back in the day and we NEVER went here!

Good to hear Nic's efforts are being appreciated.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Early this year we spent a day here, as the road winds higher and higher we became level with and within touching distance of huge vultures riding the thermals. Breathtaking.

In reply to GuyVG:

I spent a couple of days in Abella earlier this year.

The good things about the place are the stunning location, Nic's fantastic refuge (and warm welcome) and sheer volume of rock (climbed and unclimbed) around.

The only downside is that the climbing, while very good in parts, is quite spread out and a little bit 'bitty'. Abella is no Siurana or Rodellar.

It is well worth a visit though.

In reply to petemeads:

Hi Pete,

Good to hear you're still in the land of the living!

As Alun says, Abella is not quite up there with the likes of Siurana and Rodellar, but then few places are...

Yep — get your hip done and go there. Give us a shout and I'll join you.

Pete.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Is there much in the very low grades i.e. below 5, suitable for kids?

Thanks

In reply to matt perks:

As with many limestone sport-climbing areas routes below grade 5 are not that common in Abella, but there are a few.

Once you get into the 5-6a range there are many more choices.

Nic Durand is constantly equipping new stuff so it may be that there's a lot more in the grade-range you're asking about than I'm aware of. Drop him a line at abellaclimb.com and I'm sure he'll be happy to advise you.

Pete.

In reply to Pete O'Donovan:

I've heard Nic speak of prepping a grade 4 sector - problem is the easier climbing needs the most cleaning up.

Good article and photos thanks. Grateful for the route reccomendation - I can already vouch for the quality of Honey Badger but still waiting for Caçadores.

Some other route swhich I have appreiated include : Dit i Fret 6c (Congost), Poc a Poc 6c+ (Voltor), Marpa 6b+ (Iglesia), Through Thin and Thick 7a (Arches), Meteorito LH 6b+ (Costera N) and Brac de Gitano 6a (+ ?) at the new sector Gypsy Camp.

As Alan says the good routes can be a bit spread out - but that depends what grade you want to climb at. As a package a trip to Abella has never failed me for interest and satisfaction; there is no other such accomodation (Lleida) where you can mix and interact with climbers from all parts of europe.

NB. I have now updated the UKC log page so all those route recommendations can go live-link. Pre-School however is a mistake - should be Pre-Skool.

In reply to UKC Articles:

Well put together Pete.On the list now.Loved the video too