UKC

Teneriffe, Siurana, Mallorca or Kalymnos....or anywhere else? Got one week to go during Scottish half-term in October 7-15 October. Been to the latter three, never been to Teneriffe. Is there anywhere else that would be good for a family of three who want to do lots of climbing (each day, so not too much driving), but also some beach visiting and anything else interesting. Is Teneriffe as good and also easily accessible as the other places bearing in mind we only have one week

Cheers
Heike

In reply to Heike:
Didn't rate what we climbed in tenerife (apart from the trad route we did). And then we got robbed...

Have you thought about the Ariege? No beaches but theres plenty of non climbing things to do. Caves, biking, castles, thermal baths, Andorra duty free (and a good ferrata) and great accommodation! Been 4 times and always enjoyed it, we could lend you our guidebooks.

In reply to Mike-W-99:

Hmm, so I heard !! That's what put me off a bit.

Ariege doens't really appeal to Brian - he wants super-steep routes with tufas, features and jugs. So he has never been to keen on Ariege although I have suggested it... I can try again??

In reply to Heike:

Sardinia?

In reply to Robert Durran:
Never been - is there lots that would meet Brian's requirements? I have suggested that a few times, but it is another place he has rejected in the past due to grey slabbyness. He hates grey water runnels.

The easy access and beaches would fit the bill. But are there any tufas or features to keep the man happy???

In reply to Heike:

You need to page John Arran then , we're not good enough to advise on Brian's requirements!

In reply to Heike:



Yes, plenty of steep stuff spread around - maybe not a mecca of steep sport like some places but you'll barely scratch the surface in a week. I've been lots of times. Can give specific recommendation sometime if you like.

In reply to Heike:

L'Ocaive; Murla; Gandia; Pena Roja; and Pinos crags on Costa Blanca all provide steep / super steep climbing. Plenty nice beaches too.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Thanks, that would be good. Brian has now claimed he never said that it was all grey slabby after all - oh well, marital disputes it seems I might catch you sometime soon about this. Can you pm me your phone number perhaps at some stage so i can call you? Cheers
Heike

In reply to A Mountain Journey:
Thank you for your suggestions- they are indeed all great, but we usually go there at xmas, so I wanted somewhere different if possible.
Thanks again
Heike

In reply to Heike:

I also recommend Sardinia, just back from a second trip there, went last October as well. We mostly did multi pitch, but I think there is a lot of variety, with even the odd granite crag thrown in if you want a bit of a change from the Limestone and we definitely found some steep stuff too as well as slabby.

There is lots of climbing spread around the Island, we have stayed at Cala Gonone (where all the Brits seem to go) Santa Maria Navaresse and Nebida down in the SW near the climbing at Masua and Domusnovas. There would be more than enough climbing for a weeks trip at any of these places.

Sardinia is great, really beautiful and wild, amazing food, and lots to do besides climbing on the rest days.

If you are climbing at Ratho anytime just give me a shout as I would be happy to loan you the guidebook so you can have a look and see what the climbing looks like.

In reply to Heike:

Gozo (wee island off Malta). It's a tiny island, lovely beaches and lots of things to see if you want to play tourist.

In reply to Heike:


Is this steep enough for him? https://www.facebook.com/320358506480/photos/ms.c.eJwzNDA0NTAzMzUxtDAzMDOxM...

On second thoughts maybe not since you don't even need your hands

More seriously if you let me know the grades and preferences you're interested in then I'd be happy to give a genuine appraisal of what's available and how good it is compared to other places we climb. October is the best month though for climbing, being generally settled and with perfect average temps, so there are very few climbers that wouldn't find plenty of really high quality stuff to do at that time of year.

In reply to john arran:

Hahaha, that should probably be steep enough!! I probably wouldn't get off the ground though....

Looking at single pitch 6s -7s(as we are bringing a six year old), preferably no grey slabs, vertical to overhanging with nice features and good lines would be lovely. If there are some easy routes available for the wee man that would be an additional bonus, but not essential as he prefers bouldering anyways.

