UKC

Looking for somewhere to go end of Feb/start of March next year.

Needs to be:
-Warm and dry.
-Cheap ish.
-Plenty of lower grade 5-6 climbs (preferably unpolished) for the newer climbers in the group.
-Decent amount of mid 7's for the harder climbers.

All ready thought of Chorro but with the walkway out of action it might not be so good.
Off to the Costa Blanca next week so don't really want to go there again.

Any suggestions?

In reply to afrosam:

Have you thought of the South of France, particularly the Cote d' Azur region?

There are lots of good winter and early spring crags in the region with a huge spread of grades. For example, La Turbie above Monaco has lots of routes in the 5's and 6's and also loads to keep the 7th grade sport climber happy. Winter is the best time of year there as it south facing and just above the Med. There are also lots of other crags in the nearby area and slightly further afield from Nice to Toulon.

The Rockfax has good coverage of this region, but there are also lots of very good crags that have only been developed fairly recently. Information does tend to be a bit harder to find for those crags but various websites run by locals does have some good info.

There is also the ever so eclectic local guide book "L'escalade dans les Alpes-Maritimes", now in it's fourth edition. I have heard comments about it ranging from "Hilarious" to "F****ng waste of paper and money" and that is from locals! Information and topos appear to have been produced from a mixture of rumour, hearsay, myth and looking at crags from a long way off!

I have the 2nd edition, which was produced as a sort of tribute to the very famous French climber and mountaineer Patrick Berhault who died in 2004. The fact the guide isn't great is more than made up for by the excellent photos of Patrick and friends in the late 70's through to the 90's.

Rich.

In reply to afrosam:

Kalymnos: http://climbkalymnos.com/

In reply to afrosam:

I went to Buis les Baronnies early March earlier this year and it was fab. Loads of easier routes at a few different crags. Loads of harder stuff too. Did get snowed on one day at St Leger though - but in the main, the temps were just right.

In reply to Richard White:

Cote d' Azur or maybe the Ariege region could work, any idea how stable the weather is at the start of March?

In reply to DDDD:

Hmm, interesting, I was out in the Vercors national parc last year which is just north of there.
I'll look in to it.

In reply to HakanT:

If only it was cheaper to get there!

In reply to afrosam:

We got there (Stansted > Kos) for €20 each last spring,

Chris

In reply to afrosam:

Malta.

Middle of the 'Med so it'll be warmish, should be dry by march, cheap as far as europe goes and there's too many climbs to count in the 5-6's. Decent amount of 7's as well.

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Who did you fly with Chris?
Do the main ferries run all year?

Sam

In reply to afrosam:

Ryanair - 1st flight of the season was why it was so cheap. Apparently the return fight had 9 people on it!

Ferries Kos > Kalmnos run all year - about five a day in the winter - except when it is too windy,


Chris

In reply to afrosam:

Pretty sure the walkway is now repaired.

In reply to afrosam:

Catalunya.

In reply to afrosam:

The weather is usually fairly stable in March. It can be a bit chilly higher up into the hills but down towards the coast it should be ok.