In reply to Elsier:

Thanks Elsie, will let you know next time we are popping down to Ratho.
Heike

In reply to Heike:

Grab some tickets to Barcelona. We just mangaged 8 days climbing out of a weeks holiday and we could have done 9 with a late return on the Sunday.. There are so many flights from my area, Lancashire that you can fly when you want.
Personally I would not book accomodation but see what the weather is doing, South for Suirana or West and North for Lleida area.
Stand out places on this trip were Camassara for 3 to 6 pich routes, with some 1 min from car. Villa nova de Meia for awesome fabtastic routes on Roc des Arcs. And half an hour from Barcelona, Montserrat which with 3500 routes, has something for everyone, from easy single pitch to monster routes on the North face, but I did not check that out, and once you get into it is rather addictive

In reply to Heike:


That grade range covers most of my favourite Ariège climbing. While many of the best easier routes (5s and easier 6s) are to be found on Calamès, Sinsat and Auzat, the best sectors for routes from mid 6 to high 7 in my opinion are around the village of Niaux. One side of the valley gets sun/shade in the morning and the other side in the afternoon so there's almost always good conditions depending on how warm it is and how warm you like it. Some of the routes are pretty long (up to 40m or so at Le Livre and Passe Muraille) but they tend to average out at 25m or so. Apart from those sectors La Spoulga and La Loubetière are also highly recommended (the latter has some easier routes down to grade 5 at one end but the harder end of the crag isn't child-friendly as it has a big drop - all other crags mentioned are pretty easy with children). On the other side of the valley Sibada and Saut de l'Ours are the ones to be looking at. Tufas aren't as common as in some Spanish or Greek areas but there are quite a few of them around - the climbing style tends to be quite mixed, generally on goodish holds with proper moves between them (as opposed to the crimpy, snatchy style of some limestone areas). Just up the road from there is Génat, which is spectacularly good for mid-hard 7s and easier 8s but has easier climbing too. The cave I linked the photo of earlier is Sabart, again very close by, which has a large number of absurdly steep and long routes and is definitely worth visiting even if you don't climb anything and take headtorches in to explore the kilometres of natural passages and great formations that you can easily walk around with no restrictions on public access.

I hope this helps.

In reply to Lenin:

Thank you, yes, been there before and it's definitely not list again...

In reply to john arran:

Thank you, that's a lot of detail. Will look into it!!
Sounds great. I wish I had a few months then we could tick all the recommendations on this thread ...

In reply to Heike:

Don't bother with Tenerife. Interesting island and the weather temperatures would make you happy. However, I was underwhelmed by the climbing and although a few people I know would return, the great majority would not. Most of the other suggestions in this thread have much merit but Kalymnos is hard to beat.

In reply to Heike:

Roca Verde? http://rocaverdeclimbing.com/?page_id=96

In reply to Heike:

Sicily, San Vito.
Best beach, walk to 600+ routes. Plenty of steep stuff. All grades. Kids sectors. Child safe at the bottom. Campsite, pools, bungalows etc. 1hr from airport. Ryanair, Easyjet etc.

In reply to Heike:

Calpe?

JW

In reply to Heike:

Have you considered Val Pennavaire (aka Oltre Finale)? Lots of steep juggy 6s and 7s and beaches nearby on the Ligurian coast

In reply to heleno:

paklenica Croatia at that time of year, if you can fly into Dubrovnik and out of split you could combine with cheer ferry up Dalmatian coast

In reply to Owen W-G:

Hi there, been there before, loved it, but the single pitch stuff is a bit underwhelming IMHO. Love the long multi-pitch, but that is not possible the time due to travelling with wee man.
Cheers
Heike

In reply to heleno:
Yes, have looked into it before, I can't remember why it didn't strike a chord that much. Maybe couldn't get convenient flights from Scotland. Have done lots in the nearby Sarca Valley, though..on longer trips.